Employment law
The replacement fixed-term contract (CDD)
A replacement CDD is used to temporarily occupy the position of an employee whose contract is suspended: maternity leave, sick leave, military obligations, annual leave. The replacement is not hired to meet a new need of the company, but to hold a seat that will become free again.
That is what makes it a contract apart. Its ground is easier to justify than that of a standard CDD, there is an absent, identifiable person, but it is also more formalistic, and it does not carry the same entitlements at the end. Labour Code, Article L.20 (French).
1. Which absences can justify a replacement?
A replacement CDD may only be concluded to replace an employee whose contract is under legal suspension. This is not a vague notion: the Code sets out the list. It includes in particular:
- absence for non-occupational illness or accident, up to six months;
- unavailability resulting from an occupational accident or disease;
- maternity leave;
- paid leave and workers' education leave;
- military obligations or civic service;
- police custody or detention, up to six months;
- pilgrimage to the holy places;
- holding an elective mandate or political office.
A permanent departure is not a suspension. If the position is vacant because its holder resigned or was dismissed, there is no one to replace: using a replacement CDD is irregular, and another type of contract must be considered. Labour Code, Article L.34 (French).
2. Why must the ground be written with such precision?
This is the heart of the regime. The contract must contain a precise definition of its ground, and in a replacement that precision has mandatory content: the name and professional qualification of the replaced employee.
Writing "replacing an absent employee" is not enough. The contract must make clear who is being replaced, in which position, and why that person is absent. Without this identification, the contract loses its term: it becomes an open-ended contract. Decree No. 2022-0125/PT-RM, revised Article D.20-1 (French).
3. What are the other mandatory particulars?
| Particular | When it is required |
|---|---|
| Name and qualification of the replaced employee | Always, in a replacement CDD |
| End date, and any deferral clause | If the contract has a precise term |
| Minimum duration of the contract | If the contract has no precise term |
| Job title or position held | Always |
| Length of the probationary period | If probation is provided for |
The contract must be in writing, failing which it is presumed to be concluded for an indefinite duration. And if it exceeds three months, it must be lodged with the competent Labour Inspectorate before performance begins. Labour Code, Article L.21 (French).
4. Precise term, or the return of the replaced employee?
Both are possible, and the choice depends on what is known about the absence:
| Precise term | Imprecise term | |
|---|---|---|
| When to use it | The absence has a known length: maternity leave, annual leave | The absence has an uncertain end: prolonged sick leave, detention |
| What ends the contract | The date written into the contract | The actual return of the replaced employee |
| What must be written | The end date, and any deferral clause | A minimum duration : without it, the contract is incomplete |
An imprecise term is often the more honest choice in a replacement, since no one knows when the holder will return. But it does not remove the need to state a minimum duration, during which the contract cannot end even if the replaced employee comes back sooner.
5. How long can it last?
The general fixed-term ceilings apply: two years of total duration, and no more than two renewals with the same employer, the initial contract not counting as a renewal. Temporary replacement is, however, among the situations for which the Code provides exceptions to the two-renewal rule, under the conditions set out in the texts, so the category must be checked before applying the limit mechanically.
In practice, the real limit lies elsewhere: in the length of the suspension itself. Sick leave suspends the contract for six months only. Beyond that, the holder's situation must be resolved, and the replacement cannot serve indefinitely as a holding solution. Labour Code, Articles L.20, L.21 and L.34 (French).
6. Can it be ended before its term?
Like any fixed-term contract, only in three situations: gross misconduct (faute lourde), a written agreement between the parties, or force majeure.
Beware of one common confusion: the early return of the replaced employee is not force majeure. It is a foreseeable event, indeed the very one the contract was meant to anticipate. If the contract carries a minimum duration that has not yet run, the replacement must be kept on, or compensated.
Termination outside the three permitted grounds entitles the employee to damages equal to the remuneration that remained due until the term. Labour Code, Article L.25 (French).
7. Is the end-of-contract payment due?
This is the most concrete difference from a standard CDD, and the one that surprises most: no. The Code expressly excludes from the end-of-contract payment any employee hired to provide the temporary replacement of an employee under legal suspension.
| Standard CDD | Replacement CDD | |
|---|---|---|
| 2.5% payment at the term | Due, subject to the exclusions | Not due |
The exclusion follows the logic of the contract: the replacement does not occupy a job the company could have made permanent, they occupy someone else's seat. Naturally still due, as in any contract, are the final salary balance and compensation for accrued paid leave. Labour Code, Article L.24 (French).
Key takeaways
The replacement CDD is the contract in which drafting matters most. Its ground is easy to prove, but it must be written with names.
| Before signing | During the contract | At the end |
|---|---|---|
| Check that the absence is a legal suspension, not a permanent departure | Track how the absence develops and the agreed minimum duration | Pay the final salary balance and the paid-leave compensation |
| Name the replaced employee and their qualification in the contract | Do not terminate merely because the holder returns early | Do not keep the replacement in post after the return, unless a new contract is agreed |
And the rule that sums it all up: a replacement contract without a name is not a replacement contract, it is an open-ended one.