The Conseil de Prud'hommes (labour tribunal, literally "council of skilled workers") is a specialised French court with jurisdiction over individual disputes arising from employment and apprenticeship contracts in the private sector. Each tribunal is composed of an equal number of conseillers prud'homaux (lay judges) elected by employers and employees respectively, making it a paritaire (bipartite) institution. Public sector employment disputes fall outside its jurisdiction.
Typical claims include unfair dismissal (licenciement sans cause réelle et sérieuse), unpaid wages and overtime, discrimination, harassment, non-payment of notice or severance, and reclassification of a CDD as a CDI. Before a case proceeds to a full hearing, parties are required to attend a conciliation stage (bureau de conciliation et d'orientation) where a settlement is attempted. If conciliation fails, the matter proceeds to the bureau de jugement. If the prud'homal panel reaches a tie, a professional judge (juge départiteur) casts the deciding vote.
Awards for unfair dismissal are now subject to the barème Macron scale, which caps compensation based on length of service, from a minimum of one month's salary for employees with less than one year's service up to a maximum of 20 months' salary for those with 29 or more years. For employers operating in France, understanding the prud'homal process and associated litigation costs is essential for managing HR risk.