Abstract
How are dismissals for personal reasons handled in terms of unemployment? There are now thrice as many dismissals for this reason as for redundancy in France. What accounts for this? What does this breach of the employment contract tell us, in particular about white collars and about how organizations operate? Are dismissals for personal reasons being made in place of preretirement, since government aid for the early withdrawal of wager-earners from the workforce is drying up? Sixty eye-witness accounts bring to light the tactics adopted by employers, wage-earners and labor unions. The process of a dismissal for personal reasons is often staged so as to comply with the law while dodging it, the individual and collective levels being played off against each other. It is time to better regulate how labor courts and organizations deal with the exit of white collars from the labor force if a breach of contract is to be avoided that is opaque and unfair.