Madame is too formal, well depends on the kind of work relationship too.

If you knew her well, then Chère Pauline; if not, Chère Madame.

A letter of resignation is a highly personal thing, I doubt it you will find inspiring models online.

Thanks for your reply. We all call our boss by her first name and say 'tu' not 'vous'.  Perhaps the best option is Chère Madame.

Claire

See examples if you google 'modele lettre de demission'. Keep it formal ie use vous. Standard practice is I believe to send it recommendé, or deliver by hand.

avoid google translate as the translation is absolutely nothing like french more like franglish in worse:(

you can pm me your letter in english with start and end date and whom it is addressed to and other relevant details and i'll do it for you.

It depends on why you leave... I would stick to something formal for such a letter ("Chère Madame..." finished by something like "Soyez assurés que ce fût pour moi un réel plaisir de travailler dans votre équipe. Je garderai de vous et de tous mes collègues un excellent souvenir"), but you can always add a hand written eprsonal note on a separate sheet  particular ("Chère Nadine, tu trouveras en annexe ma lettre de démission formelle. Je souhaite ici y ajouter ajouter, à titre plus personnel, à quel point j'ai apprécié travailler avec toi..." etc.).

If you deliver by hand, ask for a receipt! Registered mail would be your best option as you do not have to ask for anything, which might be embarrassing

Hello PLEASE DON'T write Chère Pauline or just Madame BUT...

Madame Pauline Bourbon...

Par la présente,....

Private message me if you need help...

Regards,

Medicis

HI,

Im OK with Nicolas and Medicis,

Try to find on google under Lettre de dimission or models de lettres de demission and you will find a lot of models and keep your dismiss formal by saying Madame Pauline BOURBON

good luck

Mohamed

Here is a question for the experts:

Does one ask for the "certificat de travail" and/or a letter of reference in the letter of resignation?  If so, what is the appropriate phrasing?  Thanks in advance for the responses.

We do not use names in French... "Madame," "Chère Madame" or Madame la directrice" (with a small "d") will be perfect. It all depends on the formality of the letter and the level of respect.

No, you do not have to as the "certificat de travai" is mandatory. Be aware though that your employer is not allowed to say anything negative. In the worst case this paper is down to a mere acknowledgment of the fact that you worked there from (date start) to (date end). Read it carefully, HR people tend to have their own ways of saying things.

If you do not receive one, ask for it. If you still do not receive it, ask in written, by registered mail if need be but be careful not to be too pushy and upset your employer.

Opps... "Madame la Directrice" takes a capital "D" as you are writing to her.

All details here (In French, of course )

Sorry, she must keep the formal style even if they are friends...

And yes, brighteyed, must write " Madame Pauline Bourbon " in this case as she know her for 4 years. ( Bourbon is an example, of course  )

You put her full name in address "Madame Pauline Bourbon" yes, but never, ever, start a letter with "Madame Pauline Bourbon..." which is, in French, plain bad taste. You might do that in German ("Sehr geehrte Frau Bourbon...") but not in French. Trust me. Where did you fin that??? The link you provided does not work. The proper way is definitely

Madame Pauline Bourbon
Directrice des resources humaines
A.C.M.E.
123456 Toonville

And start with

Madame, or Chère Madame if you want to give the letter a friendly touch.

@ Free, i din't put a linck...

The bad taste will be to give a friendly touch....

And it's RESSOURCES with * SS *

All depend on if Pauline Bourbon is her only boss ...

You're right on Madame BUT she can also write Madame Bourbon...

En vous remerciant,

recevez,Monsieur Free, mes respectueuses salutations.

Medicis.

For letters in Switzerland, you may refer to the Formules d'appel et de salutations of the Federal Chancellery. The proper way to address an individual (un particulier) is at the bottom of page 7.

Chère Medicis,

The hell with these words that do not spell the same way in French and in English. Yes, definitely "ressources humaines."

Veuillez croire, chère Médicis, en l'assurance de ma parfaite consédération.

Monsieur Free,

Merci pour le lien, mais, je n'en ai point besoin, étant de langue maternelle française...

Nous pourrions débattre de ce sujet AD VITA AETERNAM...

The important points to be mentioned in a resignation letter are: the date, the sender and addresse, the subject ("lettre de démission"), the date as from when the resignation shall become effective ("ma démission prendra effet au ...[date]") - please pay attention to the termination periods mentioned in priniciple in your employment agreement. The letter does not need to explain the reasons for the termination.

Sir:

This is to inform you that your link appears as gobbledegook...

Sincerely,

T.

Thank you for your clear instructions and very useful comments.

Claire

Thank you for your kindness and offer of help!  If I'm stuck I will pop my letter to you.

Claire

Hello Medicis,

I seem to remember this is how we would address persons we knew back home and I'm glad we can use this type of heading in Switzerland.

Thanks

Claire

Hello Mohamed,

Thanks for your reply. Will do some searching today.........hopefully with some results.

Claire

Hello Free

Your post is most interesting and I'm sure many members will find the enclosed most valuable!

Thanks

Claire

Hello Medicis

This is all getting very serious-yes she is my only boss and she is very nice..................oops am I allowed to say that?

Claire

Hi

I work in HR and I am french-speaker. It doesn't matter how you address the letter, you can say chère Pauline without problem. It depends on how you used to call your boss. Two lines could be enough but remain professional, you never know whether you will need them again in your future career, the world is very small. In your letter, you don't have to say why you are quitting, you are protected by the swiss labour law. By law, the date of reception by the employer and the period of notice count most. Your employer must receive the letter before the last open day of the month before the period of notice, either by registered mail either handed personally. If you send by mail, pay attention to the week-end days where mail may not be delivered.

What HR will do is to check you are respecting your period of notice or if you have signed non-solicitation agreeement etc...depending on where you work.

If you would like I can send you a template, just let me know.

Minh

Hello Minh,

Thank you, I have taken note of the important details and your offer of a template will be much appreciated.

Claire

Hi Claire

Here you go

Your name and address

                                                                       Par recommandé (if so)

                                                                       Your employer and address

                                                                       Genève, le x juin 2011

Chère X,

Depuis maintenant plus de X années que je travaille pour Y, j'ai pu (explain at least briefly what you employer brought to your career). J'ai grandement apprécié ces années au cours desquelles j'ai entretenu des relations très chaleureuses avec toi ainsi qu'avec mes collègues.

C'est avec regret que je te remets ma lettre de démission. A cet effet je t'informe que mon dernier jour de travail sera le 31 août 2011, respectant ainsi mon délai de préavis de 2 mois (if you have any doubt on how to count your period of notice, let me know. You'll also need to check with HR your vacation days left if paid or taken before you leave).

Je te remercie de la confiance que tu m'as toujours témoigné.

Your signature

My advice : inform your manager first and remain professional. They are not allowed to ask you where you are going or why you are leaving. If you would like to say something, say sth like that : explore my career opportunities, always sth related to the work, nothing personal except to HR. In any case, HR is legally bound to data protection.

Hello Minh,

Thank you again for your kindness and template!  I feel much more at ease and hopefully things will go to plan.

Merci beaucoup!

Claire

A pleasure!

PS : delivered by hand : "remis en mains propres" in French.

Good luck!

Minh

Er, um, in my experience, it's always more appropriate to use the "vous" formulation rather than "tu" especially in a business letter...

The whole vous/tu thing reminds me of this article from the archives of the Economist...

http://www.economist.com/node/101546