French labor law

faces up to harsh realities

Labor in France is governed by what is known as the pyramid of standards. The foundation of this pyramid is the Labor Code. It is the common foundation for all companies, defining which rules are immutable and which can be negotiated—either directly with employees or as part of a collective agreement.

These negotiations lead to the second level of the pyramid: industry-wide collective bargaining agreements. They define the rules for a particular trade.

Next come company agreements, and finally the employment contract, which is ultimately the most detailed and individualized level of individual negotiation.

In the past, the higher up the pyramid you went, the more favorable the rules were for employees. Nowadays, there is latitude on most matters for company agreements to deviate from industry agreements, including in a less favorable manner, on the basis that the social partners closest to the ground are best aware of what the company and workers need, and that negotiation may involve making concessions on some issues in order to make progress on others.

Trial periods are part of the rules that apply to both fixed-term and permanent contracts. They allow both the employer and the employee to ensure that the position, profile, and expectations of both parties are truly compatible.

The duration of the trial period must be specified in the employment contract. It depends on the profile and collective bargaining agreements, but is currently relatively long. And very often, collective agreements allow for it to be renewed.

In this case, the employer must notify the employee in writing before the end of the trial period, with the employee’s consent. It is customary to give them a letter to sign with the words “bon pour accord” (good for agreement).

Let’s take the example of an executive profile, where there are significant recruitment challenges. The trial period is generally four months, unless otherwise specified in a collective bargaining agreement. If renewed, it can be extended to 8 months. Within eight months, the company is usually able to assess whether the person meets the requirements of the position.

Otherwise, the employer must simply give the employee notice of termination, with the length of the notice period determined by the employee’s length of service within the company.

Unlike in the case of dismissal, the employer is not required to hold a preliminary interview or justify their decision. Employers must simply ensure that they send the letter before the end of the trial period, either by hand or by registered mail.

If the legal notice period is not respected, the employer must pay compensation equal to the amount of wages and benefits that the employee would have received if they had worked until the end of the notice period, which is a maximum of one month.

The maximum working hours may be exceeded, with the labor inspectorate’s authorization, in the following cases:

• Work that must be performed within a specified time frame due to its nature, obligations imposed on the company, or commitments made by the company;
• Seasonal work;
• Work that involves increased activity on certain days of the week, month, or year.

During peak periods, companies can also increase their workforce by hiring seasonal workers, temporary workers, or workers on fixed-term contracts to cope with the temporary increase in activity.

In the event of a temporary downturn in business, certain measures are available, such as partial activity (more commonly known by its former name, partial unemployment), which allows businesses to reduce or suspend activity while compensating employees in part, with the government covering part of the cost.

It is worth noting that for cyclical activities, agreements on the organization of working time over the year can be concluded at the industry level, but also at the company level (whether or not there are trade unions). These agreements allow employees to work more during certain periods and less during others, while smoothing out monthly pay and only counting overtime at the end of the year.

Severance pay in France is relatively low. It is calculated on the basis of 1/4 of a month’s salary per year of service up to a maximum of 10 years of service, and 1/3 thereafter.

This does not represent a significant amount at the time of termination, with notice periods ranging from one to three months depending on the classification of the employee’s profile.

Of course, this may vary depending on the industry and collective bargaining agreements.

In cases of unfair dismissal, the Macron ordinances of 2017 established a scale to provide security for companies by setting minimum and maximum penalties.

For example, in a company with 11 or more employees, if a dismissal is deemed to be without real and serious cause, the former employee can expect to receive between 3 and 3.5 months’ salary if they had 2 years’ seniority at the time of dismissal, and between 3 and 20 months’ salary if they had more than 30 years’ seniority.

However, these scales do not apply if the dismissal is deemed “null and void,” i.e., in cases specifically provided for by law, such as discrimination, harassment, or dismissal during maternity leave or sick leave due to a work-related accident (except in cases of serious misconduct or where it is impossible to maintain the contract).

I know this is a rather persistent misconception among foreign companies, but there aren’t that many strikes in France.

In 17 years of practicing labor law alongside companies, I haven’t come across many. I even think that at the firm, we hear about three or four strikes per year at most across all the companies we monitor and in sectors that are often targeted.

You should also be aware that strikes are highly regulated in France, and that there is a distinction between the public and private sectors.

In the public sector or for those responsible for public services (hospitals, transportation, etc.), the law now requires advance notice with obligations to negotiate in an attempt to avoid strikes.

In the traditional private sector, there is no obligation to give advance notice of a strike. However, a strike requires a genuine collective demand.

The percentage of union membership in France in the private sector is extremely low compared to the rest of Europe. It is around 5 or 6%, which is really very little. But of course, you don’t have to be a union member to go on strike.