Please click here for our report on 2016’s social security rates in France.  If you have any queries on this please contact Jean-Marc Sainsard.…

In France notice of dismissal has to be given in writing, but it is not so simple as that.  The signatory to the notice must also have the appropriate authority, and that is a much smaller population than you might think.  This is not just an issue of form – getting this wrong can cost the employer dearly. Foreign companies with subsidiaries or branches in France should take particular care as the only people authorised…

An Order dated 2 April 2015 has formally defined “umbrella companies” and set out the conditions under which they may operate in France. New law in 2008 concerning the modernisation of the labour market had said that a national agreement could entrust a professional sector with the task of organising umbrella companies. However, certain provisions of the 2008 law were deemed unconstitutional by the Constitutional Council in April 2014. Consequently, Article 4 of Law No.…

Two recent cases from the French Courts are reviewed in this post, one a sensible relief and the other just frankly terrifying.     First, an employee with more courage than realism claimed that the obligation of confidentiality in his employment contract restricted his freedom to practise his profession, and was therefore void.  He was prepared nonetheless to accept that restriction gracefully if he were paid for it separately, i.e. over and above his salary.  This argument…

Certain occasions call for a celebratory drink in the workplace – a colleague departing, a deal gone well or perhaps the end of a hard week. Yet from now on employees in France might have to rethink the way they mark such events. On 3 July, the Journal Officiel published a Decree stating that it will authorise employers in France to prohibit or restrict the consumption of alcohol on the premises. The Decree allows employers…

As part of its push to simplify employment law and regulation, but using the word “simplicity” in its very loosest sense, the French Government has introduced new rules governing the use of part-time contracts. The key changes for French employers to note are that part-time employees must usually be offered a minimum of 24 hours’ work per week (which may be waived in certain circumstances) and that they are entitled to an increased rate of…

On 11 April 2014, we published an Alert concerning a new addendum to the SYNTEC National Collective Bargaining Agreement in France.  This change generated extensive worldwide media coverage, including reports that the agreement “involved a million French employees”, that working after 6pm “had become illegal” and that French employees were now “forced to switch off their phones” after this time, etc. As we flagged in our Alert, the new addendum does not mean that all…