1. Brief Description of Anti-Discrimination Laws The principle of non-discrimination is a core aspect of French Labour law. The principle of non-discrimination has constitutional value, by virtue of the Preamble to the Constitution of 1946 that prohibits discrimination with regard to criteria of sex, race, belief and trade union activity, and of the current Constitution […]
How to Hire a Foreign Employee in France
1. Employees’ Rights a. Scope of the automatic transfer In France, an employee cannot object to a transfer of undertaking as the transfer is operated automatically. A refusal could constitute grounds for dismissal for disciplinary reasons. The automatic transfer concerns any kind of employment contract (fixed-term contracts, trial period contracts, suspended contracts for illness, etc.). […]
1. Brief Description of Employees’ and Employers’ Organizations The French trade union movement is one of the weakest in Europe in terms of headcount. Only 8% of employees are members of a trade union. All trade unions (at the company, at the branch and at the national levels) have to demonstrate their representativeness by complying […]
1. Minimum Requirements Employment contracts are generally not required to be written, but certain forms of employment contract should be in writing (notably fixed-term contracts, part-time contracts and temporary employment contracts). Fixed-term contracts should contain the same information as indefinite-term contracts and, in addition, fixed-term contracts should specify: The reason why the company is using […]
French law offers no explicit statutory framework for handling background checks, but contains provisions concerning admissible acquisition of data relating to applicants. 1. General legal framework on background checks when hiring The employer can only collect information about candidates, which facilitates the assessment of their professional skills with regard to the position that is offered. […]
1. Definition of Restrictive Covenants Post-termination restrictive covenants are fairly common in French employment contracts, especially for senior employees or those with access to confidential information, senior responsibilities or contact with the clientele. In principle, restrictive covenants must be justified by the nature of the duties to be performed, and proportionate to the aim that […]
1. Can the employer restrict the employee’s use of Internet and social media during working hours? No specific French employment law provisions currently address issues raised by employees’ social media use. Then, employers can set out the general conditions of use and restrict access to the Internet in the workplace but they have to be […]
1. Legal Framework French social protection is organized in four levels: Social Security which provides the basic risk cover “illness / maternity / disability / death”, “occupational accidents / occupational diseases”, “elderly” and “family.” It is composed of various schemes involving the insured according to their professional activities. Complementary plans which provide additional coverage to […]
1. Grounds for Termination In the case of an indefinite-term employment contract, there should be real and serious grounds for dismissal. There are two types of valid grounds: personal grounds (employee performance) and economic grounds. 2. Collective Dismissals a. Common rules The common rules that apply to collective dismissal procedures are: Order of dismissals, Redeployment […]
1. Minimum Working Conditions Employers and employees are free to negotiate the terms and conditions of their employment relationship. However, employees have various minimum rights under the law, regardless of any contrary language in their employment agreement. These minimum working conditions are set forth in the French Labour Code and the applicable Collective Agreement, among […]
