A. EMPLOYER POLICY REQUIREMENTS
In order to be legally compliant, employers are required by legislation to create and implement a number of employment policies:
- company rules and regulations which include provisions about moral harassment, sexual harassment, health and safety rules, disciplinary rules;
- single risk assessment document (Document unique d’évaluation des risques professionnels) ;
- code of conduct concerning fraud and corruption prevention for large-scale companies.
Furthermore, it is recommended to implement the following policies:
- guidelines on the use of professional IT equipment;
- guidelines on the use of company cars if applicable;
- internal memorandum on the reimbursement of professional expenses.
Finally, a number of documents must be displayed on the company premises including:
- a copy of the industry collective bargaining agreement and a copy of all company collective agreements;
- the official employee register (registre unique du personnel);
- collective time schedules;
- the single risk assessment document;
- general professional health and safety guidelines (e.g. fire safety instructions, smoking ban in the Company premises etc.).
Flichy Grangé Avocats is able to assist you in drafting these documents, or adapting your own pre-existing documents to French employment law.
B) EMPLOYEE TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
Employers have various obligations in terms of training of their employees.
Firstly, employers must ensure the adaptation of their employees to the evolution of their job position.
In this context, employers must implement a training plan that should provide actions aiming at:
- ensuring the employees’ adaptation to their positions or linked to their evolution or continuous employment in the company;
- enhancing the employees’ qualifications.
Secondly, employers shall organize every two years an individual professional interview which is conducted with the relevant employees. Its purpose is to consider opportunities for the employees’ professional evolution and the possible trainings that could help.
Thirdly, each employee has an individual training account (compte personnel de formation). Each year, this account is automatically credited with training hours proportionately to the annual working time performed. Employers may also choose to credit supplementary training hours under certain conditions.
Employers participate in financing the employees’ training:
- directly by financing actions provided by the training plan;
- indirectly by paying a contribution to vocational training funds. The contribution rates vary depending on the size of the company.
Flichy Grangé Avocats is accredited by the French administration to provide trainings in labour law that can be followed by your HR managers in the framework of the above training requirements.
C) EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENTS
Unless a collective bargaining agreement provides otherwise, a full-time indefinite-term employment contract does not need to be concluded in writing. however, a written contract is necessary in some cases, for example with:
- a fixed-term contract;
- a part-time contract whether indefinite or fixed-term;
- a temporary contract;
- an apprenticeship employment contract or a “professionalization” employment contract.
In the absence of a written contract, these above contracts are irrevocably deemed to be indefinite-term contracts and oral part-time contracts are deemed full-time contracts.