Thursday the 31st of December 2020 marked the end of the transition period following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union. An agreement was reached at the eleventh hour and it comes on top of a host of decrees. This has important consequences for British nationals working and residing on the French territory. As […]
France: Supreme Court tempers its Ban on the Production of Illicit Evidence in Court
A recent decision of the Court of Cassation of 25 November 2020, creates a surprising precedent on the topic of the validity of evidence. Evidence deemed to be unlawful under the law on information technology and civil liberties and which infringes on an employee’s personal life, may be admitted in court, provided that its production is indispensable, and no longer merely necessary for the exercise of the right to evidence, and that the infringement of the employee’s rights respecting his personal life, is strictly proportionate to the aim pursued
France: Legislation in response to the Pandemic: Staff Representation and Remote Work Framework
The second wave of the Covid19 pandemic has instigated legislation and regulatory action to help set a framework for businesses adapting to the crisis. The derogatory provisions authorising the use of remote meetings for staff representatives have been reinstated, the social partners finalised a draft national cross-industry agreement on remote work that outlines employers’ duties and the rights of remote workers.
France: Proof of overtime – Surprising new rules
The French Supreme Court has ruled that an employer who provided employees with timekeeping software implicitly accepts their performance of overtime. The court considered that the employer was thus informed of the hours worked, regardless of the absence of prior authorization from the employer for the performance of these overtime hours.
France: An employer can use evidence from an employee’s private Facebook account
The French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) considered that the right to evidence can justify that elements extracted from an employee’s private Facebook account be produced in court, provided that such production is indispensable to the exercise of the right of evidence and that the infringement is proportionate to the goal pursued
France: New decrees on Short Time Work for the pandemic
In light of the health situation and the closure and lockdown measures taken by the public authorities to combat the pandemic, the reform of the Short Time Work system initially planned to come into force on 1 November 2020 has been postponed until 1 January 2021
France: Remote work is practically mandatory
Injunctions to impose remote work have multiplied through declarations by the Minister of Labor, and instructions addressed by labor inspectorates to companies, told that implementation of telework is not left up their free choice nor that of employees, as long as the workstation or functions allow the work to be accomplished remotely/from home. However, the law is silent on this issue, except to recall the employer’s reinforced obligation to ensure their employee’s health and safety, which these days… can mean telling them to stay home
France: Proof of overtime – Surprising new rules
The French Supreme Court has ruled that an employer who provided employees with timekeeping software implicitly accepts their performance of overtime. The court considered that the employer was thus informed of the hours worked, regardless of the absence of prior authorization from the employer for the performance of these overtime hours.
France: An employer can use evidence from an employee’s private Facebook account
The French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) considered that the right to evidence can justify that elements extracted from an employee’s private Facebook account be produced in court, provided that such production is indispensable to the exercise of the right of evidence and that the infringement is proportionate to the goal pursued.
France: Transfers of Undertakings to more than one business
A recent surprising decision from the European Court of Justice offers new insight into the transfers of undertakings and their impact on employees. More specifically, we learn that if an employee works for a transferor on a full-time basis, he may end up being employed by two (or more) employers following the TUPE transfer on […]