Employment in France 2006

Recent employment developments

Chronology and summary of legislative change

• Legislation pending

Section 1 – Organisations

• Trade unions
• Employers’ organisations
• Sectoral employers’ organisations
• The Labour Ministry
  Official publications
• The National Institute of Statistics
• Supplementary pension schemes
• Other organisations
  National Employment Agency
  Council for Employment, Income and Social Cohesion
  Equality Commission
• Employment tribunals and legal procedures

Section 2 – Commencement of employment

• Work and residence permits
• Official notification and workforce consultation
• Anti-discrimination provisions on hiring
• Finding the applicant
  Application documents
  Poaching
  The state placement system
  APEC
  Recruitment agencies
• Temporary work agencies
• Executive recruitment consultants
• The internet, press and other media
• Employment incentives
• Apprenticeships
• Training contracts and employment programmes
• Selection procedures
  Privacy
• Data protection
  Biometric data
  Whistleblowing
  Data protection and recruitment
• Medical examinations
• Graduate recruitment
• Work placements

Section 3 – Contracts of employment

• The contract of employment
  Types of employee
  Form of contract
• Permanent contract
• Temporary and fixed-term contracts
  Fixed-term contract
  Temporary work contract
• ‘New recruit’ contracts
• Part-time contracts
  Intermittent part-time contracts
• Probationary periods
• Discrimination
  HALDE Equality Commission
  Workplace diversity
  Sex equality
  2004 national agreement on sex equality and gender diversity
  2006 Equal Pay Law
  Harassment and bullying
• Disability at work
• Rights and duties under the employment contract
  Exclusivity agreement
  Non-compete clauses
  Employee inventions
  Data protection
• Transfer of undertakings

Section 4 – Termination of contract

• Introduction
  Employment monitoring
• Grounds for termination of contract
• Dismissal for non-economic reasons
  Summary dismissal
  Dismissal with notice
• Mandatory disciplinary procedures
• Termination procedures
• Individual dismissal on non-economic grounds
• Termination by mutual agreement
  ‘Transactional payment’
• Termination on economic grounds
  Termination of contract on economic grounds – definition
  Redeployment requirements
• Individual redundancy
• Collective dismissals – selection criteria
• Termination of fewer than 10 employees over 30 days
  Prior consultation with workplace representatives
  Notifying the Labour Inspectorate
• Termination of 10 or more employees over 30 days
  Prior consultation with workforce representatives
• Redundancies and recovery plans or liquidation
• Plans to safeguard employment
  Regional reinvestment – 2005 changes
• Alternative employment
• State schemes to avoid redundancies
• State early retirement scheme
  Sectoral schemes
• Deterring redundancy of older staff: the ‘Delalande contribution’
• Protected employees
• Termination of executives
• Short time working and temporary stoppages
  Minimum monthly pay
• Notice periods
  Statutory entitlement for employees
  Agreed notice periods
• Severance payments
  Statutory entitlement
  Agreed severance payments
  Holiday compensation payments
  Payment in lieu of notice
• Infringement of redundancy procedures
• Unfair dismissal and penalties
  Individual dismissal on non-economic grounds
• Unemployment benefit
  ‘Solidarity benefits’
  ‘Return to work’ bonus
• Resignation
• Final procedures

Section 5 – Industrial relations and collective bargaining

• Collective bargaining
  Collective bargaining reform
• Government intervention in pay bargaining
• Levels of bargaining
• Recent bargaining trends
• Validity and duration of agreements
• Extension of collective agreements
  Enlargement
• Workers posted to France
• Workplace employee representation
  Staff representatives
  Trade union sections
  Works committees
  Unitary employee representation
  Health and safety committees
• European Works Councils
• Industrial conflict: conciliation, mediation and arbitration
  Conflict resolution

Section 6 – Pay and benefits

• Statutory national minimum wage (SMIC)
  SMIC and pay bargaining
• The law on pay
• Equal pay and treatment
  Equality at Work Law 2001
  2006 Equal Pay Law
• Job grading and basic pay
  Industry minimum rates
  Industry minima and company-level pay
  Merit pay
  Executive pay
• Industry example: agreed pay levels in metalworking
• Supplements and bonuses
  Thirteenth month payments
  Length of service increments
  Travel allowances
  Incidence of bonuses
• Holiday pay
• Overtime rates
• Shift and night work premia
• Sick pay and sickness benefit
  Sickness benefit
  Sick pay
• Profit sharing and savings plans
  Profit-sharing
  Company savings schemes
  ‘Salary savings’ schemes
• Employee share plans and share options
  Employee share plans
  Employee shareholding
  Share options
  Business creation share options

Section 7 – Working time

• Weekly and daily hours of work
  Statutory 35-hour working week
  Organisation of working time
  On-call working
  Time-banking
• Part-time work
• Managers’ working time
• Working time flexibility
• Daily and weekly rest
• Overtime working
  Collective agreements
• Sunday working
• Night work
• Annual holidays
• Public holidays
• Statutory and agreed time off rights
  Maternity and adoption leave
  Paternity leave
  Parental leave
  Family reasons
  Training
  Retraining leave
  Employee representation
  Sabbatical leave

Section 8 – Retirement and pensions

• Retirement and early retirement
  2003 Pension Reform Law
  Basic state pension scheme
  Supplementary pension schemes
• Supplementary company and personal pensions
• Early retirement
  Sectoral early retirement schemes

Section 9 – Social insurance and other labour costs

• Social security and other contributions
  Contribution rates and ceilings
• Supplementary pension schemes
• Financing the works committee

Appendices

1. Prices
   Consumer Price Increases
   Inflation forecasts
   Comparative price levels
2. Increases in hourly wage rates
3. Personal income tax
   Company cars
4. Labour costs in international comparison
5. Guidance notes for employment contracts
6. Timelines for statutory redundancy procedures

Main sources and references

Index