Lawyers International Network for Employees and Executives (LINEE)

Karen Durand-Hakim

Using Mediation to Resolve French Workplace Harassment Disputes

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Dismissal, vexatious measures, aggressiveness, denigration, unjustified criticism, and bullying are all situations that can be considered moral harassment in a French workplace.

But how can you be sure? What may start as a simple disagreement between colleagues or an employee and their superior can escalate into real acts of psychological harassment. The absence of dialogue or poor communication is often one of the causes of these abuses.

If that happens, how can you find the strength to speak out without fear of retaliation or losing your job? What evidence should you show to prove it? Who can you turn to? These are all questions that an employee subjected to workplace harassment frequently asks themselves. Read more.

Paternity Leave in France: Extended Time for Fathers of Newborns

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In France, fathers of newborn infants were granted paid leave for the birth of a child 20 years ago; previously, the law entitled them only to three days’ leave financed by their employer.

Since 2002, fathers have been entitled to employer-funded paid time-off. Paternity and childcare leave applies to biological fathers, regardless of their family situation, or employees (“second parents”) who live with the mother of a newborn child whose biological father does not request such leave. During this period, the French social security system compensates the employee and his employment contract is suspended.

Paid Time Off

For the past 20 years, paternity leave was limited to 11 calendar days or 18 days for multiple births, while the three days of employer-funded leave remained unchanged. Effective July 1, 2021, paid time-off increased from 11 to 25 calendar days for a single birth on or after that date and from 18 to 32 days for multiple births. Read more.

What Evidence Will French Labor Courts Accept as Proof in Employment Disputes?

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When lawsuits over employment disputes go to trial in France’s Labor Court trials, the parties usually submit proof to prosecute or defend the allegations. But by what standard do the Labor Courts determine the admissibility of the evidence presented?

Under French law, the principle is that all evidence in civil trials is acceptable. However, that assumes that the evidence is lawful, meaning it must have been obtained and used fairly at all stages. If a party cannot demonstrate to the Court that it collected and used the evidence lawfully, the evidence will be ruled inadmissible from the proceedings.

Evidence obtained clandestinely or by invading an employee’s privacy often come under scrutiny. Read more.

Moving to France: Top 10 Points to Guide You on Your Journey

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Moving to a new country can be a whirlwind experience, with so many different issues to consider. To help with that process, below are ten key points relating to your employment if you are thinking of, or are in the process of, moving to France to work.

Ensure Your Contract of Employment Is Written

  1. Most employees are legally entitled to a written statement of the main terms and conditions of employment. When moving to France, you should seek to finalize all contractual terms before you agree to move. It is important to try to agree on practical terms such as rental costs, travel allowances, children’s education, and other specific provisions – and to have them all set out in your contract of employment. Your contract should also set out what will happen when your contract terminates. Will you return to your home country and have all relocation costs covered? Will you return to your previous job? Will you be made redundant? This should be carefully considered and clearly set out in your contract of employment.

Check If Your Contract Is Subject to a Collective Bargaining Agreement

  1. It is very important to check if a collective bargaining agreement applies to your contract as the rules laid down by the Labor Code and the Collective Bargaining Agreement which applies in the company govern the drafting of the employment contract and in particular clauses such as wages and benefits, status and classification.
  2. Regarding wages and benefits, it is important to check if the employer is in compliance with the minimum wage requirements and if there are employee savings schemes in the company such as incentives, profit-sharing, company savings plans.

Check the Validity of Some Specific Clauses

  1. Even if you don’t think about it yet, you will have to leave your job one day. That is why you should read each of the clauses of your employment contract and check if it contains a non-competition clause. This does not have any effect during the contractual relationship. But it produces them on the occasion of the termination of your contract and not the least! By signing an employment contract containing a non-competition clause, you undertake, when you leave, not to engage in a new activity competing with that of the company. This clause, therefore, minimizes your chances of finding a job. In France, there are rules that govern the validity of a non-compete clause (especially, the employer must pay a non-compete allowance. This indemnity can be subject to negotiation before the signature of the employment contract).
  2. Your employment contract also sets your working hours. Your employment contract may indicate that you are subject to or deviate from the collective working time and practice individualized working hours. Flat-rate pay agreement covering days worked or hourly clauses may also be proposed to you and, under these conditions, you do not have to comply with collective working hours. In any case, it is necessary to pay particular attention to the drafting of this clause.
  3. The mention of the place of work in your contract is for information purposes only, unless it is stipulated in your contract, by a clear and precise clause, that you will perform your work exclusively in that place. Otherwise, you may work in another workplace. Clauses relating to mobility can be drafted also and the French Labor Code does not validate them all. Particular care should be taken regarding this provision.

Understand Your Protection from Dismissal and Your Obligations from Resignation

  1. An employer can only dismiss an employee for a real and serious cause or economic grounds. If the dismissal is an unfair dismissal, you’ll be entitled to damages calculated in consideration of your seniority in the company.
  2. If you decide to resign, be aware that there is a notice period that you have to comply with, which varies according to the applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement. If you do not comply with it, you may be liable to pay damages to your employer.

Understand How Social Protection and Taxation Works

  1. Employees must pay tax on their income and it is deducted at source by the employer. If you are not a tax resident in France, you have to refer to the applicable international tax treaty.
  2. A foreign employee who works and resides in France is, in principle, subject to French social protection legislation, regardless of his nationality and the place of establishment of his employer. If you are seconded to France, you can, however, remain affiliated to the social security system of your country of origin if there is a social security agreement between your country and France. In any case, it is better to check the validity of your employment contract with a professional.

Karen Durand-Hakim
Attorney at Law

In France, Is a Driver or a Delivery Person Paid Via a Digital Platform Considered an Employee of That Company?

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As the “gig economy” spans the globe and more people earn money through online services and app-based enterprises, the distinction between independent contractor and employee is becoming less clear. We look at cases in France that spotlight the issue.

Act I – Take Eat Easy

take_eat_easy_delivery
Photo Credit: LP/Jean Nicholas Guillo

In November 2018, the French Supreme Court (Cour de Cassation) determined for the first time whether an employment contract existed between a deliveryman and Take Eat Easy, a company with a web platform and smartphone application that connects restaurants and customers. Bicycle couriers pick up the meals from local restaurants and deliver them to the customers that ordered them online. A delivery person alleged he was an employee of Take Eat Easy and brought an action before the French Labor Court (Conseil de Prud’hommes) to claim employment benefits.

The French Labor Court and later the French Appeals Court (Cour d’Appel) ruled that no employment contract existed and that the delivery person was not an employee. The case was then appealed to the FrenchSupreme Court, which looked at two important factors. Read more.