Tensions on the workplace are not enough to discipline an employee
In the case here reviewed, the employer company held one of its employees – in charge of internal validation – responsible for his persistant disagreement …
The decree governing medical counter-inspection has finally been published
Long-awaited, the decree setting out the terms and conditions of the medical counter-inspection organised by the employer has finally come into force. Article L. 1226-1 …
Duty of Diligence: Towards Greater Corporate Responsibility in Europe
Adopted on 24 May 2024 by the Council of the European Union, the CS3D (Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive) introduces a Europe-wide duty of diligence. …
BE CAREFUL WHEN WARNING AN EMPLOYEE ABOUT MISCONDUCT
A core rule of French employment law is non bis in idem, meaning that an employee cannot be sanctioned twice for the same misconduct. In …
An employer who has not set up a reliable system for measuring the working time of their employees, can provide other evidence.
In France, the burden of proof in disputes relating to working time does not fall on one party in particular. In fact, article L. 3171-4 …
Beware of oral termination
Under French law, when an employer decides to terminate an employee, the employer must follow a specific procedure which involves an invitation to a preliminary …
Value-sharing: new obligations for companies
The new law on corporate value-sharing, which came into force on December 1, 2023, makes a number of changes to existing employee savings schemes (profit-sharing, …
The Council of the European Union adopts the IA Act
On May 21, the Council of the European Union, following the lead of the European Parliament, adopted the IA Act. The purpose of this Act …
Discrimination on the ground of disability and burden of proof
Under French law, the status of disabled worker creates a specific obligation for employers, requiring them to take “appropriate measures based on the needs of …
ACCIDENTS WHILE REMOTE – IT IS NOT ALWAYS WORK-RELATED
Case law has recently provided an interesting illustration of the failure to recognise the occupational nature of an accident that occurred during a day of …
Paid leave and sick leave: what the new law changes
The DDADUE Act (“Diverses Dispositions d’Adaptation au Droit de l’Union Européenne“) came into force on April 24, 2024. One of the goals of this new …
Conciliation agreement: case law confirms that the waiver of all claims is not limited to the termination of the employment contract
Under French law, the conciliation agreement – before the Employment Tribunal – constitutes a waiver by the parties of all claims relating to the termination …
Dismissal for gross misconduct: speed is of the essence
Case law According to a well-established case law, gross misconduct is defined as any act attributable to the employee that constitutes a breach of the …
Mutually agreed termination (“rupture conventionnelle”) : the termination agreement can be signed on the same day as the meeting
Under French law, the mutually agreed termination (“MTA”) of an employment contract allows for an amicable termination, to which both parties consent. There must first …
Unfair dismissal of an employee who made private racist comments via her work email address
In a decision dated March 6, 2024, the Labor Division of the French Supreme Court ruled that racist and xenophobic comments made in a private …
Falling while removing snow from a car is considered to be a work-related accident (“accident de trajet”)
In a recent case before the French Supreme Court, an employee had fallen and hurt himself while removing snow from his car in an outdoor …
The employer is not bound to compensate the employee for the periods between fixed-term contracts even if such contracts are recharacterized as one permanent contract
Facts Between 1996 and 2010, an employee was employed by a company as a part-time sales representative, under a series of fixed-term contracts. Some contracts …
Failure to comply with the daily rest period oligation: the employee suffers some harm per se
Since 2016, the French Supreme Court had given the impression that they were setting aside the notion of the ‘per se harm’ that would result …
From parental leave to birth leave: a fresh update
At his press conference a month ago, President Macron announced the transformation of parental leave (created in 1977) into birth leave. Parental leave is a …
Risks of using AI in the recruitment process
In recent years, AI has become a popular tool in the recruitment process. While it offers undeniable advantages, such as streamlining initial candidate interactions and …
Confidentiality and IT policies
As recently revealed in the press, Samsung employees – who were allowed to use ChatGPT to help fix a source code for some new software …
A HR guide to implementing new AI technologies in the company: compulsory consultations with the Social and Economic Committee
In the long term, it is likely that AI will be used on a daily basis by companies and will eventually replace our traditional working …
A HR guide to handle redundancies due to the arrival of artificial intelligence (AI)
According to World Economic Forum, about 14 million jobs will be lost worldwide in 2027 mainly due to artificial intelligence, along with significant changes in …
AI in the Workplace: the employer should be proactive
The use of AI is becoming increasingly common within companies, due to the productivity gains and automation possibilities it allows. The use of AI tools …
Employment law and AI: what precautions should be taken?
According to Goldman Sachs, ChatGPT is set to destroy 300 million jobs. Companies cannot ignore this new technology, which is supposed to significantly increase the …
A protected employee cannot be dismissed based on facts for which they have already been sanctioned
According to French law, certain categories of employees benefit from a specific protection against dismissal, as their employer must seek authorization from the French Labour …
NEW CASE LAW RE. EVIDENCE THAT MAY BE USED BEFORE EMPLOYMENT COURTS
In a decision dated December 22, 2023, the French Supreme Court ruled on the possibility for a party to a litigation to communicate evidence secured …
Proposed new EU Directive requiring companies to integrate human rights and environmental impact into their management systems
On February 23, 2022, the European Commission introduced a proposal for a directive on the companies’ duty of care in terms of sustainability. After much …
The employee must reimburse the fuel expenses supported by the employer when they are not linked to the performance of the employment contract
Background An employee used the fuel card provided by her employer while on holiday, even though the employer had only agreed to cover the fuel …
The infringment of the highway code cannot justify the employee’s disciplinary dismissal
In a decision dated October 4, 2023, the Labour Division of the French Supreme Court ruled on the validity of an employee’s dismissal for breaches …
A dispute between the parties at the time of signing a mutual termination agreement does not impair its validity
By signing a mutual termination agreement, the employer and the employee agree on the terms under which the employment contract shall be terminated (art. L.1237-11 …
Who bears the burden of proving the link between an employee reporting harassment and their dismissal?
According to article L.1152-2 and article L.1152-3 of the French Labour Code, any sanction (including a dismissal) against somebody who was a victim of harassment …
NON-COMPETE CLAUSE: THE EMPLOYEE MUST BE INFORMED OF THE DURATION FROM THE START
In this case, following the resignation of an employee, her former employer brought an action before the Employment Tribunal on the grounds that she had …
🚨 BACK TO BASICS: A NEW SERIES OF WEBINARS BY MGG LEGAL – Second episode: Hire people in France 🚨
MGG Legal is committed to offer to its clients (and more generally foreign business considering expanding to France) a wide range of training courses to …
Speak French!
The French Supreme Court, in a ruling dated October 11, 2023, strongly reiterates the fundamental nature of using the French language when establishing any norm …
WHAT IS A SENIOR EXECUTIVE UNDER FRENCH LAW?
The French Labour Code contains specific provisions regarding senior executives (“cadres dirigeants”) which are not subject to working time constraints such as a working time …
The total and definitive cessation of the company’s business constitutes in itself an economic reason for dismissal
The dismissal of an employee for economic reasons can be justified based on the company’s ceasing to operate, according to Article L.1233-3, 4° of the …
The French State Administrative Court provides clarification on the definition of the group of companies in the context of a job protection plan
On July 21, 2023, the French State Administrative Court (“Conseil d’Etat”) ruled on an important aspect concerning job protection plans (or “PSE” for “Plans de sauvegarde de …
Unfitness: Must an employer offer a higher-category job as a redeployment offer to the unfit employee?
In a case dated 21 July 2023, the French Conseil d’Etat had to answer the following question: as part of their redeployment efforts, is the …
“BACK TO BASICS”: A BRAND NEW SERIES OF WEBINARS BY MGG LEGAL – First episode: Navigating through the French Employment Tribunal system
MGG Legal is committed to offer to its clients a wide range of training courses to keep them abreast with legal news in Employment Law. …
Termination procedures and deadline to apply before preliminary meetings
The employer may terminate an employment contract and dismiss an employee for various reasons: for misconduct, for poor performance or for economic reasons or because …
MUTUAL TERMINATION AGREEMENT: THE FLAT-RATE CONTRIBUTION AMOUNTS TO 30% SINCE SEPTEMBER 1ST 2023
Until 31 August 2023, employers had to pay a flat-rate contribution amounting to 20% of the severance allowance paid to employees (up to a cap …
French must be used in documents provided to French employees
When it comes to the language in which the documents provided to French employees should be drafted, article L. 1321-6 of the French Labor Code …
Profit-sharing within the company: Bill transposing the Interprofessional National Collective Agreement 2023 adopted by the National Assembly with amendments
The so-called “Value Sharing” Bill, which purports to enact the provisions of the Interprofessional National Collective Agreement signed by the main trade unions on February …
REPRESENTATION OF THE EMPLOYER COMPANY WITHIN A GROUP: WHAT ARE THE APPLICABLE RULES FOR FRANCE?
In principle, an employer may not appoint a person who is not an employee or corporate officer of the company to implement disciplinary actions or …
Under French employment law, working more than 10 hours per day necessarily causes harm to the employee
According to the French Labour Code, the actual daily working time of the employee must not exceed 10 hours, except in case of derogation or …
TELEWORKING: WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS TO QUALIFY FOR AN OCCUPATIONAL ACCIDENT?
In two recent decisions, the Courts of Appeal of La Réunion and Amiens respectively excluded the qualification of occupational accidents for accidents that had occured …
Discrimination/Harassment situations in the company: a lawyer can lead the internal investigations
Under French employment law, employers have a legal obligation to prevent and address workplace harassment, discrimination and sexism. This includes the obligation to investigate any …
The burden of proof for overtime hours is shared
According to French law, the legal working hours for full-time employees are in principle 35 hours per week (Article L.3121-27 of the French Labour Code). …
THE FAILURE TO HOLD INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS TO MONITOR THE EMPLOYEE’S WORKLOAD RESULTS IN A BREACH OF THE EMPLOYER’S SAFETY OBLIGATION
In a case recently put to them, the French Supreme Court had to assess the impact of the employer’s failure to monitor the work and …
An employee convicted of sexual assault may be dismissed if his reinstatement objectively hinders the smooth running of the company
In principle, the employees’ private life is protected, both inside and outside the company. As a consequence, an act committed by an employee in his …
Protection of employee representatives
Staff representative employees have a special protective status which prohibits the employer from taking discriminatory measures against them. The protective status of employee representatives also …
WELCOME BONUS: EMPLOYER’S RIGHT TO REQUEST REIMBURSEMENT ENDORSED BY THE FRENCH LABOUR COURT
In a decision of May 11, 2023, the French Supreme Court confirmed the possibility for an employer to condition an employee’s full acquisition of a …
Managing your incentive schemes (3): How to deal with joiners and leavers?
As explained in our previous post, it is common practice for employers to award target-based bonuses to their employees. Eligibility to such a variable remuneration …
Independent workers: concrete case about how to avoid them becoming employees
In a previous article (see here), we were highlighting recommendations to companies in order to help them try and avoid independent workers being considered as …
MGG LEGAL : LEADING FIRM 2023
We are all grateful to our clients for their continued trust!
Managing your incentive schemes (2): Adapting your objectives during the year
As mentioned in our previous blog post on incentive schemes in France, it is settled case law that the objectives must be set at the …
MUTUAL TERMINATION AGREEMENT’S ALLOWANCES: A NEW FLAT-TAX WILL APPLY AS FROM SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2023
The social regime applicable to the allowance paid as part of an individual mutual termination agreement (MTA) currently differs depending on whether or not the …
Managing your incentive scheme (1): Set your objectives
This article is the first in a series of articles about how to manage your incentive schemes. It is quite common for employers to award …
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY: FRENCH EMPLOYMENT LAW REQUIREMENTS
In France, like in other countries, employers are required to put in place measures to safeguard their employees against health and safety hazards (articles L.4121-1 …
Webinar : How To Implement And Manage A Social Plan In France – A Guide For Foreign Employers
Retrouver le support du webinar “How To Implement And Manage A Social Plan In France : A Guide For Foreign Employers” animé par Loïc Héron …
How to implement and manage a social plan in France : a guide for foreign employers
While we are entering a period of economic uncertainty (with a war raging at our doorstep, a global inflation, a dramatic surge in the interest …
CYCLING TO WORK: WHERE DOES FRANCE STAND?
French employers are invited to facilitate cycling to work and have at their disposal several schemes aiming to financially encourage employees to use bikes to …
Don’t rely on Chat GPT to write your dismissal letter
With the arrival of Chat GPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot launched by OpenAI on November 30, 2022, many questioned the possibility of using this device …
While the United States authorities are proposing to ban certain restrictive covenants, what are the applicable rules in France?
Restrictive covenants are clauses in a contract which prohibit an employee from competing with their former employer for a certain period of time after the …
How to bring a claim before the French Employment Tribunal?
In France, Employment Tribunals (“Conseil de prud’hommes”) have jurisdiction over all disputes arising from an employment agreement (for example, termination of the contract, unpaid salaries), …
French working-time-in-days-schemes: eligible employees are those enjoying a genuine autonomy
In a recent decision of January 25th, 2023, the French Supreme Court gave new hints to help companies define whether or not an employee meets …
Mediation in French employment matters
Taking into account the increase in the timeframe of legal procedures, more and more employers and employees are deciding to try to resolve their dispute …
Are interns entitled to leave under French Employment law?
Young people could perform an internship within a company as part of their school or university curriculum. Subject to compliance with some legal conditions, these young …
Job abandonment and resignation presumption: a new French law has been passed
Job abandonment so far required the employer to take the initiative to terminate the employment contract through a disciplinary dismissal procedure. A new Act voted …
When public policy rules regarding working time and flexible work organization clash
The Directive 2003/88/EC of the European Parliament dated November 4, 2003 has unified the rules applicable throughout the European Union concerning the organization of working …
What are the legal requirements for making an employee redundant?
Regardless of the number of employees that are made redundant, companies must comply with a certain number of legal requirements. The following explanations do not …
Le contenu d’un agenda électronique installé sur un ordinateur professionnel est présumé professionnel
De jurisprudence constante, les fichiers créés par le salarié à l’aide de l’outil informatique mis à sa disposition par l’employeur pour les besoins de son …
Rappel : jusqu’au 31 décembre 2022, possibilité de déblocage des sommes issues de la participation et de l’intéressement portées sur un plan d’épargne
L’Urssaf rappelle que, afin d’améliorer leur rémunération et leur pouvoir d’achat, la loi portant mesures d’urgence pour la protection du pouvoir d’achat permet aux salariés …
Entitlement to leave under French employment law
In addition to holiday leave, under French employment law employees may also benefit from other types of leave. What is the entitlement to holiday leave? …
Employment within a group: the parent company may be considered joint employer along with the French subsidiary
In a recent decision of November 23, 2022, the French Supreme Court reminded of the risks pertaining to the involvment of a parent company in …
The right to disconnect
The right to disconnect has been enshrined in French legislation since 2017, with the so-called law “Loi Travail” – the Labour Act – dated August …
Job abandonment and resignation presumption: a new French law makes the link
Until now, when an employee abandoned their job, it generally required the employer to take the initiative to terminate the employee’s contract through a disciplinary …
The cost-of-living crisis: how can you help your employees?
The cost of energy has exploded in France, as in many countries, concerning electricity, gas, petrol etc. With inflation rising too, improving the purchasing power …
🚀 Expand to France – Register to our webinar 🎯 In 2021 – for the third successive year – France remained the most attractive country …
Setting up a Social and Economic Committee (“Comité Social et Economique” or “CSE”).
Under French law, a company has to set up a CSE when it employs at least 11 employees during 12 consecutive months. The company has …
The French Strike
According to French law, a strike is a collective and concerted cessation of work by the employees of one or more companies in order to …
Do I have to pay my employees if there is a transport strike and they cannot come to work?
Given the recent events happening in France, from petrol shortages to transport strikes, employers might wonder if they have to pay their employees who cannot …
Redeployment obligation : beware of the legal pitfalls!
An employee may only be dismissed for economic reasons “when all efforts at training and adaptation have been made and when the person concerned cannot …
How to be careful with independent workers so that they don’t become an employee: some dos and don’ts
Independent workers and employees are not subject to the same rules under French law. How can they be distinguished? The main criterion to distinguish a …
Harassment: the behavior of a manager which has been tolerated by the employer for several years cannot be a valid ground for dismissal
An employee who bullies a colleague can, in principle, be dismissed when it amounts to harassment according to the French Labour Code (see our previous …
How is harassment defined under French law?
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Harassment (But Were Afraid to Ask)
In a reduction-in-workforce, one individual redeployment opportunity may be offered to several employees impacted
In a decision dated May 11, 2022 (n°21-15250), the French Supreme Court again held very clearly that one same individual redeployment opportunity may end up …
Redundancies in France: how to characterize economic difficulties under French law?
Beware of the lapse between the period when economic difficulties can be substantiated and the date of the termination notice
What are the characteristics of collective redundancies in France?
What are the critical thresholds when it comes to collective redundancies? As soon as a company contemplates the termination of more than 1 employee for …
The equal pay principle in French law
Principle According to French Labor law, the employer must ensure equal pay for men and women when they perform the same work or work of equal value. …
Must French employees really work 35 hours per week?
It is well known that France has a 35-hour working week and that every hour performed in excess of that limit leads to overtime work …
Annual leave under French law
To protect health and safety, employees in France are entitled to a minimum of five weeks’ paid holiday a year. The rules for calculating and …
The Supreme Court provides (some) flexibility to fixed-term contracts
The Supreme Court provides (some) flexibility to fixed-term contracts
Election of the SEC: employees are not entitled to challenge the employer’s unilateral decision on separate establishments
Election of the SEC: employees are not entitled to challenge the employer’s unilateral decision on separate establishments
Redundancy of an unfit employee and redeployment obligation
Redundancy of an unfit employee and redeployment obligation
Part-time employment contracts: Overtime to be closely monitored to avoid the risk of characterizing a full-time contract
Part-time employment contracts: Overtime to be closely monitored to avoid the risk of characterizing a full-time contract
Setting-up and managing your business in France – 14 September 2021 at 2 PM (CET)
Setting-up and managing your business in France – 14 September 2021 at 2 PM (CET)
The right to disconnect at the time of expanding remote work
The right to disconnect at the time of expanding remote work
Exceptional bonus to increase the purchasing power
This bonus, known as the « Macron Bonus », initially introduced by the Act n°2018-1213 of December 24, 2018, allows companies to pay their employees a complementary income with an advantageous tax and social regime. The amended Finance Bill for 2021, adopted by Parliament on June 11, 2021, plans to extend this bonus as summarized in the attached document. Please note however that the official Act may be different from the current Bill eventually.
Mutually agreed terminations executed shortly before a social plan is launched: the French Supreme Court insists on the importance of informing the employee
Mutually agreed terminations executed shortly before a social plan is launched: the French Supreme Court insists on the importance of informing the employee
The internal regulations of the absorbed company are not enforceable against the new employer
The internal regulations of the absorbed company are not enforceable against the new employer
Redundancies and scope of the employer’s redeployment obligation : clarification from the French Supreme Court
Redundancies and scope of the employer’s redeployment obligation : clarification from the French Supreme Court
Harassment and internal investigation: can the investigation report be used in Court if the accused employee has not been heard?
Harassment and internal investigation: can the investigation report be used in Court if the accused employee has not been heard?
Managing a social plan in France: a brief guide for international groups considering reductions in workforce in France
Managing a social plan in France: a brief guide for international groups considering reductions in workforce in France
Potential change in the reimbursement of trial costs
Potential change in the reimbursement of trial costs
French Supreme Court, Labour Chamber, 17 February 2021, 19-18.149
French Supreme Court, Labour Chamber, 17 February 2021, 19-18.149
Sunday work consideration: the position of the French Supreme Court on the beneficiaries of specific consideration for exceptional work on Sundays
Sunday work consideration: the position of the French Supreme Court on the beneficiaries of specific consideration for exceptional work on Sundays
A settlement agreement drafted in general terms prevents the employee from requesting the enforcement of a non-compete obligation (and the payment of the associated compensation)
A settlement agreement drafted in general terms prevents the employee from requesting the enforcement of a non-compete obligation (and the payment of the associated compensation)
What’s new regarding equal pay rules in France?
What’s new regarding equal pay rules in France?
Useful guidelines on the use of electronic ballot in staff representatives’ elections
Useful guidelines on the use of electronic ballot in staff representatives’ elections
Days off granted to an employee under a flat-rate pay arrangement in days (“forfait jours”) that is held unlawful must be paid back
Days off granted to an employee under a flat-rate pay arrangement in days (“forfait jours”) that is held unlawful must be paid back
TERMINATION BY MUTUAL AGREEMENT – INSIGHTS ON SOME RECENT CASE LAW
Alexandra Frelat – Employment law lawyer with MGG Voltaire assisting foreign companies
Implementation of salary cuts: options available in France
Implementation of salary cuts: options available in France
By Loïc Héron and Maxime Kempf
Lockdown, chapter 2: checklist of the first HR measures to take
Lockdown, chapter 2: checklist of the first HR measures to take
2019-2020 Human Capital & Labor Law Corp ranking of the best law firms (LEADERS LEAGUE, intelligence Report & Directory series)
2019-2020 Human Capital & Labor Law Corp ranking of the best law firms (LEADERS LEAGUE, intelligence Report & Directory series)
MGG Voltaire is ranked TIER 3 in the LEGAL 500 Employment category for France and has been identified for its experienced know how in dealing with crisis management
MGG Voltaire is ranked TIER 3 in the LEGAL 500 Employment category for France and has been identified for its experienced know how in dealing with crisis management