Employers must offer all employees private health insurance (mutual) that supplements the health insurance reimbursements of the French social security. The amounts are determined by the management of the respective collective agreement (CBA). The end of the probationary period has, of course, given rise to various types of litigation. The Labour Chamber of the Court of Cassation had already been asked to decide how to apply the provisions of the collective agreements in this regard. On April 11, 2014, we published an alert for a new addendum to the SYNTEC National Collective Agreement in France. This shift led to wide global media coverage, including reports that the deal “affected a million French workers,” that work had “become illegal” after 6 p.m..m and that French workers were now “forced to turn off their phones” after that time, etc. The question of the effective termination of the contract was not resolved with certainty, as the Labour Division of the Court of Cassation relied solely on the fact that the worker had been exempted from all activity in order to assess the lawfulness of the dismissal. Could companies assume that the employment contract ends at the latest at the end of the trial period and pay only compensation for the “notice period” provided for in the applicable collective agreement that goes beyond the “notice period” provided for by law, which would have the effect of depriving the worker of certain rights, or should they instead regard this period as the notice period applicable to dismissals? The question remains open. The Labour Chamber of the Court of Cassation took care to put the words “notice period” in quotation marks. In deciding that the company was entitled to extend the duration of the employment contract – provided that this contract was not processed after the end of the trial period – the Labour Chamber of the Court of Cassation seemed to distinguish between the “notice period” provided for by law and the notice periods provided for in collective agreements. Therefore, the probationary period – which is optional – could be provided for either in the employment contract itself or in the applicable collective agreement. For a long time, a number of collective agreements contained specific rules for the extension and termination of the trial period.
Severance pay is paid as a fraction of employees` salaries, depending on seniority (at least eight months` stature). Depending on the nature of the applicable agreement and the applicable cost-benefit agreement, additional benefits may apply. The Court of Cassation had established the principle that, in the absence of an express indication in the applicable collective agreement, the duration of the period of notice provided for in that agreement must not run within the trial period or expire before the expiry of that period (Arbeitskammer der Cour de cassation, 31 October 1989, Nos. 86-43.894 and 11 October 2000, No. 98-45.170). These trial periods may be extended if the extension is approved by a sectoral collective agreement and the possibility of renewal is expressly provided for in the employment contract. In case of extension, the trial period for each of the above categories may not exceed 4, 6 or 8 months (Article L.1221-21 of the French Labour Code). In a previous newsletter, we informed you that the employers` union Syntec had announced the opening of negotiations between the employers` and employees` unions on the signing of an amendment to the existing agreement on working time that would guarantee the use of day packages. Although not mandatory, some employment contracts or collective agreements may include “bonus plans” such as 13th month salary, year-end bonuses or performance-based bonuses. For employees working in companies with more than 50 employees, the French Labor Code requires the negotiation of a profit-sharing plan as part of the collective agreement.
Negotiators recently reached an agreement that has been extended and now applies to the company`s businesses. Companies in the employment and employment sector subject to the SYNTEC collective agreement should welcome a recent decision by the Court of Cassation to end trial periods Some technology companies give their employees the choice of Mac or Windows hardware when they join the company. France has a very generous public holiday and RTT (Reduction of working time) aid. However, some tech companies surpass this with up to 10 extra days off or unlimited free time. Employees who are at high risk in certain industries, pregnant employees and those returning from a long illness (30 days or more) will require a more thorough medical examination. The law also introduced a “notice period” (i.e. a notice period that must take place during the probationary period), which applies in the event that the employee or employer terminates the probationary period. The duration of such a notice period depends on (i) whether the dismissal is at the initiative of the employee or employer and (ii) the length of time the dismissed employee is within the company.
Article L.1221-25 of the French Labour Code expressly provides that “the trial period, including the extension, may not be extended by the duration of the `notice period`”. This time recording system must also allow the employee to send a “warning” to the employer in case of unusual difficulties. The employer must then organize a meeting with the employee within 8 days of the “alert” to find solutions that must be recorded in writing. .