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In a recent judgment, France’s Court of Cassation approved the dismissal of a senior executive who had maintained a hidden romantic relationship for more than four years with another employee. The executive had been granted various delegations of authority, including the authority to chair staff representative bodies. The employee held union and staff representation mandates. These positions were crucial to the outcome of the case. …
In France, actions taken by an employee in his or her personal life cannot generally be used by the employer to justify a disciplinary dismissal. Dismissal for personal speech or activity can only be justified if it constitutes a breach by the employee of an obligation arising from the employment contract. According to case law, a private conversation that is not intended to be made…
If an employer finds itself in financial difficulties that involve liquidation or restructuring, employee entitlements could be at risk. Compulsory insurance schemes in some jurisdictions can provide employees with important guarantees. When a company faces financial difficulties and enters a court-supervised liquidation or rescue procedure, employees may worry that not just their jobs but also their accrued entitlements are at risk. Some jurisdictions seek to…
What are the consequences for employers of the strengthening of whistleblower protection by the law and decree implementing the EU whistleblowing directive in France? An expanded definition of a whistleblower A March 2022 law, supplemented by an October 2022 decree, has reinforced the statutory protection of whistleblowers in France. By transposing the European Union whistleblowing directive, the legislator aimed to integrate whistleblowers into the social…
Europe is facing a cost-of-living crisis with spiralling food and fuel costs, in part as a result of the Ukraine war. In France, the minimum wage has been increased and a major package of measures designed to help employees deal with rising costs was published on 17 August 2022. Minimum wage On 1 August 2022, the French minimum wage (the salaire minimum interprofessionnel de croissance,…
The French Government announced wide-ranging containment measures for Covid-19 on 16 March 2020. It has also published an Emergency Bill that includes measures to mitigate and manage the impact of the pandemic. This article examines how they affect employers. On the evening of 16 March 2020, the French Government issued a decree setting out the new containment measures necessary to limit the spread of the covid-19 virus. For the time being, these containment measures do not limit…
When there is a high risk to employees or third parties, employers are entitled to prohibit the consumption of alcohol, including outside the workplace, for certain categories of workers, according to a recent judgement. In France, alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer, cider and perry are allowed in the workplace. Other alcoholic beverages are prohibited. In circumstances where the consumption of these authorised drinks is likely…
Giving employers a better view of the costs they must bear in the event of an unfair dismissal was the main argument of the French government when a scale was implemented by one of the so-called Macron orders dated 22 September 2017 (N°2017-1387). This scale, setting up minimum and maximum damages awards, should ultimately have a positive impact on employment, especially in small and medium-sized…
On 21 January 2019, the French Data Protection Authority (the ‘CNIL’) fined Google EUR 50 million for lack of transparency, inadequate information and failure to obtain valid consent for ad personalisation in violation of the GDPR. The violations of the GDPR noted by the CNIL The fine followed an investigation carried out by the CNIL, as a result of a joint complaint filed by the…
This article describes the current state of the law on age discrimination in the workplace in France, how claims are processed and the potential penalties for employers. French age discrimination legislation has been thrown into the spotlight in light of the most recent national measures on the employment of older workers (derived from a national inter-industry collective agreement and a government policy on the employment…
