Actance Tribune
What's NEW under French Employment Law?
N° 4 – April 11th, 2022
Whistle-blowers: publication of two laws implementing the European directive
A whistle-blower is an employee who reveals or reports facts or information that constitutes a breach of legal requirements or a significant risk to the public interest.
Two laws of March 21st, 2022 (n°2022-400 and 2022-104) have been published and introduce significant changes to the applicable legal framework to encourage the use of the system, especially the following:
- The conditions for benefiting from the whistle-blower regime are broadened to protect more situations;
- The protection of whistle-blowers is extended to anyone who has helped him to report and disclose information (relatives, colleagues, trade unions, associations, etc.);
- The reporting system is simplified: previously, whistle-blowers first had to file an internal report (to their line manager) then, if no response was received within a reasonable time, they could refer to a public authority (prefect, court, professional order). As of now, whistle-blowers can opt for internal or external reporting.
Public reporting (media) remains the last resort.
Focus: companies with at least 50 employees are required to set up internal procedures for professional alerts. It is therefore essential to update these procedures with regard to the new laws as from their application date (i.e. September 1st, 2022).
The whistle-blower status and regime are provided for by the French Labour Code. A whistle-blower who fulfils all the conditions set out in the applicable provisions is entitled to :
- confidentiality of his identity, of the persons involved and of the facts that caused the alert during the reporting procedure;
- protection against any reprisals (sanctions, dismissal, discrimination, etc.);
- criminal immunity if the information disclosed infringe professional secrecy (under certain conditions).
The two aforementioned laws of March 21st, 2022 aim to implement the European directive adopted on October 23rd, 2019 (n°2019/1937) in order to unify the European Union States’ legislation in this field.
As mentioned, these provisions will enter into force on September, 1st 2022, being specified that certain provisions will be subsequently supplemented by decree.
Implementation of a single National Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) within the Metallurgy sector
Under French law, labour relations are governed by:
- the Labour Code;
- CBAs which adapt certain rules of the Labour Code to specific situations in the sector of activity concerned and which apply to companies within the same industry.
The Metallurgy CBA is one of the most widely applied. It covers 57% of jobs in industry (1.6 million employees), that is, approximately 6% of French employees.
However, the application of the current agreement is complex, particularly because of the articulation between national and regional provisions.
On February 7th, 2022, Unions of the Metallurgy sector signed a new National CBA applicable as from January 1st, 2024.
As of January 1st, 2024, all of these provisions will be merged into a single CBA.
This is a real revolution aiming to simplify the applicable texts.
There are just over 18 months left to analyse the consequences of the new system on social practices, to mobilise managers on the evolution of team management, adapt HR policies, negotiate new agreements with trade unions and communicate with employees.
The structuring projects particularly concern:
- classification and conventional minimum wages;
- complementary social protection (from January 1st, 2023);
- the adaptation of contractual as well as company provisions regarding the new CBA.
Our firm is available to assist these companies and provide support covering all of these aspects.
A CBA is a written and negotiated agreement between employees trade unions and employers’ organization in a specific sector of activity, such as Metallurgy.
It is designed to provide for more favourable provisions than law, which must then apply to all company employees (severance pay, bonuses, employment guarantees in the event of illness, etc.).
The procedure before the French Labour Court
The French Labour Court’s mission is to resolve disputes between an employee and their employer or concerning particular issues (salary, paid leave, a disputed disciplinary procedure or dismissal, etc.).
Unlike other jurisdictions, the French Labour Court is not made up of professional judges but of lay counsellors (two salaried counsellors and two employer counsellors).
The Court of Appeal and the French Supreme Court, on the other hand, are composed with professional judges.
The Labour Court and the Court of Appeal refer to facts to justify their decision. On the contrary, the French Supreme Court does not re-examine the facts that let to the litigation but settles questions related to the interpretation of the law.