In membership terms the French trade union movement is one of the weakest in Europe with only 11% of employees in unions. It is divided into a number of rival confederations, competing for membership. (The main confederations are the CGT, CFDT, FO, CFTC and CFE-CGC.) But despite low membership and apparent division, French trade unions have strong support in elections for employee representatives and have been able to mobilise French workers to great effect.

Estimates from Dares, the research and statistical section of the French Ministry of Labour indicate that in 2016 10.8% of French employees were union members. With almost 25 million employees in France, including both the public and private sectors, this means that there were some 2.7 million trade unionists in employment at that time.[1] In addition, the unions have a number of unemployed and retired members, who in 2004 made up a fifth of total trade union membership, according to another Dares study.[2]

Historically, since the late 1940s, there have been five main union confederations with membership across the whole of the economy. They are the CGT, CFDT, CGT-FO (better known as FO), the CFTC and the CFE-CGC. The political positions of the five confederations are set out in more detail below, but in broad terms the CGT can be seen as generally more militant; the CFDT is more moderate; FO contains a number of political currents; and the CFTC is the Christian confederation; while the CFE-CGC primarily represents professional and managerial employees.

For many years, these five were all considered "representative" at national level, without being required to demonstrate a specific level of support. This nationally “representative” status automatically gave them rights to negotiate and to nominate candidates for elections (for the CFE-CGC this only applied in respect of professional and managerial staff). There were also other union groupings, such as the FSU, UNSA and Solidaires. They had significant influence, but they did not have the legal status of the five “representative” confederations, although in specific cases they were able ask a court to accord them “representative” status.

However, this situation, which after 1966 remained unaltered for more than 40 years, changed in 2008, when new criteria for determining whether a union is representative in the private sector at national, industry and company level, were introduced. For the first time, these included the requirement to have at least a set level of support from employees in elections for representational structures at the workplace (for details see section on workplace representation). Additionally, in companies with 10 employees or fewer, where these structures do not exist, workers have been able to vote for the unions they favour in regional elections every four years, and there have been separate elections for the small number of employees in agriculture.

The 2008 law requires a union to win at least 10% of the votes at company level to be considered representative at company level, 8% of the votes at industry level to be considered representative at industry level, and 8% of the votes at national level to be considered representative at national level. However, the votes to be used as the basis of these calculations are the votes in the first round of the elections, when only unions can nominate candidates. Only if less than half those eligible fail to vote for the union-nominated candidates is there a second round in which non-union candidates can also stand.

The results of the first test of the representativeness of unions under these rules were announced in March 2013, and all five of the existing nationally representative union confederations cleared the 8% hurdle. The CGT came top of the poll, followed by the CFDT, FO, the CFE-CGC and the CFTC in that order. The smaller confederations failed to get the necessary 8% at national level, although some did achieve it in a number of industries.

In 2017, the second round of results was announced, and again all five traditionally representative confederations gained more than 8% of the national votes and so maintained their national representative status. However, there was an important change in the order, with the CGT losing its top position to the CFDT. The figures published in April 2017 show that the CFDT had the support of 26.4% of employees voting, compared with 24.8% for the CGT, 15.6% for FO, 10.7% for CFE-CGC and 9.5% for the CFTC. The smaller confederations again failed to get the necessary 8% support to become nationally representative, with UNSA gaining 5.4% of the votes and Solidaires 3.5%. Other union groupings got a total of 4.0%. The overall turnout in the elections, which cover company level elections from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2016, was 42.8%.

There is considerable rivalry between the main confederations, though the reasons for the differences are not always clear. There can also be a gap between the political positions put forward by the leadership and those supported by the membership.

Among the three largest confederations, the CFDT has generally taken the most moderate positions on government and employer initiatives in the recent past. On its website it describes itself as “a pragmatic trade union, which prefers to find solutions through dialogue but does not hesitate to mobilise against measures which are unjust”.[3] An example of this approach is provided by the CFDT’s response to the major changes in employment law introduced under President Macron in 2017. It was critical of many aspects of the proposals but it did not take part in the demonstrations against them organised by other confederations, particularly the CGT and FO. The CFDT’s general secretary, Laurent Berger, stated: “Exerting pressure on the forthcoming decrees and acting in companies is less spectacular than the demonstrations but so much more effective".[4]

The CGT, in contrast was one of the prime movers of the demonstrations against the Macron changes, and it has generally taken the most militant positions on political and industrial issues of the three large confederations. However, it does not oppose everything put forward by employers or the government, and in the policy document presented to its congress in 2016 it stated that it represented a trade unionism which “challenges, proposes, acts and negotiates”.[5] For many years, the CGT has not been as close to its traditional political ally, the Communist Party as it once was. A policy document passed at its congress in 2003 made it clear that the CGT needed to work with a range of political parties and could no longer “support or jointly develop a political project, whatever it might be”.

The FO, which was also involved in organising the demonstrations against the Macron changes, includes a wide range of opinions within its membership, including more moderate reformists and Trotskyist and anarchist groupings. Traditionally it has taken an anti-communist line since its foundation, when it broke from the CGT in 1948, but in recent years it has worked with the CGT in organising protests against government policies. The election of a new FO general secretary in November 2018 indicated the differing strength of the varying political currents, with Yves Veyrier, described as a “reformist militant”, narrowing winning against his closest rival by 2,720 votes to 2,577.[6]

The CFTC describes itself in its statutes as being inspired by Christian social morality. A policy document, adopted at its congress in 2015, stated that the CFCT continued to see “social dialogue, at company, industry and national level, as a priority and the best means of promoting the interests of the world of work and advancing social progress”.[7]

The CFE-CGC sees its specific role as representing the interests of higher grade employees, such as senior technicians and middle-management. It aims to reconcile the interests of companies and their employees, and it states on its website that the aim of its actions “is not radically to change things but rather to make them evolve realistically”.[8]

An indication of the approaches of the five nationally representative confederations is provided by the extent to which they are willing to sign collective agreements, both at national and at industry level. In 2017, the CFDT and its affiliated unions signed almost nine out of 10 of the agreements reached (86.6%), while the CGT and its affiliates signed only a third (33.2%). The other three confederations signed fewer than the CFDT but many more than the CGT. The FO and its affiliates signed 71.4%, the CFTC 74.2% and the CFE-CGC 68.7%.[9] This pattern has remained broadly unchanged over the 10 years up to 2017, with only the CFDT showing a marked upward trend, from 81.9% in the years 2007 to 2016 to 86.6% in 2017.

The organisations currently without “representative” status at national level have varying areas of strength. UNSA, the national union of autonomous unions, is probably the largest. It is primarily made up of unions in the public sector, including parts of the once united teachers union (FEN), but it also has affiliates in the private sector. It states on its website that it wishes to develop a “strong and unified trade union movement, in France and in Europe”.[10] Solidaires includes some autonomous unions in the public sector and some left wing activists who broke away from the CFDT to form a new group SUD, which is strongest in the railways, telecommunications and the post office. A third significant grouping is FSU, which is built around other sections of the former teachers’ union, but also has other public sector unions in membership.

It is important to remember that these smaller confederations are significantly stronger in the public than in the private sector. In the results of the elections for workplace representatives conducted in November 2018, UNSA won 11.2% of the votes, Solidaires 6.4% and the FSU 8.6%. The CGT won these elections with 21.8% while the CFDT got 19.0% and FO 18.1%. However, the two other nationally representative unions in the private sector gained many fewer votes: CFE-CGC got 3.4% and CFTC 2.9%.[11]

The new rules on representation could, in principle, encourage union mergers, as unions need to have a certain level of support to maintain their status. However, the fact that all five of the traditionally representative confederations cleared the 8% hurdle in both 2013 and 2017 and continue to be nationally representative has removed any immediate pressure to merge in order to protect their status.

In contrast to the levels of support that the union confederations have in the elections of employee representatives, which are published by the government, figures on union membership are less publicly available.

In May 2018 Laurent Berger, the CFDT’s general secretary told a news agency that the CFDT had 623,802 members in 2017[12] and this is now the figure on the union’s website. This is well below the 868,601 members previously stated, but Berger explained that the lower numbers were the result of using a more accurate basis for the calculation, not a loss of membership. Around 6% of the confederation’s membership consists of retired members.

The CGT’s membership is slightly higher, reported to have been 664,350 in 2016.[13] This figure is broadly in line with the annual figures presented to the CGT congress in 2016, which showed membership at 676,623 in 2014. Of these 109,522 were retired, 16% of the total.[14]

FO does not publish figures, but estimated it had 500,000 members in 2011. Other estimates are lower, at around 300,000. In 2014, the CFTC stated on its website in that it had 135,000 members, but membership figures are no longer published.[15] The CFE-CGC’s website states that it had 170,000 members in 2016.[16]

Among the non-nationally representative confederations, UNSA states it has 200,000 members, Solidaires 110,000 and FSU 150,000.[17] These membership numbers, which are relatively high in relation to the support these confederations receive in the elections in the private sector, reflect their greater strength in the public sector.

All the main confederations are organised on similar lines with a parallel structure of industry federations and geographical groupings, both based on local union groupings, which have considerable administrative autonomy. Although there may be tensions between the different elements, power is concentrated at the level of the confederation.

The decline in overall trade union membership, which was continuous from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, appears to have been stemmed, with the proportion of employees in unions stable at around 11% over 20 years between 1996 and 2016.[18] (This figure is higher than the previously widely used estimate of 8%. In a publication in 2016, Dares, the research body of the ministry of labour, concluded that previous survey methods had led to an underestimation of union density, which had remained consistent at around 11% over the period 19196 to 2006.)[19]

Despite their weakness in terms of membership, French trade unions have, in the past, been able to mobilise their members for mass action, and, on occasion, change government policy. The government was forced to withdraw its plans for a new employment contract for young workers in 2006, while in 2010 there were massive demonstrations between September and October protesting at the government’s pension plans. The six demonstrations, which were organised jointly by six union confederations, brought large numbers onto the streets – up to 3.5 million people in the biggest day of protest, according to figures from the CFDT, and up to 1.3 million, according to the police. More recent demonstrations against changes to employment law introduced by President Macron in 2017 mobilised many fewer workers, in part because not all unions have supported them.

The 2016 Dares figures show that French trade unionism is much stronger in public services, where around 18.7% of employees are in unions, than in the private and voluntary sectors, where the figure is only 8.4%.[20]

Men are more likely to be union members than women: 11.8% of male employees are union members, compared with 9.8% of female employees.[21]

[1] Syndicalisation, Dares, 8 October 2018, https://dares.travail-emploi.gouv.fr/dares-etudes-et-statistiques/statistiques-de-a-a-z/article/syndicalisation (Accessed 24.12.2018)

[2] Mythes et réalités de la syndicalisation en France, by Thomas Amossé DARES October 2004 http://travail-emploi.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/publication_pips_200410_n-44-2_mythes-et-realites-de-la-syndicalisation-en-france.pdf

[3] La CFDT en 10 points https://www.cfdt.fr/portail/nous-connaitre/la-cfdt-en-10-points/la-cfdt-en-10-points-rec_66780 (Accessed 08.01.2019)

[4] Interview FranceInfo 12 September 2017, https://www.cfdt.fr/portail/presse/la-cfdt-dans-les-medias/-interview-peser-est-moins-spectaculaire-que-les-manifs-mais-plus-efficace-srv2_512332 (Accessed 08.01.2019)

[5] CGT 51e congrès / document d’orientation, Le Peuple / Hors-Série N° 1 / January 2016

[6] Yves Veyrier, nouveau secrétaire général de Force ouvrière, Le Monde 22 November 2018 https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2018/11/22/yves-veyrier-elu-secretaire-general-de-force-ouvriere_5386973_823448.html (Accessed 08.01.2019)

[7]Motion d’orientation de la CFTC issue du 52e congrès confédéral de novembre 2015 https://www.cftc.fr/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/CFTC-MOTION-ORIENTATION-NOVEMBRE.pdf (Accessed 08.01.2019)

[8] Syndicalisme d'avenir http://www.cfecgc.org/CFE-CGC/nos-engagements/syndicalisme-d-avenir/ (Accessed 08.01.2019)

[9] La négociation collective en 2017, Ministère du Travail, 2018

[10] https://www.unsa.org/-Nous-connaitre-.html (Accessed 08.01.2019)

[11] Résultats des élections professionnelles pour les comités techniques dans la fonction publique en 2018 : Résultats définitifs, Ministère de l'action et des comptes publics, December 2018, https://www.fonction-publique.gouv.fr/files/files/statistiques/stats-rapides/resultats_electionsFP_20_dec_2018.pdf (Accessed 08.01.2019)

[12]http://social.blog.lemonde.fr/2018/05/16/la-cfdt-revoit-a-la-baisse-son-nombre-dadherents/ (Accessed 08.01.2019)

[13] La CGT a perdu 30.000 adhérents en quatre ans by Leïla de Comarmon, Les Echos 15.05.18 https://www.lesechos.fr/15/05/2018/lesechos.fr/0301679520603_la-cgt-a-perdu-30-000-adherents-en-quatre-ans.htm (Accessed 08.01.2019

[14] CGT 51e congrès / rapport d’activité, Le Peuple / Hors-Série N° 1 / January 2016

[15] http://www.cftc.fr/ewb_pages/c/cftc.php (accessed 25.07.2014)

[16] http://www.cfecgc.org/CFE-CGC/histoire-de-la-CFE-CGC/la-CFE-CGC-aujourdhui/ (accessed 08.01.2019)

[17] UNSA: ETUC Annual Gender Equality Survey 2018 – 11th edition, by Lionel Fulton and Cinzia Sechi, ETUC, 2018; Solidaires: L’Union syndicale Solidaires : une expérimentation sociale? June 2017, http://www.lesutopiques.org/lunion-syndicale-solidaires-experimentation-sociale/ FSU: https://www.snes.edu/Le-SNES-membre-de-la-FSU.html (Accessed 08.01.2019)

[18] Syndicalisation, Dares, 8 October 2018, https://dares.travail-emploi.gouv.fr/dares-etudes-et-statistiques/statistiques-de-a-a-z/article/syndicalisation (Accessed 24.12.2018)

[19] La syndicalisation en France: Des salariés deux fois plus syndiqués dans la fonction publique by Maria Teresa Pignoni https://dares.travail-emploi.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/2016-025.pdf (Accessed 24.12.2018)

[20] Syndicalisation, Dares, 8 October 2018, https://dares.travail-emploi.gouv.fr/dares-etudes-et-statistiques/statistiques-de-a-a-z/article/syndicalisation (Accessed 24.12.2018)

[21] Ibid

Collective bargaining takes place at national, industry and company level and at each level there are detailed rules about who can negotiate and the requirements for an agreement to be valid. Industry level agreements are the most important level for negotiation in terms of numbers covered, although legislation introduced in 2017 has given precedence to company level agreements in certain areas.

The framework

Collective bargaining can take place at three levels: at the national level covering all private sector employees; at the industry level which can involve national, regional or local bargaining; and at company or plant level.

The framework for collective bargaining has been substantially changed by a series of legal measures in recent years, with major legislation being introduced in May 2004, January 2007, August 2008, June 2013, August 2016 and, most recently, September 2017 (the so-called Macron Ordonnances). In broad terms these changes have steadily increased the importance of company-level agreements at the expense of industry level negotiations, as well as tightening and clarifying the rules on who is entitled to bargain, and the circumstances under which agreements are valid. The legislation passed in 2007, on national level bargaining, is something of an exception to these general trends.

Looking at each of the bargaining levels of in turn, it is clear that the 2007 legislation[1] has enhanced the importance of national level collective bargaining by giving unions and employers a much clearer role in the development of legislation in the areas of industrial relations, employment and training. Under its terms, when the government wishes to make changes in these areas, it must first consult with employers and unions on the basis of a document setting out its analysis of the situation, aims and potential options, and allow them, if possible, to reach an agreement on the issue. The government must also formally consult on the draft legislation. This system does not commit the government to accept any agreement and in cases of “urgency” it can bypass the process entirely, but it clearly strengthens the importance of the negotiations between unions and employers at national level.

An indication of the significance of this level of negotiation is provided by the fact that the 2008 legislation reforming the rules on the representative status of unions (see section on unions) was in line with a common position reached by the CGT and CFDT, although not the other unions, and employers in these national level discussions. Figures from the report on collective bargaining produced each year by the ministry of labour indicate that three economy-wide national level texts were agreed in 2017 and one in 2016.[2] The 2017 agreements covered unemployment insurance, where major changes were introduced, insurance for senior staff and pensions.

Industry-level bargaining is the most important level for collective bargaining, in terms of the numbers of employees covered, and, although, as a result of legal changes, in some areas company agreements now take precedence, there are others, such as minimum pay rates, where industry-level agreements continue to set the rules. There are also certain issues where negotiations are obligatory (see section on the subject of negotiations)

Figures from Dares, the research and statistical section of the French Ministry of Labour, show that at the end of 2015 there were 464 separate groups of employees covered by industry-level agreements. However, there are big differences in their size and significance. The 270 agreements covering at least 5,000 employees account for 98.1% of all employees covered by collective agreements, while the 100 covering between 1,000 and 4,999 employees make up just 1.7% of all employees and the 94 covering fewer than 1,000 account for a tiny 0.2%.[3] Many of the published statistics, therefore, only examine the agreements covering 5,000 or more.

There will often be several agreements covering different aspects of terms and conditions for the same industry grouping (see section on the subject of the negotiations below). As a result, the ministry of labour’s annual report on collective bargaining always shows a higher number of industry-level agreements than industry groupings. The report for 2017 shows that 1,094 industry-level agreements of various types had been signed for that year by the end of March 2018, with others expected to be registered after that date.[4] Of these 480, dealt with pay, although in some cases more than one pay increases was linked to the same main agreement. Among the 299 industry agreements identified in 2017 as covering 5,000 or more workers, four out of five (81%) had reached at least one agreement on pay in 2017.

These industry-level negotiations primarily take place at national level. In 2017, more than two-thirds (70%) were signed for the whole of France, a proportion similar to earlier years. However, the situation on industry-level negotiations on pay is different; only around half of the agreements on pay were signed at national level, with the rest being agreed at regional or local level.

In the past, some of the agreements in place had only limited importance in determining pay, as they were often out of date, resulting in the rates they set being below the national minimum wage. In response, successive governments have for some time attempted to strengthen the system by encouraging smaller industry groupings to merge, with the intention of reducing the number from more than 700 in 2015 to around 200 by 2019 and just 100 by 2024. The aim is that both sides should have the resources to negotiate regularly and keep the agreements up-to-date.

These efforts have had significant success. As already stated, 81% of the 299 industry-level groupings, covering at least 5,000 employees, agreed pay increases in 2017; and the proportion which had minimum rates below the national minimum wage immediately before the annual increase in January is now just 11%. (This figure has been unchanged since 2013.) However, the national minimum wage remains a crucial factor in pay setting in France, with 43% of all industry groupings having the lowest rate in their industry-level agreements within 1% of the national minimum wage in December 2017.

Agreements between unions and employers at industry level are binding on the employers belonging to the employers’ associations which sign the deal. However, their importance, in terms of numbers covered, is greatly increased by the fact that the government also has power to extend the terms of an industry-level agreement to all the employers (and employees) in the industry concerned, and even to enlarge it to other similar industries or beyond its initial geographic scope.

Extension or enlargement can be requested by any of the parties to the agreement concerned, and the decision is taken by the minister, advised by a subcommittee made up of representatives of the unions and the employers. Other than requiring that the agreement meets a number of formal conditions, such as ensuring that the agreement has been signed by the appropriate bodies, there are no specific thresholds – such as covering a set proportion of employees – which need to be met, although, as a result of changes made in 2017, employers’ organisations now have a clear right to object to the extension of an agreement.

Enlargements of an agreement to new areas beyond its original geographic or industrial scope are relatively rare. Only five enlargements were approved in 2017.But extensions, where the terms of an agreement are extended to all employers in the same industry, are very common. As a report in 2017 by the official government body DG Trésor points out, extension requests are made in respect of around 80% of the industry-level agreements and these requests are “only very rarely refused”.[5] The report also notes that extensions are generally asked for by the employers’ associations.

In 2017, as the annual report on collective bargaining shows, there were 887 requests to extend agreements of which 765 were approved. Around half of the extensions approved (385) related to pay. With 480 agreements covering pay signed in 2017, this means that 80.2% of these agreements were extended.[6]

This “quasi-systematic procedure of extension” is, as the report from DG Trésor notes, linked to the very high level of collective bargaining coverage in France. A study by Dares in 2006 estimated that 97.7% of employees outside public administration (that is including state-owned companies) were covered by collective agreements in 2004,[7] and there is no reason to believe that it has fallen since then. The latest estimate from the OECD puts collective bargaining coverage in France at 98.5% in 2014.[8]

The importance of company-level negotiations has grown in recent years and the legal changes introduced in September 2017[9] marked a crucial new step, ending the previous situation, where industry-level agreements had priority, except in specifically defined circumstances, primarily negotiations on working time and leave. Since 2017, the position has been reversed. It is now company-level agreements that have priority unless the law specifically gives precedence to industry-level agreements.

Issues for negotiation are now divided into three blocks:

• issues where the law states that industry-level agreements take precedence, in other words company-level agreements cannot set terms which are less favourable to employees than those in the industry-level agreements (Company-level agreements have always and continue to be able to set more favourable terms.);
• issues where industry-level agreements continue to take precedence, because the industry-level agreement itself has stated that this should be the case and the law permits this; and
• issues where company-level agreements take precedence, irrespective of what the industry-level agreement states.

The issues in this first block, with industry-level agreements setting binding rules, are largely those setting minimum guarantees. They include minimum salaries, job classifications, equal opportunities, the minimum length of part-time work, overtime rates, rules on renewing probation periods, health insurance, rules on temporary contracts and the number of hours required to be worked to be defined as a night-worker.

The issues in the second block, where the terms of the industry level agreement itself determine whether it has precedence, are the prevention of occupational risks, the employment of disabled workers, the arrangements for trade union representation, including their number, and supplements for dangerous or hazardous work.

The issues in the third block include everything else, although some of them are also covered by statutory regulation. Bonuses, paid holidays, most issues relating to working time, notice periods, payments for travelling time, compensation for dismissal and the initial length of the probation period, can all be agreed at company level, without reference to industry-level agreements.

As with industry-level agreements, there is a legal requirement to negotiate periodically on some of these issues at company level (see below), although this depends in part on the size of the company and the existence (or otherwise) of a trade union representative to negotiate with. However, while there are penalties if these negotiations do not take place, it is important to stress that there is no obligation to reach an agreement, and sometimes the employer will simply listen to the unions' demands and implement a unilateral decision.

In practice, a detailed analysis of negotiations in 2016 by the ministry of labour’s research body Dares found that 14.7% of companies employing 10 or more workers in the commercial sector outside agriculture engaged in collective bargaining. However, the existence of negotiations is closely linked to the numbers employed: only 7.0% of companies with between 10 and 49 conducted negotiations, compared with 95.2% of companies with 500 or more employees. Above the legal threshold of 50 (see below) more than half of all companies (51.4%) are covered. With larger companies more likely to be involved in negotiations, 62.0% of all those working in commercial companies with more than 10 employees are covered by company-level collective bargaining.[10]

Who negotiates and when?

Negotiations are normally conducted by the trade unions on one side and employers’ federations or individual employers on the other. However, the rules setting out precisely who has a right to negotiate and the circumstances under which agreements are valid are complex.

Legislation introduced in 2004, 2008, 2016 and 2017 has produced important changes in the rules for bargaining at all levels – national, industry and company. Before these various pieces of legislation were introduced, it was sufficient to get just one representative union to sign for an agreement to be valid, but this is no longer the case.

At national level, agreements can only be signed by “representative” trade unions. There are five large national union confederations, which are nationally representative: CFDT, CGT, FO, CFE-CGC and CFTC (see section on unions). National agreements are only valid if they have been signed by a confederation or confederations with at least 30% support nationally, and if they are not opposed by other confederations that together have majority support. However, in calculating levels of support and opposition, only the results of the five national representative confederations are included; the votes for the other confederations like UNSA and Solidaires are ignored. This means that the current voting strength in national negotiations is as follows: CFDT (30.33%), CGT (28.56%), FO (17.93%), CFE-CGC (12.28%) and CFTC (10.90%).

At industry level, the organisations that have negotiating rights on the union side are the union industry federations which have shown that they have at least 8% of the votes cast in the elections for employee representatives in the specific industry. The automatic representative rights of the industry federations of nationally representative confederations, which previously did not have to show a minimum of 8% support in the industry concerned, ended in 2017. This means there are many industry groupings where not all confederations are representative. Of the 411 industry groupings where the figures had been collated by 14 March 2018, the CFDT and CGT had at least 8% support and so were considered representative in the vast majority, but the CFTC was represented in many fewer and in some industries other confederations had sufficient support to be pass the representativeness threshold (see table).[11]

As at national level, industry-level agreements must have been signed by unions with at least 30% support in the industry, and not be opposed by unions with more than 50% support in order to be valid.

At company level, the rules on who can bargain and which decide whether agreements are valid are more complicated and vary according to the numbers employer and the presence or absence of a union representative.

The standard case is where company-level negotiations take place between the employer and the union delegates. These are individuals nominated by one or more representative trades union present in the workplace. A representative union must, among other things, have the support of 10% of the workforce, as indicated by the votes in the first round of the elections for employee representatives (see section on workplace representation). Union delegates must also receive at least 10% of the votes as individuals in these elections. Unions only have the right to appoint a union delegate in companies with more than 50 employees.

If the unions signing the agreement represent more than 50% of the employees, as indicated in the most recent elections for employee representatives, the agreement (called a majority agreement) is immediately valid.

Agreements can also be valid if they are signed by unions with the support in the most recent elections of less than 50% but more than 30% of the workforce. However, these agreements (called minority agreements) need some form of endorsement by the workforce. Either one of the signatory unions can ask for a ballot of the whole workforce to be organised, or the employer can ask for a ballot, provided that none of the signatory unions object. If, within eight days, enough other union organisations also agree to sign the agreement, and so take support to more than 50% of the workforce, it is then valid. If this is not the case, a ballot of the whole workforce must be organised within two months. If a majority of those voting in this ballot approve the agreement, it is then endorsed and comes into effect.

Previous rules, allowing unions with the support of at least 50% the workforce and opposed to the agreement to block it before it could be put to the vote, were removed by legislation passed in 2016.

These arrangements have, since 1 May 2018, applied to all areas covered by company-level collective bargaining. Before the changes introduced in September 2017, many of these arrangements only applied to company agreements covering working time and leave.

Since the Macron changes, it has also been possible to union delegates to agree that in future the power to negotiate company-level agreements should pass from the union delegate to the elected representative body of the employees – now called a Social and Economic Committee (CSE). This is a permanent change, and, where it occurs, it produces veto powers for the CSE in some areas – see section on Workplace Representation. However, this change is only possible on the basis of a majority agreement agreed by unions representing more than 50% of the employees.

The situation is different in companies where there are no union delegates, and here other representatives of the employees are able to negotiate and reach agreements, although the rules vary between companies with 50 or more employees and those with fewer than 50.

In companies with more than 50 employees but no union delegate, there are three possibilities, in the following order of precedence.

First, if possible, the employer negotiates with one or more of the existing elected employee representatives who have been mandated for this task by one or more of the representative unions. Agreements reached in this way must be endorsed in a ballot of the workforce and are only valid if approved by a majority of those voting.

Second, if the elected employee representatives do not wish to be mandated by a union, the employer can still negotiate with them. However, the agreement is only valid if is signed by employee representatives who together have the support of more than 50% of the workforce, as indicated in the most recent elections for employee representatives. It is also limited to the issues that have to be negotiated, such as arrangements for working time. Agreements negotiated in this way do not require a workforce ballot. (An earlier requirement that the agreement had to be endorsed by a joint union-employer committee at industry level was removed by legislation introduced in 2016.)

Third, if no elected representative wishes to negotiate, the employer can negotiate with a non-elected employee who has been mandated for this task by the union. Any agreement reached in these circumstances must be approved in a ballot of the workforce.

In companies with between 11 and 49 employees, there are two main options, plus an additional option for the smallest companies. In option one, the employer negotiates with existing elected employee representatives, who may or may not be mandated by the union, but who must represent a majority of the workforce, for the agreement to be valid. This option does not require a workforce vote. In option two, the employer negotiates with employees who are not elected representatives but have been mandated to negotiate by one or more of the representative unions. In this case a workforce vote in favour is required for the agreement to be valid.

Finally, in companies with fewer than 11 employees and, as an alternative to other options in companies with 11 to 20 employees the employer can reach agreement directly with all employees. This involves the employer presenting his or her proposal for an agreement to the employees at least 15 days before a consultation to decide whether or not to accept it. Two-thirds of the employees must support it before it can be agreed.

The report on collective bargaining in 2017 indicates that the majority of documents setting out terms and conditions at company level were agreed with the unions. Out of a total of 61,391 texts deposited with regional government offices, 52.6% were signed by trade union delegates or individuals mandated by the unions, 9.4% were signed by elected workplace representatives, 20.9% were endorsed in a ballot of the workforce (largely relating to employee saving schemes, where an agreement is normally required to set up such a scheme) and 17.2% were the result of unilateral employer decisions.[12] These figures do not reflect the legislative changes introduced in September 2017.

As with who can negotiate and sign agreements there are detailed rules on when the topics covered by the agreements at industry and company level must be negotiated. These rules too were changed by legislation introduced in September 2017.

At national level, there is no specific timetable, but the law lays down much stricter rules on when issues must be negotiated at industry and company level. At both levels there is the possibility of the two sides agreeing a timetable setting out when the issues will be negotiated – subject to limits set by the law, but if a timetable is not agreed – a legal fall-back timetable comes into effect.

At industry level, it is possible for the two sides to agree a calendar which ensures that there will be negotiations on most of the topics where negotiations are obligatory (primarily pay, equality of opportunity, working conditions and training – see below) at least every four years. The four year limit cannot be exceeded for these issues. However, if there is no agreement on a calendar these topics must be negotiated at least every three years, apart from pay, which must be negotiated annually.

In practice, industry-level negotiations are signed throughout the year, with the virtual exception of August. However, they are concentrated in the first four months of the year. (In 2017 57% of all agreements were signed between the start of January and the end of April and the figures are similar for earlier years.[13])

At company level, where since 2016 there has been encouragement for companies to reach agreements setting out how negotiations will be conducted – including a calendar of topics to be dealt with – it is possible for unions and employers to sign a so-called “anticipatory agreement” (accord d’anticipation). If there is such an agreement, which can run for a maximum four years, the topics on which negotiations are obligatory (pay and working time, equal opportunities and, in larger companies, staffing plans and career development – see below) only need to be dealt with every four years. However, if there is no agreement setting out the timetable, negotiations on pay and working time and equal opportunities must take place every year and on staffing and career progression (in larger companies) every three years.

The subject of the negotiations

National level negotiations for the whole economy cover a wide range of issues, including social security and industrial relations.

Negotiations at industry level cover a wide range of issues, including some where there is a requirement that negotiations take place. The areas where industry-level negotiation is obligatory are:

• pay;
• equality between women and men and measures to tackle the inequalities identified;
• working conditions, staffing and career development and exposure to occupational risks;
• disabled workers;
• occupational training;
• job classification;
• employee saving schemes; and
• arrangements for organising part-time work.

As stated above, most of these topics must be negotiated at least every four years, provided a timetable for negotiations has been agreed, and more frequently, either annually or every three years, where there is no timetable. The exceptions are job classifications and employee saving schemes, which must in all cases be negotiated every five years, and arrangements for part-time work, which must be negotiated as soon as a third of the employees in an industry are working part-time.

Unsurprising, it is often the obligatory issues which dominate negotiations at this level. The report on collective bargaining in 2017 found that of the 1,094 agreements signed in that year, 480 covered pay, 169 equality between men and women, 52 working conditions and health and safety and 153 occupational training. Other subjects covered in agreements signed in 2017 included negotiating arrangements (319), the conditions under which the agreements should be implemented (188), bonuses (163), complementary pensions and health coverage (128) and employment contracts (86). Each agreement may cover several subjects, which explains where the total of subjects covered adds up to more than 1,094.[14]

At company level there are also issues over which there is an obligation to negotiate, although only where other conditions are also fulfilled. Where one or more union sections exist in the company, in other words, where unions are present, the employer must negotiate on two blocks of topics:

• pay, working time and the distribution of the value added in the company; and
• equality between men and women, in particular measures taken to reduce the pay gap and on the quality of working life.

In addition, in companies with more than 300 employees and in companies with at least 1,000 employees across the EU and at least 150 in France, there must also be negotiations on long-term staffing plans and career development.

Negotiations at company level are not limited to these obligatory areas. Employers and unions are also free to negotiate on other issues, other than those covered by industry-level bargaining. Unions at company level can also be involved in negotiating redundancy agreements (see section on workplace representation).are obligatory

In practice, as the report on collective bargaining in 2017 shows, pay and bonuses are the commonest topic for negotiations at company level. Among the more than 32,000 agreements signed by union representatives, more than a third (37%) dealt with pay and bonuses. This was followed by working time (25%), equality (12%), employment (10%), union rights and employee representation (9%) and complementary pensions and health coverage (7%)..

As well as setting the rules for collective bargaining, the state plays a very direct and important role in determining its outcome in terms of pay by setting a national minimum wage (SMIC). This is uprated at least annually, based on the inflation experienced by the poorest fifth of French households, plus half the increase in purchasing power of all employees. In addition the government can, and sometimes does, increase it by more than this. In 2018, almost two million people (1,980,000) or 11.5% of employees in the private sector (other than apprentices and temporary staff) benefitted directly from the 1.2% increase in the minimum wage on 1 January 2018.[15]

[1] LOI n° 2007-130 du 31 janvier 2007 de modernisation du dialogue social

[2] La négociation collective en 2017 Ministère du travail, 2018

[3] Portrait statistique des principales conventions collectives de branche en 2015,by Florent Boudjemaa, Dares March 2018

[4] La négociation collective en 2017 Ministère du travail, 2018

[5] Dialogue social sectoriel et décentralisation des négociations: Étude comparée France/Allemagne, by Marine CHEUVREUX and Laurence RAMBERT, Les Cahiers de la DG Trésor –n° 2017-01, February 2017

[6] La négociation collective en 2017 Ministère du travail, 2018

[7] La couverture conventionnelle a fortement progressé entre 1997 et 2004, Dares, 2006

[8] OECD.Stat https://stats.oecd.org/ (Accessed 24.01.2018)

[9] Ordonnance n° 2017-1385 du 22 septembre 2017 relative au renforcement de la négociation collective

[10] La négociation collective d’entreprise en 2016, Dares, December 2018

[11] La négociation collective en 2017 Ministère du travail, 2018

[12] Ibid

[13] Ibid

[14] Ibid

[15] La revalorisation du Smic au 1er janvier 2018: Les salariés des TPE trois fois plus concernés by Alban Guichard et Christine Pinel Dares, November 2018

Employee representation at workplace level in France is provided through both the trade unions and structures directly elected by the whole of the workforce, although, where unions are present, the key figure will be the union delegate. The directly elected structures were fundamentally revised in the private sector in 2017, when three separate representative structures were merged into one, with the possibility of the tasks normally carried out by the separate union structure also being incorporated into new body in certain circumstances.

Employee representation at the workplace in France is subject to detailed regulation, covering both the union structures and those for the whole of the workforce.

Trade unions present in a company or other organisation are normally able to set up trade union sections, which bring together their members at the workplace and have specific legal rights. In addition, provided they have sufficient support (see below), unions can appoint trade union delegates with specific powers in workplaces with more than 50 employees. These union delegates have a role both within the union and on behalf of all employees.

The latest survey from Dares, the research arm of the ministry of labour, shows that overall 37% of workplaces with 11 or more employees have a trade union delegate. This is equivalent to 64% of employees in workplaces above the 11-employee threshold. [1]

The representation of the whole of the workforce is now largely provided outside public administration by single elected committee, the Social and Economic Committee (Comité Social et Économique – CSE). This brings together three previously separate bodies representing employees at the workplace – the employee delegates (DP), the works council (CE) and the health and safety committee (CHSCT). It is only in larger companies, those with 300 or more employees, that a sub-committee of the Social and Economic Committee dealing specifically with health, safety and working conditions (CSSCT) must also be formed

The merger of these three bodies into a new single committee was one of the changes introduced by the government of Emmanuel Macron in September 2017 as Ordonnance No. 2017-1386. The new committees, which must be set up in workplaces with 11 or more employees, began to be established on 1 January 2018, but where the term of office of the earlier bodies has not run out, the pre-2018 structure, with three separate employee representative bodies, will continue to exist on a temporary basis. However, it is intended that the new structure based on the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) will be universal outside public administration, by 1 January 2020. The merger of all three bodies, irrespective of the size of the workforce follows earlier developments which permitted the employer to choose to have a single representative body rather than three, but this was only possible, without majority union agreement, for companies employing 300 people or fewer. [2] This voluntary possibility resulted in 14% of all workplaces with these three bodies merging them into a single structure in 2017.[3] The merger now becomes obligatory in all workplaces with 11 or more employees.

There are, however, important differences in the role of the new Social and Economic Committee (CSE), depending on the size of the workforce, with the key threshold set at 50 employees (the former threshold for setting up a works council).

In companies with 11 to 49 employees, the role of the CSE is realtively limited. It is to present the workforce’s individual and collective complaints and claims to the employer and to monitor the company’s compliance with labour regulations. In companies with 50 or more employees, the CSE carries out these roles, but its rights go beyond this to allow the interests of the workforce to be taken into account when the company makes decisions (see section on Task and Rights).

Below the 11-employee threshold for the setting up of a CSE, legislation on social dialogue and employment, passed in August 2015, provides for indirect employee representation covering very small companies for the first time. Companies with fewer than 11 employees are covered by regional bodies of made up of equal numbers of employer and union representatives, with the members drawn from these very small companies.

As well as these structures, in companies with more than 50 employees with several separate workplaces, it is possible to reach a company-level agreement on appointing additional local representatives (représentants de proximité), primarily dealing with employees’ concerns around health and safety and working conditions. However, all the issues relating to their functioning, including number, powers, method of appointment and time off, are fixed by a company-level agreement, not the law.

Although the CSE will be the employee representative body in most companies, the Macron changes also provide for another possibility, the setting of a Company Council (Conseil d’entreprise – CE). This is where the unions agree, either through a company-level or an industry-level agreement that the normal functions of the CSE will be extended to include collective bargaining at company level, a task normally carried out by the union delegate.

Employee representation at the workplace in public administration has not changed in the same way. Here the structure of separate consultative committees with different roles, including specific health and safety committees, has been maintained, although the precise arrangements vary between the three areas of public service: central government (FPE), regional and local government (FPT) and the hospital service (FPH).

As the new Social and Economic Committees only started to be set up in January 2018, there are no statistics on their operation. However, figures on the earlier forms of employee representative structures are available in the report from Dares on the situation in 2017.[4] This shows that, in 2017, only two-thirds (67%) of private sector workplaces with 11 or more employees had employee representation. This is despite the fact that having employee representation is obligatory in all private sector workplaces of this size. However, this failure to comply with the legal requirements is concentrated entirely in smaller workplaces. All workplaces with 200 or more employees had elected employee representatives, while 96% of those with between 100 and 199 and 90% of those with between 50 and 99 employees had them. Where these bodies do not exist, the main reason for their absence is the lack of employees willing to stand, reported by 50% of workplaces without representation. The fact that larger workplaces are more likely to have elected employee representatives than smaller ones means that the proportion of employees in workplaces with representation is 86%, well above the 67% of workplaces with representation.

Under the pre-2018 structure the same individuals would sometimes be members of more than one of the three different elected representative bodies. And a separate report from Dares shows that a fifth of representatives (19.7%) held two or more positions in 2017.[5] In addition, more than one in 10 (11.3%) combined a position as an elected representative, with that of a trade union delegate. Even if they are not a union delegate, the union link is clear, as more than half of all elected representatives (56.2%) are union members, and this percentage increases to two thirds (67.8%) in larger workplaces – those with 300 employees or more. Generally, where trade unions are present, they play a crucial co-ordinating role and the trade union delegate is a key figure.

In addition to these representative structures, individual workers have “the right of expression” about their working conditions. The exact form in which this right is organised is left to local negotiations with the unions, but might involve occasional meetings of groups of workers with their supervisors.

Numbers and structure

Trade unions present in a company are normally able to set up trade union sections, irrespective of the number of union members or employees, and because of the structure of French trade unionism there are often several trade union sections in the same company.

However, following legislative changes initially introduced in 2008, union rights now vary depending on whether or not the union is “representative within the company”. To be representative within the company a union must meet a number of criteria such as independence and financial transparency. However, the most important factor is whether it has the support of at least 10% of the workforce, as indicated by the votes in the first round of the elections for employee representatives (see below).

Where a company has more than 50 employees, the unions that are representative within it (see above), have the right to nominate a trade union delegate (DS) with a number of important rights. However, individuals who are to be trade union delegates must themselves have the support of at least 10% of the workforce. (There are exceptions to this rule in some circumstances, such as where the previous individual with this level of support has left the company.)

The number of union delegates to which each representative union (with 10% support in the company) is entitled varies with the number of employees.

In smaller companies, those with fewer than 50 employees, representative unions can designate one of the elected members of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) as their union delegate.

Unions that are not representative within the company do not have the right to a trade union delegate, but only what is called a “representative of the trade union section” (an RSS) who has significantly fewer powers and rights.

Elected representation of all employees is now generally provided through the Social and Economic Committee (CSE). This must be set up in all private sector companies with at least 11 employees, as well as some organisations of this size in the public sector, although its rights and duties vary with the number of employees, with two main additional thresholds, at 50 employees and 300. The Company Council (Conseil d’entreprise – CE), which can also exist, is a CSE with additional powers (see below).

The rules for counting employees are the same for all the thresholds. Permanent full-time workers and home workers are counted in full. Temporary workers and agency workers, provided they have been working for at least a year in the company, are counted pro-rata to the length of time they have worked in the previous 12 months. However, they are not included if they are replacing a permanent staff member who is absent or whose contract has been suspended, for example, because of absence on maternity or adoption leave. Part-time workers are counted pro-rata in line with their contracted hours as a proportion of standard hours of full-time staff. Some specific categories of employees, such as apprentices, are excluded from the calculation.

The CSE is normally set up at company level, but in cases where the company has at least 50 employees and at least two different workplaces, separate Social and Economic Committees should be set up at both the company and the workplaces. The arrangements must be agreed in a company-level agreement, with the support of unions representing majority of the workforce. Where there is no union delegate, the arrangements for setting up various CSE committees can be agreed with the majority of the employee members of the committee. Where no agreement can be reached, the employer can take a unilateral decision on the arrangements. However, this decision can be contested by the unions or the employee representatives, depending on the form the negotiations have taken, initially with the regional government office and ultimately in the courts.

Where a CSE has been set up, it is a joint body consisting of the employer, who chairs it and who may be accompanied by up to three colleagues, and elected representatives of the employees. The number of employee representatives is set out precisely in the legislation, starting with a single representative in companies with between 11 and 24 employees, rising in stages to 35 in a company with 10,000 employees.[6] For example a company with 500 employees will have 13 employee representatives on the CSE and one with 1,000 will have 17. There are the same number of replacement employee representatives (suppléants) as full employee representatives (titulaires). These replacement members stand in for full members if they are unable to participate.

As well as the employee representatives elected by the workforce (see below), in companies with fewer than 300 employees, the trade union delegate (DS) is also entitled to be a member of the CSE. In companies with 300 or more employees, each representative trade union organisation (in other words each union whose candidates have the support of at least 10% of those voting in the election of employee representatives) can send a representative to the CSE.

As well as the CSE, the law now allows that, where a company has at least 50 employees and at least two different workplaces, the agreement covering the operation of the separate Social and Economic Committees at company and workplace level can also provide for the appointment of local representatives (représentants de proximité). The number is set in the agreement and the individuals concerned may be members of the CSE, although this is not necessary.

In companies with between 11 and 49 employees, the employer should meet all the employee representatives on the CSE once a month and they can also ask for other meetings if matters are urgent. In larger companies, those with 50 employee or more, the frequency of meetings of the CSE is fixed in a company-level agreement, but, as a minimum, the CSE must meet once a month in companies with at least 300 employees and once every two months in smaller companies (those with between 50 and 299 employees). At least four of these meetings should deal with questions of health and safety, and there should also be a meeting after any accident or serious incident. External experts can attend meetings to provide support on issues relating to health and safety and working conditions.

In companies with more than 300 employees, a health, safety and working conditions committee (commission santé, sécurité et conditions de travail – CSSCT) must be set up to take on most of the health and safety responsibilities of the CSE. It must also be established in smaller companies if they operate in a particularly dangerous industry, or if the labour inspectorate decides that this is necessary.

The CSE should also choose one of its members to take responsibility for action against sexual harassment and sexist acts.

Other than the health, safety and working conditions committee (CSSCT), a company-level agreement in companies with more than 50 employees, can provide for the setting up of other sub-committees of the CSE. However, there are a number which are obligatory in larger companies. In companies employing 300 or more there must be: a training committee; a housing committee – to help employees gain access to housing; and an equality committee. In addition, in companies with 1,000 employees or more, an economic committee must be set up. Finally, reflecting the size of the budget that some committees manage (see below), a markets committee must be established, in companies with at least 50 employees and where the committee has resources of at least €3.1 million a year and assets worth €1.55 million. The markets committee evaluates suppliers with the aim of making the process more transparent.

In companies with at least 50 employees, the CSE chooses a secretary and a treasurer from among the employee representatives and the secretary works with the chair (the employer) in drawing up the agenda.

Tasks and rights

The main task of the trade union section is to defend the interests of its members and to promote the union within the workplace. Its legal rights include: collecting trade union subscriptions during works time; access to notice boards; distributing trade union leaflets and organising meetings. These rights can be improved through local agreements. Where the union is representative within the company (the key point is that it should have the support of 10% of the workforce – see above), it can appoint a union delegate (DS). Where it is not representative it can appoint a representative of the trade union section (RSS).

The trade union delegate (DS) has two main roles: to represent the union, both to the workers and to the employer, for example through distributing material and collecting contributions; and to defend the professional and economic interests of the workforce as a whole. Unlike the employee representatives on the CSE, who are concerned to see that the existing rules and agreements are applied properly, the role of the trade union delegate is to seek to improve the existing arrangements.

One way of doing this is through negotiation, and there are a large number of topics where the employer has a duty to negotiate if a trade union delegate is present in the company (see section on collective bargaining).

The trade union delegate also has a right to attend meetings of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE).

The representative of the trade union section (RSS) has a much more limited role. Like the union delegate, he or she can distribute material and collect union subscriptions, but unlike the trade union delegate (DS), the RSS cannot undertake collective negotiations.

As already stated, the tasks and rights of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) vary according to the size of the company.

In companies with 11 to 49 employees, the role of the CSE is to present to the employer individual and collective complaints and claims regarding pay, the application of the labour code and other regulations, as well as the implementation of collective agreements. It also has a role in promoting the improvement of employees’ health and safety and working conditions, including the investigation of accidents and occupational diseases. If it wishes, the CSE can refer its concerns relating to the implementation of legal regulations, health and safety and other issues such as discrimination or sexual harassment to the labour inspectorate. It also has a right to warn (droit d’alerte) in cases where rights are being infringed or where there is a serious and imminent danger.

In addition, even in companies with fewer than 50 employees, the CSE has access to the register of employees, which includes details of qualifications and type of contract, as well as personal details like name and date of birth, and to documents giving details of actual hours worked.

In companies with 50 or more employees the role of the CSE is, in broad terms to ensure that the interests of the workers are taken into account in company decisions relating to the economic and financial management of the company, work organisation, occupational training and production techniques. This is primarily achieved through its information and consultation rights. The CSE also has specific responsibilities in relation to health and safety, and it runs the company’s social facilities like canteens. In addition, as noted in the section on collective bargaining, it can negotiate collective agreements in certain circumstances. Where it takes full responsibility for all company-level negotiations, see below, its name changes to Company Council (Conseil d’entreprise – CE) and it gains new veto rights.

Looking first at information and consultation, there are some issues, like the company’s finances, where the CSE must be informed and consulted on a regular basis, as well as other issues where the CSE’s information and consultation rights relate to specific company actions, like the introduction of new technologies, or are only triggered by specific events, like redundancies. In addition, the CSE has access to a specially constructed database of information on the company, and to a number of documents relating to employment and working time.

There are now three broad areas over which the CSE must be informed and consulted on a regular basis. (The system was simplified in 2015, when 17 separate topics for information and consultation were combined into three key areas.) These are:

• the strategic direction of the company;
• the company’s economic and financial situation; and
• the company’s social policy as well as working conditions and employment.

The frequency of this consultation can be decided in a company-level collective agreement, signed either with the majority unions or a majority of the works CSE, if there is no union delegate, although the agreement cannot extend the period beyond three years. However, if there is no agreement consultation on these three issues must take place once every year. The information necessary for this regular consultation is in the company database (see below).

Consultation on the strategic direction of the company and its economic and financial situation should take place at company level, but, where there are several workplaces in the company, consultation on social policy, working conditions and employment should take place both at company level and workplace level, if these workplaces are likely to be affected.

The CSE is helped in its response to the employer’s proposals as well as more generally in its work through its access to a database of economic and social information about the company (BDES).

Issues around the database’s content, architecture, rights of access and support can be settled through a company-level agreement or, in companies with fewer than 300 employees an industry-level agreement. However, if there is no agreement, the law sets out a detailed list of topics which must be included in the database. These cover the company’s:

• human capital, with details on the number and type of employees, including their qualifications, type of contact, hours, training and working conditions;
• tangible and intangible investments, including research and development spending and plans to change production methods;
• record on equality between women and men at work, including actions taken by the company;
• financing, debts and taxes;
• pay for employees and managers;
• social and cultural activities;
• financial performance, including turnover and profits; and
• partnerships, disposals, acquisitions and mergers.

Much more detail is required for companies with 300 or more employees than for those with between 50 and 299. The database should cover the current year and the two previous years, as well as the prospects for the three years to come. The database must be updated regularly and all employee members of the CSE as well as trade union delegates have access to it, although they are may not reveal confidential information.

In addition, as in smaller companies, the CSE in companies with 50 or more employees has access to the register of employees and to documents giving details of actual hours worked.

As well as the regular consultation on the three broad areas listed above, the CSE must also be consulted on:

• measures likely to affect the size or structure of the workforce;
• changes in the company’s economic or legal structure;
• working conditions, particularly hours of work and training;
• the introduction of new technologies and major development modifying health and safety or working conditions; and
• measures to allow the employment of disabled workers.

In addition, there are number of particular circumstances mentioned in the legislation where consultation is required, although there is some overlap with the consultation obligations of the company already listed. These specific circumstances are:

• the introduction of mechanisms for the monitoring or surveillance of employees;
• restructuring and reducing the number of employees;
• collective redundancies for economic reasons;
• any mergers;
• any proposals to take over other companies; and
• where the company may be liquidated or put into administration.

The timetable for consultation can be agreed locally, although it must provide

“sufficient” time, for the CSE to consider the issue and present its view. However, if there is no agreement, apart from areas where the law lays down a specific timetable, the CSE normally has a month from the date on which the employer presents its plans to give an opinion. This can be extended to two or even three months if external experts are involved. It is important to remember that the right of the CSE to respond to the employer’s plans and potentially to present its own alternative proposals does not guarantee that they will be changed. The process of consultation is normally procedurally very precise and formal, and management is obliged to listen to the views of the employee representatives, but it may continue with its plans regardless.

As well as being informed and consulted there are other areas where the CSE, in companies with 50 employees or more, should take action. These are:

• analysing work hazards( for more details on the CSE’s health and safety responsibilities see separate section);
• contributing to improving women’s access to jobs and resolving the problems mothers may face, as well as making the adjustments necessary to allow disabled employees to work; and
• supporting actions and initiatives combatting harassment, including sexual harassment, and sexist conduct.

The CSE in companies with 50 or more employees also has a right to warn (droit d’alerte) in a number of different circumstances. These are:

• where the CSE becomes aware of worrying information on the economic situation of the company;
• where the company is making excessive use of precarious contracts;
• where individual rights are being infringed, such as through bullying and harassment; and
• where there is a serious and imminent danger to employees.

In all these cases the employer is either required to provide an explanation at the next meeting of the CSE and/or the CSE can inform the relevant authorities.

The CSE also runs the social and cultural activities of the company such as the operation of canteens, holiday homes for employees, company libraries and sports and social clubs, where these exist. For this, the CSE has funds, provided by the employer, which in larger companies can be substantial.

As noted in the section on collective bargaining, the CSE can also negotiate company-level agreements in certain circumstances, generally when there are no trade union delegates. However, it is possible for the CSE to conduct negotiations when there are trade union delegates in the company, but, for this to happen, the union delegates themselves must agree with the company that the CSE will take over this role.

To be valid, a company-level agreement to this effect must be signed by unions with majority support in the workplace, as shown in the most recent elections for employee representatives, and it must be indefinite. This agreement sets out the arrangements for company-level negotiation, as well as the amount of paid time off for CSE members and the arrangements for the payment of travel expenses. However, in addition the agreement defines a list of topics subject to the veto of the CSE. These are issues where the employer cannot act without the CSE giving its approval in the consultation process, and the must include training. It is for the agreement to determine which other topics, if any, should also be subject to a similar veto, although the legislation suggests that gender equality could be one of them.

Where this happens, the CSE becomes a Company Council (Conseil d’entreprise – CE) and the union delegates, although they continue to exist, lose their right to conduct company-level collective bargaining.

It is also possible to set up a company committee (CE) where there are no trade union delegates. However, this can only be done by an industry-level agreement extended by the government to all the employers in the industry concerned.

Election and term of office

The trade union delegate (DS) is not elected by the union members at the company (the union section) but is appointed by the union, either at local, departmental or national level. However, as already noted, the individual appointed must already have been a candidate for the CSE and must have received at least 10% of the votes cast in the first round of the elections. Only unions which are representative within the company have the right to appoint a union delegate. Unions that are not representative have the right to appoint a representative of the trade union section (RSS). In both cases the employer must be informed which individual the union has chosen.

Employee members of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) are elected by the whole workforce, and the procedure gives an important role to the unions. It is, however, the employer who is responsible for initiating the process, although the union can step in if the employer fails to act.

In the first round of elections, only unions can put forward lists of candidates and, in larger companies, unions belonging to several confederations will present lists of candidates for both the full members and their replacements. The unions which can nominate candidates are those which already have a presence in the company, both the locally representative unions (with at least 10% support in previous company elections) and any unions with a union section in the company. The unions belonging to the five nationally representative union confederations can also put present candidates.

If these union-nominated candidates together get the votes of at least half of those eligible to vote, then the election result stands and the seats are allocated on a proportional basis between the unions. But if half or more of the possible voters fail to vote for the candidates put forward by the unions, then there is a second round within 15 days where nominations are open to all, including those who are not trade union members.

Depending on size, the whole workforce either votes together or in two or more separate groups, known as “colleges”, representing different grades of worker. The division of the workers and the seats in the colleges should be agreed with the unions. All employees in the company aged 16 and above have the right to vote, provided they have at least three months’ service in the company and are not subject to some legal restriction on their civic rights. Agency workers can also vote in the companies in which they are working, although they must have been there for at least a year.

Candidates must be slightly older (18) and must have worked in the company for at least a year. Close relatives of the employer (such as spouse, partner, parents, children, brother or sister) cannot stand. Part-time workers, working in more than one company, can only be elected in one of them. Agency workers cannot stand as candidates in the companies in which they are working.

The lists of candidates being proposed, both full members and their replacements, should reflect gender balance of the employees represented. This is not just in the company as a whole but in the specific college in which the candidates are standing. Men and women alternate on the lists being proposed to ensure that those at the bottom of the lists, who are less likely to be elected, are not all one sex. If the lists fail to reflect the gender balance, the issue can be taken to a judge, who can require that the lists are changed, before the election, or, after the election, that it is rerun.

Figures published in 2018 indicate that 38.3% of candidates for employee representative elections in companies with 50 or more employees were women in the electoral cycle 2009 to 2012 and 39.7% of those elected were women. Both figures are slightly below the proportion of women in the workforce in these companies (42.5%), but they are around seven percentage points higher than in 2000-2001.[7] They also predate the current legislation on the representation of women (loi Rebsamen 17 August 2015), which only came into force on 1 January 2017.

The term of office of the union delegate ends when the next round of elections are held, although an individual can be reappointed, provided they and their union again have the necessary level of support (10%) in these elections. The term of office of representatives of the trade union sections (RSS) which are not representative in the company also ends with the next round of CSE elections and, if the union they represent continues to have the support of less than 10% of the workforce, the individuals concerned cannot take up the position again until six months before the next CSE elections. If the union crosses the 10% threshold it becomes representative in the company and the former representative of the trade union section becomes a union delegate with full rights.

CSE members are normally elected for four years, but collective agreements at either industry or company level can provide for a shorter period – down to two years. As part of the changes introduced in 2017, there is now a limit on the total length of time individuals can hold office. Candidates can only be elected three times – a maximum of 12 years – other than in companies with fewer than 50 employees, or in companies with between 50 and 300, where this has been agreed before the election. However, this limit does not apply to positions held in the bodies that preceded the CSE, so it will only begin to have an impact from 2030 onwards.

Protection against dismissal

Trade union delegates, representatives of union sections which are not representative and those who have held these positions during the previous 12 months, can only be dismissed following an interview with the employer, consultation with the CSE and with the permission of the local labour inspector. The permission of the labour inspector is also required when employment is terminated on the basis of a mutual agreement (rupture conventionnelle).

The same protection also applies to CSE members, although in their case the protection only lasts for six months after the individuals have ceased to hold these positions.

Despite these protections, figures from Dares show that some protected individuals are dismissed each year. In the period 2008-10, 17% of all workplaces with 50 employees or more requested that at least one protected employee be dismissed and, on average, these demands were made in respect of 1.7% of all protected employees each year. Of these proposed dismissals, just over three-quarters (76.9%) were authorised by the labour inspector.[8]

Trade union delegates and elected employee representatives (CSE members) also have some protection against employer discrimination in relation to pay increases under legislation passed in 2015 ((loi Rebsamen). Where the time off for the duties associated with these roles amounts to 30% or more of their contractual hours their pay must increase in line with that received by other employees with similar status and seniority.

Time-off and other resources

Individual members of trade union sections have no time-off rights, but where the union is representative within the company – the key condition is that it has the support of 10% of the employees – it has the right to 12 paid hours per year to prepare for negotiations if the company employs 500 or more and 18 hours per year if it employs 1,000 or more. The number of hours provided for this purpose, as well as the paid hours provided to the union delegate (see below) was increased through legislation passed in 2016 (loi travail 8 August 2016).

Trade union delegates (DS) have rights to paid time-off. The amount varies with the size of the plant or company: 50 to 150 employees – 12 hours a month; 151 to 499 employees – 18 hours a month; 500 employees or more – 24 hours a month. In companies with 2,000 or more employees, unions which are representative within the company can designate a central union delegate (DSC). He or she has the right to 24 hours paid hours’ time off a month, irrespective of the size of the plant in which he or she is employed. Trade union delegates, including central union delegates, are also able to use their time off outside the company, for example in industry-level negotiations and meetings. They have a right to meet employees during working time, provided this does not cause significant harm, and to leave the company in the course of their activities.

The representatives of the union section (RSS), from unions that are not representative within the company, have a right to four hours paid time-off a month if the company has 50 or more employees.

As well as time off, each union section – whether representative within the company or not – has the right:

• to a noticeboard;
• to organise meetings – including with an external speaker – on work premises but outside working time;
• to hand out material within the premises at the start and end of work; and
• to put material on the company’s intranet.

In addition, in workplaces with 250 employees or more (increased from the previous threshold of 200 by the so-called Pacte law passed in April 2019), the employer must provide a single room for all the trade union sections and, from 1,000 employees, each union that is representative within the company has the right to its own room.

CSE members also have right to paid time off to carry out their duties, which can be agreed with the employer. However, where there is no agreement each member of the CSE has the right to the number of hours set out in the table. This starts at 10 hours a month in the smallest companies where a CSE must be set up (11 to 49 employees) and rises to 34 hours a month in the largest companies (9,750 and above).

In larger companies, the total amount of paid time off for CSE members is broadly equivalent to the combined time off provided to the members of the three former bodies (employee delegates, works council and health and safety committee) which the CSE is replacing. However, in companies with between 50 and 200 there are potentially fewer paid time off hours available than before the Macron Ordonnances in 2017. The 2017 legislation did, however, state that the time spent in meetings of the committee would not be counted against the time off allowance, provided it was less than a set threshold. This threshold was fixed at 30 hours per year in companies with 300 to 1,000 employees and 60 hours a year for those with 1,000 and above.

As before, one important aspect of all these time off rights is that they can be combined. For example, in a company with 300 employees, an individual who is both a CSE member and a trade union delegate will get both 22 hours a month as a CSE member and 18 hours a month as a trade union delegate. The hours can also be combined and redistributed between the CSE delegates, allowing some members to have more time off and some less than the allocation set out in the table, although this is subject to the limit that the amount of extra time off provided by other CSE members cannot exceed 50% of the initial allocation. CSE can also average their hours over 12 months, spending more time in some months than in others, as long as the annual total does not exceed their monthly hours multiplied by 12, although again with a 50% limit on the amount that can be transferred between months.

As well as time off for its members, the CSE has access other resources, although these vary between larger and smaller companies.

In companies with fewer than 50 employees, the CSE has the use of a room to allow it to fulfil its functions, primarily as a place to meet. It can also put up notices on the trade union notice boards and at the entrances to the workplace.

In companies with 50 or more employees, the CSE has the use of a room together with the equipment and material necessary for it to function effectively – all provided free by the employer. This room can be used both for internal meetings and to invite external guests.

In addition, in companies with 50 or more employees, the employer must also provide the CSE with a budget of 0.2% of the total wage bill for its operations. This goes up to 0.22% in companies with at least 2,000 employees. This budget is in addition to any sums provided by the employer to run social and cultural activities in the company, although not where the employer is already contributing 0.22% of the wage bill.

The CSE can use this budget to employ its own staff, if it wishes, although it may have to pay some of the cost of the use of external experts – see below. It can also divert up to 10% of its surplus funds into additional cultural and social activities.

Another important right, in companies with 50 or more employees, is the right to use experts, either entirely or largely paid for by the employer. Financial experts can be brought in to look at each of the following three areas for regular consultation:

• the strategic direction of the company;
• the company’s economic and financial situation; and
• the company’s social policy as well as working conditions and employment.

The frequency of the use of experts is agreed at company level, either, in the first instance with the unions, or with the CSE itself.

In addition, it is possible for the CSE to call in a financial expert in the following specific situations:

• when it is being consulted over restructuring;,
• large scale redundancies for economic reasons (at least 10 in 30 days);
• takeovers; and
• when it has used its right to warn on economic issues.

The CSE can also ask for the help of an “accredited expert” in relation to:

• serious risks to health or occupational illness;
• the introduction of new technology or major changes to health and safety; and
• the preparation of negotiations on gender equality at work (where there are at least 300 employees).

It can also ask a financial expert to produce information helpful to unions preparing negotiations on the effective working of the company, and in developing or safeguarding employment.

In most of these cases the cost of the expertise is fully borne by the employer. The main exceptions, where the CSE pays 20% of the cost of this expertise and the employer 80% are the use of an expert for the regular consultation on the strategic direction of the company, plus specific consultations on:

• the introduction of new technologies or major health and safety changes;
• restructuring; and
• the use of the right to warn.

The experts have the right to see the documents they need to carry out their work, but they must keep information confidential.

These rights are not always taken up, but the fact that the CSE and before that the work councils have these powers has resulted in the growth of national organisations of experts linked to the main trade union confederations.

Training resources

All employees have the right to up to 12 days a year economic, social and trade union training (CFESS). This is extended to up to 18 days if individuals are being asked to exercise a trade union function. However, there are workforce limits on the total amount of time that can be taken for this training each year, which in companies with up to 500 employees are equivalent to one course of training for every 25 employees. (This rate rises in stages to one course per 200 employees in companies with 5,000 or more employees.) There are also limits on the proportion that can be taken up by those with trade union responsibilities. This means that in a company with 150 employees only three union delegates a year would have right to this training.

The CFESS training can be taken in blocks of at least two days each and the training must be provided either by a nationally representative union or a body approved by the ministry of labour. Since 1 January 2018, the employee is paid in full by the employer during this training. Previously there was a possibility that the union could be asked to reimburse the cost. The legislation does not state that the cost of this training should be borne by the employer. However in practice, it may form part of the CSE’s own budget or be included in the employer’s overall training plan.

Members of the CSE in all companies with 11 or more employees are entitled to health and safety training, aimed at developing their ability to assess risks at work and to take action to reduce them. This training should be provided once the individual has been elected and it should have both theoretical and practical elements which take account of the particular circumstances of the industry concerned. CSE members are paid during the training, which must be provided by accredited body, and the employer also pays the cost of the training subject to certain conditions. The training can be renewed after four years in post.

The amount of training to be provided to CSE is not specified in the legislation, which states only that it must be the training “necessary to allow them to carry out their tasks” relating to health and safety. However, there are minimum amounts of training prescribed for members of the health and safety committee (CSSCT), a sub-committee of the CSE which is obligatory in companies with at least 300 employees as well as in smaller companies facing higher than average risks (see above). In companies with at least 300 employees, members of the health and safety committee are entitled to a minimum of five days training and in smaller companies they are entitled to at least three days.

In addition all CSE members in companies with at least 50 employees are entitled to five days economics training during their four-year period of office, which can be repeated if they are re-elected. The time can be deducted from the rights to time off for economic, social and trade union training (see above). The training should be provided by a body approved by the government authorities or by centres linked to the unions (among others). The training should take place during working time and is paid as such. The cost of the training course is paid by the CSE, which has its own budget from the employer. In practice the CSE will normally bear the other costs, such as travel and accommodation.

Requests for training must be made at least 30 days before the start of the training and the employer must reply within 8 days. The request can be refused if the employer considers, and the CSE agrees, that the employee’s absence would have damaging consequences.

Representation at group level

In companies with several plants and 2,000 or more employees, unions which are representative within the company can designate a central union delegate (DSC).

In cases where a company has at least 50 employees and has more than one plant, there should be both a CSE at plant level and a central CSE for the company. A company-level agreement, signed by the majority unions or, if there is no union delegate, an agreement with a majority of the CSE determines the divisions between the plant-level and company-level CSE. (If no agreement is possible, the employer can take this decision, but this is open to challenge at the regional offices of the ministry of labour.)

Where there are several companies within a single group, a group committee (comité du groupe) must be established covering all the subsidiaries and other companies controlled by the group. It must meet at least once a year and has primarily information rights. It must be informed about the activity, financial situation and employment of the entire group and it is provided with the consolidated accounts of the group as well as the forecasts. To help the committee understand the accounts, it can appoint a financial expert to explain them and identify trends and concerns, with the cost being borne by the group.

The group committee consists of the head of dominant company in the group, plus two assistants, and representatives of the employees in group companies. The representatives’ seats are allocated to the unions on the basis of their support in the previous elections and the unions choose the individuals from their members who have been elected to the CSEs in the companies within the group.

[1] Les relations professionnelles en 2017 : un panorama contrasté du dialogue social dans les établissements? by Fabrice Romans, Dares, 2018

[2] LOI n° 2015-994 du 17 août 2015 relative au dialogue social et à l'emploi

[3] Les relations professionnelles en 2017 : un panorama contrasté du dialogue social dans les établissements? by Fabrice Romans, Dares, 2018

[4] Ibid.

[5] Les représentants du personnel dans l’entreprise: des salariés comme les autres? By Maria Teresa Pignoni, Dares, January 2019

[6] Article R2314-1pf the Labour Code

[7] Les femmes dans les instances représentatives du personnel : bientôt la parité ? by Lisa Mourlot et Maria-Teresa Pignoni, Dares 2018

[8] Les licenciements et les ruptures conventionnelles des contrats des salariés protégés, principaux indicateurs, by Fabrice Roman and, Élodie Rosankis, Dares, 2017

Legislation passed in 2013 greatly extended the range of companies covered by the obligation to have employee representatives at board level, and this was widened again in 2015. As well as state-owned companies which were previously covered, large private companies must in future also have at least one employee representative at board level. This is in addition to representatives of employees holding shares and employee representatives who can be present at board meetings, but are not board members.

Employee representatives at board level representing all employees were until 2013 generally only been present in state-owned and privatised companies. However, the law on employment security, adopted in June 2013, substantially extended this representation, and legislation on social dialogue and employment, enacted in August 2015, and the so-called Pacte legislation, adopted in 2019, produced a further widening.

As a result, employee representation at board level is obligatory in larger share-based companies (Société anonyme (SA) with 1,000 or more employees in France or 5,000 or more worldwide (France and other countries). (Before 2015, the thresholds were 5,000 and 10,000 respectively.) There must be one employee representative, where there are up to eight board members, and two where there are more than eight. (This threshold was reduced from the previous figure of 12 in the 2019 Pacte legislation.) This applies whether the company has a single board (conseil d’administration) or a two-tier board system (less common) in which case the employee representative or representatives become members of the supervisory board (conseil de surveillance).

The mechanism for choosing the employee representatives is decided by an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting, after taking advice from existing bodies representing the employees, the group committee, the central Social and Economic Committee (CSE) or the company CSE, as appropriate.

The meeting can choose between four options:

• elections, either direct or indirect, with nominations made by the unions;
• appointment by the existing bodies representing the employees – the group committee, central CSE or CSE;
• appointment by the union with the largest share of the vote in the CSE elections (the two unions with the highest votes, if two employee representatives are to be chosen); or
• a combination of one of the three options set out above plus an appointment by the European Works Council or, in a European Company, the SE representative body. (This option is only available if at least two employee representatives are being selected.)

Where board-level employee representatives are chosen through elections, the list of candidates must contain an equal number of male and female candidates. Where two are appointed by the group committee, central CSE or CSE, one must be a man and one a women. The individuals must have at least two years’ service in one of the companies covered by the board.

The period of office of an employee representative at board level is set by the statutes of the company. However, it cannot exceed six years. Board-level employee representatives can only be dismissed with the permission of the local labour inspector, and this protection continues for six months after they have stepped down. They are also entitled to 40 hours of training (increased from 20 by the Pacte legislation in 2019).

The introduction of the obligation to have employee representation at board level has led to a clear increase in their number. In 2018, according to the corporate governance monitoring group Ethics &Boards, there were 111 employee representatives at board level in the companies in the SBF 120 group of key French companies – equivalent to 7.4% of the total.[1] In 2013 there were only 37.[2]

In state-owned companies with fewer than 200 employees, up to a third of the seats on the board (with a minimum of two) are reserved for employee representatives. In those companies with more than 200 employees, employee representatives account for one third of the board. The situation is different in the subsidiaries of state-owned companies, where there are no employee board seats if they employ fewer than 200, three seats if they employ between 200 and 1,000, and a third of the board if they employ more than 1,000. In all cases employee representatives at board level are elected by the employees on the basis of nominations made by representative unions or at least 10% of the members of the CSEs in the company.

Other companies can also choose voluntarily to have employee representatives on the board, although this is rare. The number of employee representatives in these companies is limited to a maximum of four (five in the case of listed companies) and the number also cannot exceed one third of the total of board members.

One important aspect of the French system of board-level representation is that the position of an employee representative at board level cannot be combined with any other elected position, such as a member of the CSE or a trade union delegate. This applies in all cases (private companies with more than 1,000/5,000 employees, state-owned companies and companies voluntarily choosing to have employee representatives on the board).

Employee representatives can also be present as board members representing employee shareholders. At least one member representing employee shareholders is mandatory where employee shareholders have at least 3% of the shares.

Finally, the law provides for either two or four representatives of the CSE (depending on the number of managers employed) to attend board meetings (or meetings of the supervisory board where this exists). Where there are already employee board members, only one works council representative has the right to attend. These works council representatives are not board members – for example, they cannot vote. However, they can raise issues, and have the right to have their points answered. They also have the right to receive the same information as other board members.

[1] Ethics & Boards Weekly Governance Ratio 19/10/2018 https://www.ethicsandboards.com/studies/469-weekly-governance-ratio-19-10-2018?lang=en (Accessed 12.02.2019)

[2]La présence des salariés se renforce dans les conseils d'administration, by Laurence Boisseau, Les Echos, 24.10.18 https://www.lesechos.fr/24/10/2018/lesechos.fr/0302433445493_la-presence-des-salaries-se-renforce-dans-les-conseils-d-administration.htm (Accessed 12.02.2019)

European representatives from France – for both European Works Councils and European Company bodies – are appointed by the unions. The exception is board level representatives in a European Company, where the representative body decides how they should be chosen.

European Works Councils

French members of the special negotiating body (SNB) are appointed by the unions, on the basis of their support in works council elections, either from among the works council members or from among the trade union delegates in the company. If there is no union presence the employees themselves make the choice.

The position is the same for members of an EWC set up under the fall back procedure in the annex to the directive.

One particular power potentially given to EWCs in large French companies is to appoint one of the employee board level representatives (see section on board level representation). According to the 2013 law on employment security, in companies employing 5,000 people in France, or 10,000 worldwide, the shareholders’ meeting can decide that where there are two employee representatives on the board, one of them should be appointed by the EWC.

European Company

Special Negotiating Body members from France are chosen by unions from among the elected works council members or the appointed trade union delegates, on the basis of union results in the most recent elections.

The position is the same for the French members of the SE representative body, as set up under the annex to the directive.

It is the SE representative body which decides how employee representatives at board level in a European Company are to be chosen. But the legislation also states that where an election takes place it should follow the same rules as for the election of national employee board level representatives in state-owned companies – in other words an election by all employees on the basis of nominations made by representative unions or at least 5% of the employees of the company (at least 100 in companies with 2,000 or more employees).

Further information on the national SE legislation can be found here.

Employee representation on health and safety issues in the private sector is now provided through the Social and Economic Committee, the single body covering all areas where employees have representation rights, rather than a separate health and safety committee. These new arrangements began to come into effect in January 2018. In the public services, the key body for employee representation on these issues continues to be a separate health and safety committee.

Basic approach at workplace level

It is the employer’s responsibility to take the measures necessary to ensure the safety and protect the mental and physical health of the employees. Contributing to this is one of the roles of the Social and Economic Committee in the private sector, and a key role of the health and safety committee in the public services.

Employee health and safety bodies

In the private sector, dealing with health and safety issues is now one of the tasks of the Social and Economic Committee (Comité Social et Économique – CSE), rather than being the responsibility of a separate health and safety committee (comité d’hygiène, de sécurité et des conditions de travail – CHSCT) as in the past. Following the changes, which came into effect in January 2018, three separate bodies representing employees at the workplace – the health and safety committee (CHSCT), the employee delegates (DP) and the works council CE) – have been merged into one, the Social and Economic Committee (CSE). In larger companies, those with 300 or more employees, a sub-committee of the Social and Economic Committee dealing specifically with health, safety and working conditions (CSSCT) must also be formed

In the public services, separate health and safety committees (CHSCT) continue to exist, although the rules, according to which they operate, vary between the three areas of public service: central government (Fonction publlique de l’État – FPE), regional and local government (Fonction publique territorial – FPT) and the hospital service (Fonction publique hospitalière – FPH).

Numbers and structure

In the private sector a Social and Economic Committee (CSE) must be set up in all companies with at least 11 employees, although its rights and duties vary with the number of employees, with two thresholds – 50 employees and 300.

The Social and Economic Committee (CSE) is a joint body consisting of the employer, who chairs it and who may be accompanied by up to three colleagues, and elected representatives of the employees. The number of employee representatives is set out precisely in the legislation, starting with a single representative in companies with between 11 and 24 employees, rising in stages to 35 in a company with 10,000 employees. For example a company with 500 employees will have 13 employee representatives on the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) and one with 1,000 will have 17.

As well as the employee representatives elected by the workforce (see below), in companies with fewer than 300 employees, the trade union delegate (DS) is also entitled to be a member of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE). In companies with 300 or more employees, each representative trade union organisation (in other words each union whose candidates have the support of at least 10% of those voting in the election of employee representatives) can send a representative to the Social and Economic Committee (CSE).

In companies with more than 300 employees, a health, safety and working conditions committee (commission santé, sécurité et conditions de travail – CSSCT) must be set up to take on most of the health and safety responsibilities of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE). It must also be established in smaller companies if they operate in a particularly dangerous industry, or if the labour inspectorate decides that this is necessary.

This health, safety and working conditions committee is a joint body, chaired by the employer or the employer’s representative. Other individuals can accompany the employer to this health and safety committee but their total number cannot exceed the number of employee representatives.

The employee representatives on the health, safety and working conditions committee (CSSCT) are chosen by the Social and Economic Committee (CSE), from among the members of that committee. There must be at least three employee representatives, including one representative of more senior staff, but the detailed arrangements, in terms of numbers and functioning, are left for negotiations between the employer and the union delegates. If there is no union delegate, they are to be negotiated with the Social and Economic Committee (CSE), and, if these negotiations are unsuccessful, the Social and Economic Committee fixes the rules.

In the public services, where employee representation in the area of health and safety was not changed by the legislation which came into effect in January 2018, joint employer-employee health and safety committees (CHSCT) continue to play a crucial role, although the numbers and structures vary between the three public services. In central government, health and safety committees, which have between three and nine employee representatives, must be set up at central and ministerial level and in each public establishment with sufficient staff. In local and regional government, health and safety committees are obligatory at all organisations with at least 50 staff, and have between three and 10 employee representatives, depending on the number employed. In the hospital services too, the threshold is 50, and, as well as between three and nine employee representatives, there are also representatives of doctors, pharmacists and dentists.

These health and safety committees in the public services are chaired by a representative of the employers, and include members representing the employer. In local and regional government, for example, there are the same number of representatives of the local authority as employee representatives.

Research by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in 2014 found that, under the previous structure, where there was a separate health and safety committee (CHSCT), 25% of workplaces in France had such a body. This is slightly above the EU-28 average of 21% of workplaces with health and safety committees. (The figures are for workplaces with five or more employees.)[1] It is too soon to know how the new structure will work.

Tasks and rights

In the private sector, the role of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) in the area of health and safety varies depending on whether there are fewer than 50 employees, between 50 and 299 employees, or 300 or more employees.

In companies with 11 or more but fewer than 50 employees, the employee members of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) have a right to promote health and safety and the improvement of working conditions in the company and to carry out investigations relating to accidents or the incidence of occupational diseases. They also have the right to draw attention to threats to health and safety, including as a result of bullying or sexual harassment, and to ask the employer to remedy the situation. In addition, they have the right to inform the labour inspectorate of any concerns they have about how regulations are being applied. More specifically, the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) should be informed when the employer has been sent the results of various official inspections, as well as being given access to those results. Where the committee undertakes investigations into accidents or the incidence of occupational diseases, these enquiries should be undertaken jointly by the employer (or the employer’s representative) and at least one employee representative.

In companies with 50 employees or more, the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) must be informed and consulted on a wide range of issues, some of which are specifically relevant to health and safety. These include: working conditions, particular the length of working time; the introduction of new technology; and all important changes affecting health and safety and working conditions.

In particular, in companies with 50 employees or more the committee should:

• analyse working conditions and occupational hazards faced by employees (particularly pregnant women);
• help to improve women’s access to all occupations, resolve problems linked to maternity and help make work accessible to the disabled; and
• support all initiatives intended to prevent bullying and sexual harassment, as well as sexist behaviour.

Some other tasks which were previously the responsibility of the health and safety committee under the previous structure (CHSCT), such as protecting the physical and mental health and safety of employees and analysing working conditions, are not part of the responsibilities of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE).

In companies with 50 employees or more, the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) must carry out regular health and safety inspections, and it investigates accidents at work or cases of occupational disease or illness linked to work, where they occur. It can make use of the advice of any employee of the company if it seems appropriate, and it can also ask to speak to neighbouring employers if their activities affect the company’s employees.

In companies with 50 employees or more, the employer must also provide the committee with an annual report setting out the overall position in relation to health and safety and an assessment of the actions carried out in the course of the year. The employer must also present the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) with an annual plan setting out proposals to reduce risks and improve working conditions. (These are part of the overall responsibility of the employer to report annually on a wide range of social conditions in the company.) In response to this report, the committee can propose the priority to be given to the actions planned and also make additional suggestions.

As in smaller companies, each member of the committee in companies with 50 employees or more also has also the right to draw attention to threats to health and safety, including as a result of bullying or sexual harassment, and to ask the employer to remedy the situation.

Where a committee for health, safety and working conditions (CSSCT) has been set up, required in companies with 300 employees or more and in certain other circumstances (see above), the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) can delegate all or part of its health and safety responsibilities to this committee. However, the body for formal consultation with the employer continues to be the Social and Economic Committee (CSE), and it is the CSE which has the responsibility for asking for external expertise (see below).

In the public services, the precise tasks and rights of the health and safety committee (CHSCT) vary between the three services, but, in broad terms, the committee must be consulted about important changes affecting health, safety and working conditions, as well as the annual report from the employer on health and safety and working conditions, and the annual plan for future action. It has a right to visit and/or inspect areas for which it is responsible and particularly to carry out inspections following accidences or instances of occupational disease. The committee also carries out its own assessment of risks and can make proposals for improvements, particularly in the area of psychosocial risks, such as stress, bullying and sexual harassment.

Frequency of meetings

The frequency of meetings of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) is set by negotiation. However, if there is no agreement, it must meet at least one a month in companies with 300 employees or more and once every two months in smaller companies. At least four of these meetings must deal with health and safety issues and these issues must be covered more often in companies where health and safety risks are higher. In addition Social and Economic Committee (CSE) should meet and discuss health and safety following any serious accident or potential accident, or after any event with an impact or potential impact on the environment or public safety. It should also meet if two employee members call for it to meet.

The frequency of meetings of the committee for health, safety and working conditions (CSSCT), where one exists, is determined by negotiation or, in the final instance, by decision of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE).

In public services, the health and safety committee must meet at least three times a year in central government and in local and regional government, and four times a year in hospital services

Election and term of office

Employee representatives on the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) are elected by the whole workforce, although initially they can only be nominated by the unions. They are normally elected for four years.

The employee members of the committee for health, safety and working conditions (CSSCT) are chosen by the Social and Economic Committee (CSE), from among the members of that committee.

For a period, the pre-2018 structure, with three separate employee representative bodies, including a separate health and safety committee, will continue to exist alongside the new structure. However, it is intended that the new structure based on the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) will be universal by 1 January 2020.

In public services, the employee members of the health and safety committees are designated by the unions in line with their support in elections for wider employee representative bodies, known as comités techniques. In all three public services, the term of office of members of the health and safety committee is four years.,

Resources, time off and training

Employee members of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) are entitled to paid time off, which varies with the number of employees. In companies with between 11 and 49 employees each member is entitled to 10 hours a month. In larger companies the amount of time off increases, rising to 34 hours a month per employee representative in companies with 9,750 or more employees. For example, in a company with 250 employees, 11 representatives are each entitled to 22 hours a month – a total of 242 hours a month; in a company with 500, 13 representatives are entitled to 24 each – a total of 312; and in a company with 1,000 employees, 17 representatives are entitled to 24 hours each – a total of 408. These hours can be shared as wished between members of the committee, but they cover all the responsibilities of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE), not just health and safety.

The employer must provide the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) with other resources, such as a meeting room, to enable it to function effectively.

The Social and Economic Committee (CSE) also has the right to make use of an external expert, where major changes to health and safety arrangements or working conditions are planned by the employer. The employer pays the bulk of the cost (80%) with the remaining 20% paid by the committee. In the case of a dispute, the courts decide whether an expert is necessary. It is the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) not the committee for health and safety and working conditions (CSSCT) which chooses to ask for the use of an expert.

Employee representatives on the committee for health, safety and working conditions (CSSCT) are entitled a paid period of training, which should help them assess risks, and eliminate or reduce them, as well as improving working conditions. Those dealing with health on safety on the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) have the same right to training. The amount provided varies with the number employed – five days for each four-year period of office in companies with 300 or more employees, three days in smaller companies.

In public services, the resources, time off and training available to employee members of health and safety committees (CHSCT) are similar to similar to those of their counterparts in the private sector. The employer must provide the committee with the resources to enable it to fulfil its tasks, as well as time off, which varies with the number of employees. For example in the hospital service, time off ranges from two hours per month per committee member in organisations with fewer than 100 staff, to 20 hours a month, in those with 1,500 employees or more. The employee representatives can decide among themselves how this time off will be shared. Employee members of health and safety committees in the public services are also entitled to five days’ training over their period of office. In addition, the committee can ask for the involvement of an external expert, paid for by the employer, where major changes are being proposed or where there has been an accident or a case of an occupational disease. There are mechanisms for resolving disagreements between the committee members and the employer on the need for an external expert, but the details vary between the three services.

Protection against dismissal

In the private sector, employee representatives on the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) can only be dismissed following an interview with the employer, consultation with the committee and with the permission of the local labour inspector.

In public services, employee representatives on the health and safety committee (CHSCT), who are on standard employment contracts, similarly cannot de dismissed without the permission of the labour inspector. Those who have special employment status as civil servants have other more general protections against dismissal.

Other elements of workplace health and safety

French legislation emphasises the duty of employers to ensure the safety and protect the health, both physical and mental, of their employees. Among other things, the employer is obliged to draw up a written risk assessment, the single risk assessment document (DUER), which must be updated at least annually. Employers in the private sector must appoint a competent employee to deal with risk prevention and protection, and if the appropriate skills are not available within the workforce, external experts can be used.

Employees in the private sector must also have access to an occupational health service (service de santé au travail). This can be provided internally in companies with 500 employees or more, but smaller companies must belong to a multi-company occupational health service (service de santé au travail interentreprise – SSTI), with the obligations and rights of the two sides set out in a long-term contract known as a CPOM.

In the public services, there is a network of health and safety advisers and assistant advisers (conseillers de prévention et assistants de prévention) who provide support and expertise in the area of health and safety, with the assistants working at local level and the more senior advisers having a coordinating role. These advisers have specialised training and one of their responsibilities can be to draw up the risk assessment document. Public sector employees also have access to occupational health services.

National context

At ministerial level, responsibility for health and safety at work is shared between the Ministry of Labour (Ministère du Travail) and the Ministry of Solidarity and Health (Ministère des Solidarités et de la Santé).[2] The responsibility for monitoring compliance with health and safety laws and regulations lies with the Labour Inspectorate (Inspection du travail), which also enforces employment legislation more generally. There are also a number of government agencies which support health and safety promotion, training and research, in particular the National Institute for research and safety (Institut national de recherche et de sécurité – INRS), the National Agency for the improvement of working conditions (Agence nationale pour l'amélioration des conditions de travail – ANACT), and the Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l’alimentation, de l’environnement et du travail – ANSES).

In addition to the general process of social dialogue, which gives unions and employers a consultative role in social policy, trade unions and employers are able to influence health and safety policy through their membership of the Guidance Council for Working Conditions (Conseil d’orientation des conditions de travail – COCT). The employers’ associations and the unions each have eight seats on the 42-member body, with the rest taken by government representatives (both national and local) and representatives of the health and safety agencies (11 seats), and health and safety experts (15 seats).[3]

In the public services unions have a direct role in developing health and safety policy through their membership of the bodies which each service has as part of its consultative structure. These include the central committee on health, safety and working conditions (Commission centrale de l'hygiène, de la sécurité et des conditions de travail), present in both central government and the hospital service, and the higher council (Conseil supérieur), which exists in all three services.

The main French legislation on health and safety, contained in the Labour Code (Articles L.4121-1 to L.4121-5), does not refer specifically to psychosocial risks, although harassment (harcèlement moral) is added as one of the factors related to the working environment where employers need to develop a coherent overall prevention policy, and “sexist behaviour” (agissements sexistes) has been added by the 2016 Loi travail. However, as well as legislation, the government has extended two separate collective agreements on stress and harassment and violence at work, making them binding on all employers and workers. It also signed an agreement on psychosocial risks in the public sector in 2013.

Key legislation

Labour Code, Book III: Representative employee institutions

Labour Code, Fourth Part: Health and safety at work

Code du travail, Livre III : Les institutions représentatives du personnel

Code du travail, Quatrième partie : Santé et sécurité au travail

[1] Second European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2016

[2][2] Safer and healthier work at any age Country Inventory: France, by Marc Loriol, Lise Oulès and Elena Fries-Tersch, EU-OSHA,, 2015

[3] For more information on the national context see OSH system at national level – France by Philippe Jandrot, OSH Wiki https://oshwiki.eu/wiki/OSH_system_at_national_level_-_France