The labor environment in France
What were the reforms implemented?
Far-reaching changes have been made to bring greater fluidity to the labor market and better respond to companies’ needs and employees’ expectations.
3 main axes in renovating France's social model
Improving predictability and securing working relationships
Collective performance agreements to adjust employee remuneration and arrange working time to meet the needs stemming from the company’s operations or with a view to preserving or developing employment.
Collective contractual termination created: A collective agreement resulting in the termination of the employment contract by mutual agreement between the employer and the employee.
Dismissal securing: The time period for contesting a dismissal has been reduced from two years to one and a damages scale has been established in the event of unfair dismissal :
Strengthening social dialogue
Priority given to company agreements to ensure that work organization is defined as closely in line as possible with needs; a single forum for discussion with employee representatives, the Social and Economic Committee (SEC). For further information
Investing in skills
A major catalyst for corporate competitiveness
Skills Investment Plan: €15 billion by 2022 to build a skills society and speed up the far-reaching transformation of training provisions. Objective: training for one million low-skilled or unskilled job-seekers and one million young people remote from the labor market.
Vocational training: Enabling workers to adapt to their workstation, changes in jobs, job retention schemes, and skills development.
What is the “My Training Account” system?
View the main reforms in 10 key points:
View the French Labor Code in digital format on the Ministry of Labor’s website
View our guide to setting up your business, written in collaboration with Mazars.
Key figures on the reforms
The first assessment of the Labor Ordinances confirms that businesses have made use of the new tools that have become available:
- Collective bargaining: As of August 1, 2019, 209 collective performance agreements had been signed.
- Collective redundancy: As of October 31, 2019, 190 companies had committed to collective contractual termination.
- Litigation stemming from individual dismissals: A drop in the number of appeals filed with the industrial tribunals (119,000 applications filed with industrial tribunals in 2018, compared with 210,000 in 2005, a decrease of 43%).
- Jobs: Increase in the number of hires under permanent contracts: +14% since the beginning of 2017.
Apprenticeship in France in 2019
How to recruit employees in France
The public employment agencies offer an extended range of services to help companies recruit and identify the skills needed for their business.
File a job offer and request support in hiring: For further information
Register hires, make payments, and receive certificates: For further information
Employing workers in France without an establishment: For further information
Estimate the cost of a hire: For further information