A consistent law (100 pages, 123 Articles) – 3 key issues:
What are the main changes regarding working time?
In order to promote the collective bargaining, the law « Labor » provides for the principle of the supremacy of company-wide or site-wide collective bargaining agreement upon Industry-wide collective bargaining agreement in matter of work duration. For example, the company-wide collective bargaining agreement will be able to derogate regarding overtime, work at night and part time from the provisions of the Industry-wide collective bargaining agreement in that matters.
The law makes secure the recourse to working time arrangements in days or hours over the year by enabling the employer to complete the insufficient collective bargaining agreement provisions in matter of follow up procedure of employees’ work load.
A new framework on collective bargaining
The company-wide or site-wide collective bargaining agreement adopted by the unions representing the majority of employees becomes the principle. The approval of said collective bargaining agreement by referendum in case of blocking situation with unions is allowed. The law will enter in force gradually until September 1, 2019.
The collective bargaining rules are modified. Except contrary provision, the duration of collective bargaining agreements is from now on in principle 5 years and fixed term collective bargaining agreements that have expired will not be applicable anymore. Rules in matter of revocation, modification and termination of collective bargaining agreements are modified and allow only to unions that are representatives in the framework of the collective bargaining agreement concerned to engage those procedures.
The law allows a group-wide collective bargaining agreement to derogate to an industry-wide collective bargaining agreement without express provisions authorizing it. A group-wide collective bargaining agreement will be able to supersede a company-wide or site-wide collective bargaining agreement.
One other important addition: the law ends rules on individual acquired rights (except regarding remuneration).
Dismissal on economic grounds becomes clearer
In order to increase legal certainty, the law specifies in the French labor Code criteria and indicators in order to define the notion of economic difficulties.