French Labor Law: 2017 Internal Rules Update

The New Year has brought not only new resolutions but also new obligations for employers.

Prohibiting Sexist Behavior

First of all, Law n° 2016-1088 of August 8, 2016 or the “Work Law” now requires companies to refer to new provisions relating to sexist behavior in their internal rules, in addition to those concerning sexual and psychological harassments (Article L.1321-2, French Labour Code). In practice, employers can cite Article L.1142-2-1 of the French Labour Code as created by the “Rebsamen Law” of August 17, 2015. This article sets out that, “no one must suffer from sexist behaviour, defined as every behavior based on gender, having the purpose or effect of harming the dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive work environment.”

Implementing the Neutrality Principle

Additionally, the “Work Law” allows employers to include the neutrality principle into their internal rules to restrain employees’ expression of their religious and, more broadly, spiritual convictions (Article L. 1321-2-1 of French Labour Code). This new law does not allow complete prohibition of religious expression, since restrictions must be “justified” and “proportionate”. The infringement of this principle, as defined by the company’s internal rules, could justify a disciplinary sanction including dismissal when, for example, a religious practice jeopardizes health and security standards, the effective operation of the company, or the employees’ contractual duties.

Companies which have executed internal rules – whether they are compulsory, as when the company has a workforce of 20, or optional – must update these rules immediately to prohibit sexist behaviors. They have the option of adding the neutrality principle, subject to the implementation of related legal procedure such as consultation with employees’ representatives and publication.

Guaranteeing the Right to Disconnect

In addition, the “Work Law” amended Article L.2242-8 of the French Labour Code to include a new topic to be covered during compulsory annual negotiations of companies hiring at least 50 employees. Effective from January 1, 2017, the amendment requires parties to negotiate “The modalities of the full exercise, by the employee, of his/her right to disconnect and the setting, by the company, of regular monitoring of the use of digital tools, in order to ensure the respect of rest periods and of the employees’ personal and family life.” 

Failing to reach an agreement with the union organisation, the employer, after employees’ representatives have submitted their opinion, must draft and implement a charter defining the right to disconnect. Should this charter create obligations entailing potential sanctions, it would have to be added to the internal rules and its implementation subject to the same procedure as that applicable for internal rules.

This new obligation, which concerns companies in which one or several trade unions are established, is in addition to provisions of the “Work Law” requiring individual all-inclusive working time agreements to describe the modalities of exercise of the right to disconnect. These modalities can be set either by a collective agreement or unilaterally by the employer (Articles L.3121-64 and L.3121-65 of the French Labour Code).

Ensuring Road Safety

Finally, beginning January 1, 2017, employers must report any road traffic offence committed by an employee with a vehicle provided by the company (Article L. 121-6 of the French Road Safety Code). Many road traffic offences are included, such as failure to comply with speed limits or safety distance, non-use of seat belt, use of a mobile phone while driving, use of dedicated tracks, and crossing a white line. Employers must share the driver’s name and address within 45 days from the day they receive the violation ticket; if not, they must pay the fine on behalf of the employee. Employers could also be fined EUR 750 for obstruction, a fourth level offence. Of course, employers can exonerate themselves from this obligation by proving that the car or vehicle plate number was stolen, or, generally, the intervention of any force majeure event.

This new obligation could be difficult to comply with when a vehicle is used by several employees. Besides, the information could lead to the withdrawal of the employee’s driving points and, consequently, his driving licence. In this last scenario, his/her dismissal could be considered, should the absence of a driving licence interfere with his/her functions. It is necessary to draw the employees’ attention to the issue of road safety and the consequences of this new legal obligation, which could also appear in the company internal rules.

Nicolas Lepetit, Of Counsel, Bersay Associés, Paris, France, a Transatlantic Law International affiliated firm.

For further information or for any assistance with understanding and interpreting French labor law, please contact Nicolas at francelabor@transatlanticlaw.com

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