Parliament authorized the government to legislate by ordinance to reform the Labor Code.
By Marie Zafimehy
PUBLISHED ON 08/08/2017 AT 08:10 RTL
The National Assembly, then the Senate. Last week Parliament formally authorized the government to legislate by ordinance to reform the Labor Code.
According to the majority unions, this law is a continuation of the El Khomri Law initiated by the previous government. They plan in particular several days of mobilization in September to protest against the adoption of this new “Labor Law”. But the Minister of Labor Muriel Pénicaud insists: the Labor Code needs to be “simplified” to reduce unemployment and promote access to training. To do this, what do the texts of these ordinances provide?
1 – Promote company agreements
“Recognize and assign a central place” to business negotiations: this is the key point of the reform of the Labor Code desired by the government. Today, when it comes to labor regulations, companies rely mainly on agreements obtained through negotiations with employee representatives within their professional branch. Nevertheless, they can, by negotiating with their own employees, sign an agreement concerning subjects such as remuneration or working time, only if it is more favorable to the employee.
The government wishes to broaden the scope of negotiations at company level while retaining the use of branch agreements. Thus in certain areas such as conventional minima or recourse to fixed-term contracts, the branch agreement would always take precedence over the company agreement “imperatively”. In other areas, the branch would be authorized to decide “to give priority to its agreement over company agreements” such as arduousness or handicap.
2 – Merge the employee representative bodies
The government wishes to merge “into a single body the staff representatives, the works council and the health, safety and working conditions committee (CHSCT), which is already possible for companies with fewer than 300 employees. employees.
3 – Prud’hommes: review the scale of indemnities
This is one of the most controversial measures of the reform of the Labor Code. The government wants to introduce mandatory minimum and maximum amounts for compensation for dismissals deemed to be unfair – except in cases of discrimination or harassment. And this in particular “depending in particular on seniority”.
Today, the industrial tribunal sentence is adapted to the damage suffered, and the judge takes into account circumstances such as the duration of unemployment, the family situation and the number of dependent children, or the age of the employee. . There is already an “indicative benchmark”, supposed to guide industrial tribunal judges in their decision. It ranges from one month’s salary below one year of seniority to 21.5 months beyond 43 years of seniority.
4 – Unify the dismissal regime
Today, depending on the type of agreement, the employee can be dismissed for “personal”, “economic” or “specific” reasons, which gives him different rights and imposes on the company also different obligations. Thanks to the ordinances, the government would be authorized within six months to “unify” the legal regime for the termination of the employment contract, and a fortiori to establish a single reason for dismissal, if there is refusal “of the changes resulting from the employment contract. of a company agreement “.
5 – Promote the use of company referendums
While today it is only reserved for the initiative of the unions – majority and not majority since the El Khomri law – the company referendum could be done “on the initiative of the employer” once the ordinances have been passed. . In the event of disagreements with the unions, the employer could thus decide both to consult his employees as well as the conditions under which he wishes to do so.
6 – Extend Sunday work
The government wants to extend the period granted to businesses located in tourist and commercial areas to adopt a new agreement on Sunday work. The Macron law of August 6, 2015 gave them two years. The facilitation of the repeal of orders closing establishments for weekly rest taken by a prefecture is also included in the text.
7 – Transform the hardship account
The hardship account would give way to the “professional prevention account”. This is only a semantic change desired by Emmanuel Macron during the presidential campaign. Its provisions are maintained on six criteria such as night work, repetitive, alternating hours or in a hyperbaric environment, as well as exposure to noise and extreme temperatures.
On the other hand, four other criteria – handling of heavy loads, painful postures, mechanical vibrations and chemical risks – will be taken out of the points account. In addition, early retirement will be linked to the recognition of an occupational disease.
8 – Reform corporate governance
The government wants to make compulsory the presence of employees on boards of directors and supervisory boards in companies “whose workforce exceeds a certain threshold”. Currently, they are authorized to sit on the boards of directors in companies with more than 1,000 employees.