Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (Act) gives employees the right to form unions, bargain collectively and to “engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of … mutual aid or protection”. Speaking out about conditions of employment on behalf of a group of employees would fall within this protection. And, section 8 … Continue reading
By way of background, before the entry into force of the “Macron scale”, in the case of unfair dismissal, it was for the judge in each case to set the amount of compensation for the loss suffered by the employee and the law did not set any maximum amount. This meant that judges were able to … Continue reading
Pour mémoire, avant l’entrée en vigueur du « barème Macron », en cas de licenciement sans cause réelle et sérieuse, il appartenait au juge de fixer l’indemnisation visant à réparer le préjudice du salarié et la loi n’avait fixé aucun maximum. Ainsi le juge fixait le montant des dommages-intérêts avec une grande latitude et sans … Continue reading
On 7 May, the French Prime Minister announced the date chosen for the start of the “de-confinement” phase for France, namely 11 May 2020. The lockdown, which started on 17 March, lasted almost 2 months during which some shops and businesses were closed, and the vast majority of companies operated on the basis of remote … Continue reading
Le 7 mai dernier, le Premier Ministre a annoncé la date retenue pour le début de la phase de déconfinement des Français dans le cadre du plan de lutte contre le Covid-19, à savoir le 11 mai 2020. Le confinement, qui a commencé le 17 mars dernier, aura duré près de 2 mois durant lesquels … Continue reading
Since January 2020, Coronavirus COVID-19 has spread rapidly around the world, causing massive disruption to business and everyday life as well as thousands of deaths. The French Government has reacted in several stages. After issuing recommendations for barrier measures, it decided to close schools and more recently, it ordered the general confinement of French people … Continue reading
The World Health Organisation has declared that the Coronavirus is a public health emergency of international concern and the first reported cases have appeared in the UK. What steps should employers be taking in relation to their employees? Travel to affected areas Employers owe a duty of care to their employees to take reasonable steps … Continue reading
Les plateformes de mise en relation (comme Uber ou Deliveroo), qui sont de plus en plus utilisées en France, font pourtant l’objet de nombreuses critiques, principalement fondées sur les conditions de travail des travailleurs indépendants qu’elles utilisent dans le cadre de leur activité. Le Gouvernement français s’est donné pour mission d’encadrer l’activité de ces plateformes, … Continue reading
Dans le cadre de leurs missions, les salariés doivent respecter l’ensemble des règles (notamment de sécurité) applicables. En particulier, les chauffeurs routiers sont astreints au respect du Code de la Route. Mais l’employeur est également responsable de la sécurité de ses salariés et, si l’obligation de sécurité n’est désormais plus une obligation de résultat, il … Continue reading
During a business trip to a construction site, an employee was found dead of a heart attack in a room after having had sexual intercourse with a “complete stranger” he met during the day. The employer completed the usual formalities by informing the social security authorities of the death and the circumstances. The social security … Continue reading
The basic working time arrangement in France is 35 hours per week, and although there are a number of alternative working time arrangements potentially available, this is still the one that applies to the majority of French employees. However, this is not a maximum working week – employees working beyond that amount are entitled to … Continue reading
French President Emmanuel Macron implemented a significant reform of the French employment code in late 2017, with the intention of providing employers greater flexibility and predictability in managing labour relations. One of the most controversial measures was the creation of a grid applicable to the amount of indemnities due to employees for unfair dismissal, setting … Continue reading
French law implemented in 2017 the “right to disconnect” from digital tools, requiring employers to limit employees’ use of digital tools outside of office hours. The purpose of this legislation is to protect the employees’ work-life balance and their right to rest periods. The law did not provide details of how employers should implement the … Continue reading
It is a fact of life in French employer-employee relations that employees have no hesitation in bringing actions against their employer, in particular following termination of an employment, and that litigation is therefore not just a virtual weapon. Not only do employees sue their employer but, where the employer is a part of a group … Continue reading
German labour law follows the “all or nothing” principle: Labour law regulations presume an existing employment relationship between employer and employee. If no such relationship exists, protective labour law regulations cannot be applied (with a few exceptions e.g. in the case of managing directors of a “GmbH” (limited company)). Assessing whether an employment relationship exists … Continue reading
The Criminal Finances Act 2017 came into force in the UK on 30 September 2017. It introduces new corporate criminal offences of failing to prevent an employee, agent or any other person who is performing services for the organisation from criminally facilitating the evasion of tax, whether the tax is owed in the UK or in … Continue reading
French President Emmanuel Macron has signed five ordinances making important changes to several aspects of the French employment code. The ordinances, which were immediately published in the French Official Journal on September 23rd, 2017, are aimed in particular at providing employers more flexibility and predictability in labour-management relations. Several provisions of this ambitious reform – … Continue reading
The Wrongful Dismissal – What Happened? Esther Brake worked for McDonald’s for over twenty-five years, first in Cornerbrook, Newfoundland, and then as a restaurant manager in Ottawa. She had received nothing but excellent reviews for years, but in 2011 she was suddenly told her performance was inadequate and that she had two options: accept a … Continue reading
Summer is coming and temperatures are rising and may become unbearable, especially for these employees working outdoors / performing manual labour. Too much warmth can affect employees and can cause exhaustion, headache, fainting, or dehydration. Therefore the impact on employees’ health can be significant. From a French employment law perspective, employers have a very general … Continue reading
L’obligation de vigilance est une obligation faite aux entreprises de prévenir les risques sociaux, environnementaux et de gouvernance lié à leurs activités. La loi du 27 mars 2017 relative au devoir de vigilance des sociétés mères et des entreprises donneuses d’ordre, publiée le 28 mars 2017 au Journal Officiel, renforce l’obligation de vigilance. Le devoir … Continue reading
The duty of care is an obligation for companies to prevent social, environmental and governance risks related to their activities. A very recent law published on 28th March 2017 has reinforced such duty of care. The duty of care concerns French companies employing, at the end of 2 consecutive fiscal years, at least 5,000 employees … Continue reading
Dual employment is a sensitive subject in French employment law as it enables employees to raise claims against a different employer from that with which the employment contract was signed. The matrix-type organisation of groups of companies, which has become the rule, can have adverse consequences if employees have the feeling that they are employed … Continue reading
Much attention was focused recently on President Obama’s decision, in the final days of his presidency, on commuting the sentence of Chelsea Manning, who provided certain classified information to WikiLeaks. In France, new legislation has recently been passed and implemented harmonizing the protection of whistleblowing employees (https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do;jsessionid=4BBFD240827AF0FD9A6340FF254E6F1B.tpdila21v_3?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000033558528&categorieLien=id). Who is concerned? Under the new regulation, whistleblowers … Continue reading
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently considered the common law principles of reasonable notice and the duty to mitigate in the context of fixed-term employment contracts in Howard v Benson Group Inc. Howard, the plaintiff, was employed at an automotive service centre pursuant to a five-year fixed term contract. He was terminated without cause around … Continue reading