Pregnant employees benefit from specific and extensive guarantees against termination of their employment under French law. In particular, employers are not allowed to dismiss an employee from the moment she is medically certified as being pregnant, excepted in two limited cases: where the employee has committed an act of gross misconduct or if it is
The legal context
Under French employment law, employees’ representatives such as staff delegates or members of the works council enjoy a specific protection. In particular, if an employer wishes to dismiss such an employee, it must comply with a specific procedure which requires, inter alia, obtaining authorization from the Labour inspector. In this context, the
The matter of age discrimination is a particularly sensitive issue in France, where the relatively high unemployment rate of young and aged persons is structural.
In this context, there exist specific legal provisions particularly with regard to the employment of young workers. There is also a national-interprofessional collective bargaining agreement with respect to older workers
The legal background
Under French employment law, pregnant employees enjoy particularly strong protection from dismissal — dismissal of pregnant employees is prohibited from the moment the employee is medically certified as being pregnant, except in the two following circumstances: gross misconduct on the part of the employee or impossibility to maintain the employment contract for
Introduction
The legislative proposal known as ‘House for Whistleblowers’ is pending in the Netherlands. The proposal introduces an independent and impartial governmental institution that investigates wrongdoing and assists employees in disclosure proceedings: the House for Whistleblowers. In addition, the proposal introduces several rules to protect whistleblowers. The situation under current Dutch law and under the
French employment law does not provide for a comprehensive and consistent set of rules for the purpose of protecting whistleblowers. Instead, French employment law tackles issues arising out of whistleblowing situations through a relatively meagre set of legislative provisions resulting principally from recent awareness on the subject.
Specific regulations: limited protection
Under currently applicable legislation