ARTICLE · 24 NOVEMBER 2020

Labour and Employment Comparative Guide

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Labour and Employment Comparative Guide for the jurisdiction of France, check out our comparative guides section to compare across multiple countries

FranceEmployment and HR

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1 Legal framework

1.1 Are there statutory sources of labour and employment law?

French employment law is derived from many sources, but one of the major sources is the French Labour Code.

Other sources include decisions of the Labour Chamber of the Court of Cassation (the French Supreme Court), agreements concluded with works councils, customary practices and unilateral undertakings.

1.2 Is there a contractual system that operates in parallel, or in addition to, the statutory sources?

Employees are usually governed by an industry-wide collective bargaining agreement (CBA) applicable to the branch of activity to which their employer belongs. The CBA outlines many terms and conditions of employment, including the duration of probationary periods, working time limitations, classification, minimum wage requirements, termination indemnities and notice, as well as potential mandatory provisions such as annual bonus, welfare scheme (in case of death/disability/incapacity) and

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