We will be featuring contributions from our global employment and benefits team on this blog, highlighting particular topics and issues of interest to UK employers with operations overseas.

This post, the first in our series of “Spotlights”, provides you with links to recent commentary and guidance from our Employment & Benefits team in France:

• The recent reforms implemented by the Macron Administration demonstrate that France wants to move towards increased flexibility for employers without neglecting employees’ rights. In his article for Bloomberg Law, Employment & Benefits partner Julien Haure covers two symbolic changes initiated by the Macron Administration: (i) the introduction of capped damages for employment litigation; and (ii) the simplification of telecommuting.
• Another reform arising from the Macron Administration relates to staff representation. By 1 January 2020, every company in France with 11 employees or more should have organised elections for the implementation of a new staff representative body, referred to as the Social and Economic Council (SEC). Julian Haure and associate Marine Hamon outline the implications for employers in their article published by Law360.
• The French courts have been grappling with the issue of employment status recently, as covered in the recent legal update by Employment & Benefits partner Régine Goury. This is an area that employers, in France and beyond, are continuing to monitor closely.
• The “right to disconnect”, introduced in France in 2017, has been widely reported in the UK and overseas. Julien Haure and Marine Hamon examine the right in detail, covering employers’ obligations, the practical impact and the steps that employers can take to ensure compliance, in their article for Today’s General Counsel.

If you would like further guidance on employment and benefits issues in France, and/or would like to register for our French legal updates, please contact Julien Haure or Régine Goury.