Understanding Labor Law & Employment Contracts

• Labour law governs the relationship between employees and employers in the private sector.
• Rights and obligations within the employment contract are analysed
• It excludes civil servants and public sector workers.
• The employment contract serves as the framework for this relationship.
• Employers are the stronger party, and employees are subordinate to their authority.
• Labour law's primary goal is to protect the employee as the weaker party.
• In the context of economic crisis and mass unemployment, labour law is sometimes viewed as hindering economic flexibility.
• Employees are seen as a cost to employers.

Defining the Employment Contract

• A precise definition is absent from legal texts, including the Civil and Labour Codes.
• The existence of an employment contract is important for applying protective regulations from the Labour Code and provides a framework for both parties
• Courts, especially the Social Chamber of the Court of Cassation, have established three criteria for determining the existence of an employment contract.
• Judges reclassify contracts that meet these criteria as employment contracts.
• An employment contract ensures the application of Labour Code protections, safeguarding the rights of employees.
• The existence of an employment contract triggers rights such as protection against unfair dismissal and entitlement to a minimum wage equivalent to SMIC.
• It establishes the jurisdiction of the Council of Prud'hommes, registration with the general social security scheme, and unemployment insurance affiliation.

Independent Worker vs Employee

• To avoid labour law requirements, employers may prefer hiring self-employed contractors, who are cheaper and limit employer liability by not requiring a mimimum wage.
• Employers cannot circumvent labour law by choosing the qualification to the person who is providing the work.
• Labour law applies whenever the working relationship satisfies the three criteria of an employment contract
• The relationship is bound by the three criteria of work, remuneration, and subordination.
• An employee commits to perform work for an employer in exchange for remuneration (salary) under subordination.
• The three key cumulative criteria are:
  • Work performance
  • Remuneration
  • Subordination

Work Performance

• Any activity, whether manual, intellectual, artistic, or athletic, can be considered work if it benefits the employer economically.
• Internships don't constitute employment contracts as the "work" primary objective is intern social education

Remuneration

• An employment contract is a contract for valuable consideration, meaning there must be remuneration.
• The amount of remuneration is secondary to the request, as minimum justification is needed if the worker is underpaid and demands SMIC application
• Renumeration can be in-kind, for example in the form of housing.
• It is incompatible with volunteer work, which is done without any renumeration
• Humanitarian organizations paying overseas volunteers faced litigation and the Court of Cassation distinguised work vs volunteer work

Subordination

• The relationship of subordination is what defines the contract and differs from other contracts.
• The critieria is inherent to the employment contract, and judges rely on it often
• Independent workers fulfil obligations without being subordinate to the other part.
• Example: a painter can perform freely when fulfilling obligations
• An relation of subordination grants specificly the subordination of law
• The employment must place the employee under management, authority and supervision of the employer
• An employer has the power to give orders, directives, monitor implementation and sanction the employee.
• An individual has to prove a bond of subordinatio - the worker is not free to perform work as they choose
• Jduges utilize a number of factors to determnie legal subordination
  • The employer sets the work location within their facilities
  • The employer determines the work hours, provides equipment, and covers the cost of materials
  • The employer has power to terminate or sanction an employee
  • An employee's economic dependence on the employer can be shown
  • The presence of one client with one autoentrepreneur

Real-life cases

• A judge is not obligated to follow a qualification by 2 parties to a contract
• A judge must issue a true ruling for the facts at hand
• If any of the three criteria are satisfied, a work contract exits

Reality TV

• Contestants brought a case to the labour council and then court of cassation
• They sought for their relationship to be classifed as a work contract, signed with the production company
• A ruling classified the participants of Koh-Lanta in contract of labour
• The case ruled that the work contract existed between production company and participant,
• Because contestants perform a job without bearing semblance to habitual life
• A relation of supervision exist, as the company may eliminate an employee, within rules of the game
• A pay of 23 000 euros exists for days presence, outside of other earnings.
• On the same instance, a Mister France contestant tried to require his contract
• the court ruled that the contract was commercial and that the benefit to the company had to equate a remuneration

"False" Independent Workers

• A court case on JUly 7 2016, ruled on whether URSSAF was justified in treating external training workers as employees
• The court stated that the trainers provided activity for local students
• The courses were run according to pre-determined schedule with no flexibility
• All administrators tasks were being fulfilled by the society
• The contract was in effect for an undetermined indeterminate time, not occasional
• Some of society's employees were doing the same work as some trainers
• URSSAF ruled that contract workers were employees

Digital labour

• Uber, deliveroo and other platforms utilize platforms to put employees in contact with consumers
• Usually workers are working as autoentrepreneurs who generate revenue
• The court found that these digital workers are employed, as a geo-location element entails subordination and a system of penalties equates to a power of sanction
• The workers are tied to the company under labour law

Evolving view of juriprudence

• The legislator improves the status of independent contactors without granting them employee status, as flexibility is a benefit for employers and the dependent workers
• As of august 8 2016, labour law grants these workers many employee features
• On september 5 2018, a law would have expanded this status but was blocked by congress as a legislatively irrelevant
• The rule plays are key in both the legislative and employee spheres

Recent Labour Law Changes

• Labour law shifts constantly to relfect political agendas and legal precedences
• Primarily labour law ensures that workers are protected, and minimum wage is respected
• Unions play a role in this and engage at a cooprorate level
• The labor code wants a reinforcement of social dialogue and collective bargaining

Legislatures postulates the following

• Labour code is too complex, is a source of legal unease and could hinder the attraction of workers
• The concept is to simplify the labor code to incentivize workers so that layoffs don't seem difficult to handle.
• Negotiating the specific needs and requests of an enterprise is required by labor law, whether it's simplfying the layoff process, simplifying the rules, or other changes.

Course Focus

• Focus on "droit des releations individuelles du travail" within context of 3 parts
  • How work contract was reached
  • How work contracts can be adapted moving forward
  • Contract breaking