In France, collective agreements (Conventions Collectives) refer to the labour rights rules applicable to a sector of work activity.
What is a collective agreement?
A collective agreement, or Convention Collective, is a written agreement that complete or improve the rules of the French Labour Code to a specific trade or profession.
They complete or give additional rights to employees than those contained in the Labour Code so both sets of rules must be considered when managing employees.
There are around 500 conventions collectives in France, each one with a clearly-defined scope of application – although around 75% of French employees are covered by 70 main agreements. A company may identify the right convention collective by defining its main business activity.
The contents of each Convention Collective refer to the employment and working conditions of employees, as well as their social guarantees.
As such, they include provisions for recruitment and trial periods, the minimum wages applicable in the company, and bonuses available to employees.
Each agreement can refer to a specific category of employees and be national, regional, or departmental. Its purpose is to deal with all elements relating to employment and working conditions, certain social guarantees, or the details surrounding vocational training.
In any case, it will establish the employer’s obligations, so must be consulted when drafting contracts of employment and other related documentation.
Don’t forget that Convention Collectives are made up of a main text and a number of appendixes so don’t forget to check those for completeness!
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