Browse through brief employment and labor law updates from around the globe. Contact a Littler attorney for more information or view our global locations.

View all Q4 2018 Global Guide Quarterly updates   Download full Q4 2018 Global Guide Quarterly

Extraordinary Bonus (Yellow Vest Bonus)

New Legislation Enacted

Author: Guillaume Desmoulin, Partner — Littler France

Until March 31, 2019, companies can disburse an extraordinary bonus to their employees (or employees whose salary is below or capped to a certain limit). This bonus is exempted of social contributions and income tax (at a 1000 € limit), and the amount can be modulated depending on the beneficiaries’ remuneration, classification level, effective attendance during 2018 or working time as determined by their contract. The bonus, which cannot supersede any other compensation component, can be negotiated with trade unions, the employee representative committee or an employer-drafted agreement ratified by 2/3 of the employees.

Employment Contract Between a Digital Platform and a Deliverer

Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency

Author: Guillaume Desmoulin, Partner — Littler France

On November 28, 2018, the French Supreme Court ruled for the first time over the qualification of a contract between a deliverer and a digital platform, where the company used a digital platform and a mobile app to partner with restaurants to pass clients’ orders to deliverers under a self-employed status. The Supreme Judges found that the company had sanctioning power towards the deliverer and used geo-tracking to instantly track the deliverer. Given the company’s directorial and controlling power over the deliverer, a subordinate relationship existed under French law.

International Compliance of the Termination Indemnity Scale Under the 2017 Macron Reform (CPH Le Mans/Troyes)

Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency

Author: Guillaume Desmoulin, Partner — Littler France

Two recent contradictory rulings have emerged from the termination indemnity scale introduced by the 2017 Macron reforms. The Labor court of Le Mans ruled that the scale is compliant with the ILO Convention, for being both “adequate” and taking into account “the appropriate form of compensation.” However, the Labor court of Troyes ruled that the scale was contrary to both the ILO Convention and the UE Social Convention for not being “dissuasive to employers who plan to terminate employment for no real and serious cause” and for not allowing “judges to assess each individual case of unfair termination.”

Equal Pay for Men and Women

Proposed Bill or Initiative

Author: Guillaume Desmoulin, Partner — Littler France

An initiative, to be confirmed by decree, will require companies with at least 50 employees to examine pay gaps between men and women every year, based on a five-factor criterion, and publish the results on their website. Companies scoring below 75/100 will be required to negotiate and agree on corrective and remedial measures, otherwise corrective measures may be taken unilaterally. Companies will have three years to conform or face a financial penalty of up to 1% of the salary mass at stake. Companies over 1,000 employees must publish their results by March 1, 2019; companies over 250, by September 1, 2019; and companies between 50 and 250 employees by, March 1, 2020.