Collective agreement

A collective agreement is a text that was negotiated between 2 parts : a party that represents the employers and a party that represents employees.

Its purpose is to define in particular working conditions, wages, paid leave, rights and obligations of employers and employees. It makes it possible to adapt or implement certain rules of the Labor Code to meet the particular needs of companies in their sector of activity (the implementation of a working time arrangement, for example).

The negotiators of the text have the freedom to discuss a wide range of subjects.

The introduction to the collective agreement sets out its objectives and content.

The collective agreement is based on a basic text that will be supplemented, year after year, by agreements and/or addenda and annexes.

Subsequent agreements and amendments allow the rules initially negotiated in the basic text to evolve. These include, for example, the updating of minimum wages, the creation of a seniority bonus, a change in the classification of employees etc.

The provisions of the collective agreement may be more favorable to the employee than the labor code. This may include, for example, severance or retirement benefits that are higher than the amounts provided for in the Labor Code.

The collective agreement may provide rights not provided for in the Labor Code, such as bonuses (e.g. seniority bonus, vacation bonus) or additional seniority leave.

The collective agreement may also provide, in certain cases, for rules less favorable than the law: the overtime premium rate set at 10% instead of 25% provided for in the labor code, for example.

The different actors that can negotiate are:

• Employers' trade union organization or any other employers' association
• Trade union organization of employees representative within the scope of the agreement.

The scope of a collective agreement is determined in the agreement by the signatories.

This scope covers the following two aspects:

• Territorialto limit geographically the scope of the negotiated text (e.g. at national, regional or departmental level)
• Professionalto determine the activities of the companies subject to the collective agreement.

Many collective agreements are national: we are talking about national collective agreement (NCC).

The vast majority of industries and their companies are covered by a collective agreement, regardless of the number of employees.

All employees of the company bound by an employment contract (CDI: titleContent , CDD: titleContentincluding during the trial period etc.) are covered by the collective agreement applicable to the company.

However, some employees, such as VRP: titleContent for example, they may be excluded from the scope of the convention because they have a specific status.

The participating employers to a signatory employers' organization shall apply the collective agreement.

Where it has been the subject of a extension procedure by the minister responsible for labor, the collective agreement is said scope. It then becomes mandatory for all employers and employees in the sector, whether they are members of the signatory trade unions or not.

If the employer does not comply with the provisions of the collective agreement, the employee may refer the matter to the labor court.

The applicable collective agreement is the collective agreement to which the main activity exercised by the employer.

The code NAF: titleContent (or the code APE: titleContent), assigned by theInsee: titleContent when creating the company, is a clue on that main activity, and thus on the applicable collective agreement.

If the code refers to more than one collective agreement, each scope must be checked.

A collective agreement is generally of a term undetermined.

When it is of duration determined, the duration shall be specified in the agreement by the Parties. At the end of the validity period, the collective agreement is no longer applicable.

If an agreement is applicable to the company, the employer must inform the employees.

The employer gives them a document written informing them of conventional texts applicable in the company. This document is delivered no later than 1 month after hiring.

The employer has the obligation to make available to employees a copy of the collective agreement applicable to the company. He shall keep this copy up to date.

In the absence of other treaty rules, the employer must also provide a copy of these texts to the following staff representative institutions or persons:

• Works council (CSE)
• Works council ofestablishment
• Trade union delegate
• Employee mandated by a trade union organization.

Each year, the employer must provide staff representatives with a list of changes to the collective agreement applicable in the company. If there are no staff representatives, it shall communicate this information directly to the employees.

There are several options for consulting a collective agreement.

Each collective agreement is identified by a number IDCC. This identifier makes it easier to find the text applicable to the company.

Yes, an employer who is not obliged to apply a collective agreement may nevertheless decide to apply one voluntarily.

Indeed, some companies are not covered by a collective agreement, either because there is no negotiated text in the sector of activity in question, or because the collective agreement exists but its extension has not yet been requested or pronounced.

This voluntary application may have its origin in a usage or in a commitment made by the employer.