In France, a health pass[1] must be presented in certain places or events where there is a high risk of COVID-19 being contracted (e.g. concert halls/cinemas, sports events, bars and restaurants, long-distance transport, shopping centres over 20,000 m², etc.) as listed by the Law no. 2021-1040 dated 5 August 2021.

Since 30 August 2021, employees working within these places are also required to present a health pass in order to continue their job role, unless this takes place in a space that is not accessible to the public or takes place outside of public opening hours.

If the employee does not have a health pass or refuses to present it, they will no longer be able to work. The employee may take rest days or paid leave in agreement with the employer. However, if an agreement is not met, the employer is required to suspend the employee’s employment contract without pay until the employee is able to present a health pass. The Law states that, after the third day of the suspension of the contract, the employer must conduct an interview with the employee during which they will discuss ways to rectify the situation. For example, this could include a temporary assignment to a position not subject to the above-mentioned obligations if the needs and organisation of the company allow it or teleworking if the employee is eligible. If they fail to come to an agreement, the Law states that “ordinary law procedures” concerning employment contracts may be applied. The text no longer states that the employee may be dismissed if they fail to present a health pass for an extended period.
Continue Reading Employees in France who fail to present a health pass risk having their employment contract suspended

This post was also written by Claudia Röthlingshöfer.

Welcome to Reed Smith’s monthly global employment law blog post. This month’s post covers the protection afforded to whistleblowers around the world.

France

Under French law, employees cannot be sanctioned, dismissed or be subject to direct or indirect discriminatory measures (especially concerning salary, training, reclassification or appointment)

Our Global Regulatory Enforcement colleague Daniel Kadar wrote a blog post discussing the French Supreme Court’s (‘Cour de cassation’) ruling over a case that should remind any international organization that the worldwide adoption of compliance guidelines and of a Code of Conduct is not in itself a sufficient protection against compliance breaches: everything

De-industrialization is the hot theme of the presidential campaign, regardless of the political spectrum. Solutions brought forward by candidates are more or less concrete, more or less likely. They show little if any understanding of how globalization has made the world a village, through internet and its ability to give instant access to comparative data and decide to move business to welcoming countries.

But in the backyard of their courts, Appeal judges have silently elaborated what can be qualified as the dismissal visa. No more pay off of employees unfairly made redundant. Now the key question is to know whether the judges will authorize a French or foreign group to shut down a plant, downsize staff or disinvest or will merely tell them to keep their workers on the payroll.Continue Reading New challenges for global groups with French operations

U.S. employers with French operations must focus carefully on their investment or divestment operations. Through the ” joint employer theory ” employees of a French company can now pierce its corporate veil to hold the ultimate parent, even one based in the United States, liable for restructuring costs, including severance packages and damages for unfair

U.S. employers with French operations must focus carefully on their investments or divestment operations. Through the “joint employer theory,” employees of a French company can now pierce its corporate veil to hold the ultimate parent, even one based in the United States, liable for restructuring costs, including severance packages and damages for unfair dismissal.

This post was also written by Michaela L. Mc Cormack.

On November 2, Nicolas C. Sauvage gave a seminar at top French business school HEC as part of the new specialized executive Masters programme for international Human Resources Directors, “Human Resources Management & Sustainable Development.”

Nicolas’ presentation covered the themes of diversity and discrimination, retracing

Nearly everyone has become a part of the social media phenomenon that includes Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other websites. The growth of social media has been staggering. However, along with that growth comes new legal risks, including employment issues, which we haven’t seen before.

As you may know, in fall 2009, we published a social media white