For many UK and international companies, establishing a business presence in France involves navigating a range of employment differences.
While it can feel tempting to issue blanket company policies across multiple countries France’s complex legislation – and potentially harsh penalties – warrant singular attention to detail, even when those blanket company policies appear more generous than French statutory provisions.
In this article, we will explain and summarise four key areas of difference between employing people in France and the UK. These areas are:
- Maternity leave
- The professional interview
- Continuous professional training
- Occupational health
Maternity leave (congé de maternité)
At first glance, maternity leave can seem shorter in France than the UK. This is due to the way the leave is structured, as it varies according to how many children the employee already has, and whether the pregnancy involves multiple births. Leave is also taken in two parts: before the birth (antenatal) and after (postnatal).
For example, for a first and second child maternity leave in France is 16 weeks (six weeks antenatal, 10 weeks antenatal). This rises to 26 weeks for a third child (eight weeks antenatal, 18 weeks antenatal).
Maternity leave in France can also be combined with congé parental d’éducation (parental leave), which can last for up to three years and be taken on a full or part-time basis. When choosing the part-time option, the employee may decide to come back to work for a minimum of 16 hours per week, although the employer has the final decision regarding when and how these hours will be worked.
A supplementary leave has been introduced this year and allows prents to take an additional two months’ leave if they have made full use of their maternity and/or paternity leave.
The professional interview (entretien de parcours professionnel)
Different from an appraisal interview, the entretien de parcours professionnel is a legal requirement in France. It is an interview used to discuss the employee’s individual skills and career progression, as well as taking stock of their training needs and future plans.
The first professional interview takes place during the employee’s first year with the company, then re-occurs every four years (or immediately after a long period of absence, such as maternity leave or long-term sickness absence).
Training is very important in France, where there is a societal expectation that companies will maintain their employees’ skill levels and employability. As such, the entretien professionnel also includes information about activation and contributions to the employee’s personal training account (Compte Personnel de Formation, or CPF) as well as validation of their professional experience. There are fines for employers who do not comply with the requirements of the professional interviews.
Continuous professional training (formation continue)
While many UK companies actively encourage and support continuous professional training, in France employers are legally obliged to finance this training through mandatory contributions. The CPF allows employees to accumulate training funds throughout their career, which they may then use as they wish.
It is important to note that even though employers make regular contributions, they have no access to their employees’ CPF funds. Additionally, they do not have to be informed if an employee chooses to undertake training outside of their usual working hours.
The company’s convention collective may include specific provisions related to employee training and employer contributions, so this (as well as any other relevant agreements) must be checked carefully.
Occupational health (médecine du travail)
Occupational health services exist in the UK, but they are not mandatory (as they are in France) and are generally only used to assess the medical suitability of an employee. By contrast, French occupational health services are focussed on prevention.
Another crucial difference is that a UK employee’s occupational health outcomes may be shared with their employer (with the appropriate permissions). In France, employers cannot request to see an employee’s medical information, which in any case doctors would not share.
Our specialist French HR expertise and guidance supports many international companies operating in France. Please contact us for more information, and to arrange a free initial consultation.