FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Véronique Millischer, Léna Sersiron, Eléonore d’Anthonay, Guillaume Nataf, Olivia Chriqui-Guiot, Pauline Celeyron, Damien Berruyer and Nella Picou, Baker McKenzie Paris
able against them, including through the interposi - tion of a company created for that sole purpose. • Personal liability of shareholders for their own wrongful acts : A shareholder’s liability towards third parties may be engaged where the shareholder has committed a fault that is detachable from its capacity as shareholder, which is an intentional fault of a particular gravity incompatible with the normal exercise of shareholder prerogatives. 4. Employment Law 4.1 Nature of Applicable Regulations France has one of the most structured and employee- centric labour law systems in the world. This statutory framework is supplemented by: • applicable sector-level or company-level collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), which often provide more favourable provisions than the Labour Code; • company policies and internal regulations, where mandatory; • employment contracts, which may provide addi - tional rights provided that they comply with man - datory legal and collective bargaining provisions; • French case law, particularly decisions of the Supreme Court of Appeal ( Cour de cassation ), which plays a significant role in interpreting labour legislation; and • EU law, including directly applicable regulations and directives implemented into French law. Together, these sources regulate key aspects of the employment relationship, including hiring, remunera - tion, health and safety, discrimination, employee rep - resentation, disciplinary procedures and termination of employment. 4.2 Characteristics of Employment Contracts As a general rule, a permanent employment contract ( contrat à durée indéterminée – CDI) does not legally need to be in writing and may, in theory, be conclud - ed verbally. However, in practice, employers almost always use written contracts to define the terms of employment and comply with their information obli - gations.
Certain types of employment contracts, including fixed-term contracts ( contrat à durée déterminée – CDD) and part-time contracts, must be concluded in writing and contain mandatory statutory provisions. Failure to comply may result in the contract being reclassified as a permanent employment contract. The employment contract generally specifies essential terms such as the employee’s position, remuneration, place of work, working hours, probationary period (if any), notice period and applicable CBA. The CDI is the standard form of employment in France. Fixed-term contracts are permitted only in specific cases expressly authorised by law (eg, temporary replacement of an absent employee or a temporary increase in business activity) and are subject to maximum duration and renewal rules. Probationary periods are permitted but must be expressly agreed in writing and cannot exceed the statutory or collectively agreed maximum duration. 4.3 Working Time In principle, France has a 35-hour statutory working week, with overtime subject to additional compensa - tion. Overtime hours may be worked in addition to the legal working time, but only within two limits: • the total working time in a single week must not exceed 48 hours; and • the average weekly working time calculated over any 12 consecutive weeks must not exceed 44 hours. Overtime must generally be authorised by the employer and gives rise to either increased pay (typically 25% for the first eight overtime hours and 50% thereafter, unless otherwise provided) or equivalent compensatory time off. Employees are also entitled to minimum rest periods, including: • 11 consecutive hours of daily rest; and • 35 consecutive hours of weekly rest, including the mandatory Sunday rest principle, subject to numer - ous exceptions.
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