Work-Life Balance and Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Directives enacted

At a glance

• The French Law implementing the Working Conditions Directive and the Work-Life Balance Directive was published in the Official Journal on 10 March 2023, and came into effect on 11 March 2023.

The new law (Loi n° 2023-171 du 9 mars 2023 portant diverses dispositions d'adaptation au droit de l'Union européenne dans les domaines de l'économie, de la santé, du travail, des transports et de l'agriculture (1)) implements two EU Directives, the Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions (2019/1152) and the Directive on Work-Life Balance (2019/1158):

• The Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Directive aims to harmonize information about essential aspects of the working relationship and working conditions across Europe to ensure greater transparency and safety in the workplace; and
• The Work-life Balance Directive aims to improve families’ access to family leave and flexible work arrangements

Below is a summary of the changes under the Law to implement the EU Directives. 

EU Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions

The Law provides the right for employees to receive written information earlier on the essential aspects of their work such as the right to training, termination procedures, and duration and conditions of any trial period. To comply with this obligation, the employer must give a written notice to employees with the mandatory information.

However, the right to receive this mandatory information does not apply to some employees, such as employees on fixed-term contracts or part-time employees working fewer than three hours per week over a reference period of four consecutive weeks, if the organisation uses the universal employment service check.

The Law also provides that employees on a fixed-term contract or temporary workers, who have been in employment for six months or more, may request information from the employer about vacant permanent positions within the company.

The Law also abolishes any trial period established by collective agreement which lasts longer than that fixed by articles L. 1221-19 et L. 1221-21 of the labour code. This means that the trial period may not be longer than 6 months except where it is justified by the nature of the work or it is in the interest of the worker. This provision will come into force six months after the Law was enacted, so by 11 September 2023.

EU Directive on Work-Life Balance

The Law provides the right for parents who are not employed at the time of their child’s birth or adoption to take parental leave. This is effected by removing the requirement of a minimum length of service of one year on the date of birth (or adoption) of their child.

The Law also provides that when a full-time employee goes part-time as part of parental leave, then severance pay must be calculated on a full-time basis.

Further, new provisions allow parents to maintain the benefit of accrued rights during a period of parental leave and provide for any paternity or childcare leave to equate to a period of effective and actual service (notably for rights related to seniority).