The French Labour Code states that trial period cannot exceed 4 months for managers, 3 months for supervisors and 2 months for workers. An exception was allowed for collective bargaining agreements signed before 26/06/2008. This will no longer be possible from 09/09/2023 due to the transposition into French law of the EU Directive on transparent and predictable working conditions.
This will impact various industries such as insurance companies, banks, temping agencies, and real estate development.
There appears to still be some debate on whether this could be challenged before the Constitutional Court on the principle that a new law cannot impact already existing contractual terms. It is also for the moment unclear if it is possible to provide for the renewal of a 4-month trial period for managers as this is contrary to the 6-month total maximum duration set by the Directive.
Key Action Points for Human Resources and In-house Counsel
- Check your standard employment contracts to see if you are impacted.
- Update your employment contracts for all hires after 09/09/2023.
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