International employment law: key insights from France

In this episode of our short series, Barry Stanton is discussing French Employment Law with Harold Berrier of Ydès, in Paris.  One of the complicating factors in French law is the plethora of rules and regulations, including collective bargaining, and how they interconnect. Understanding how this works can help employers avoid numerous problems.

One of the complex areas is working time and the need to pay for overtime, even if the employee had not been asked and did not know they were working overtime. We also discuss the difference between how the working time rules differ in theory and in practice when it falls to working out holiday entitlement and the payment for holiday.

Another complex area revolves around terminating employment and how that can be done safely and fairly, and the different processes that arise if an employee alleges that they have been constructively dismissed.

Finally, given the prominence of EOR companies that allow a business to put a toe into the water of a foreign country before making a significant investment, we discuss the technical requirements, matters that the employer should look out for and the risks if it all goes wrong.

We hope you enjoy listening to our discussion.  If you have any questions or require assistance on employment matters inside or outside the UK, please do let us know.