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France - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Paris

 

CLIMATE

Generally cool winters and mild summers but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean.

 

LANGUAGES

French (100%) and rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque and Flemish).

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

Civil law system with indigenous concepts. Review of administrative but not legislative acts.

 

CURRENCY

Euros (1 USD = 1.07090 EUR as of June 1, 2002)

 

FRANCE - COST-OF-LIVING

ERI's Relocation Assessor is a recommended source for cost-of-living data.

 

FRANCE - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U. S. Embassy at Paris

2 Avenue Gabriel

75008 Paris, France

PSC116 B210 APOAE

Paris, France 09777

Telephone: [33] (1) 4312-2222

Fax: [33] (1) 4266-9783

http://www.amb-usa.fr/

 

Embassy of France at Washington D.C.

4101 Reservoir Road, N.W.

Washington D.C. 20007

Telephone: (202) 944-6000

Fax: (202) 944-6166

http://www.info-france-usa.org/

 

FRANCE - HOLIDAYS

 

FRANCE - LEAVE

Holiday Leave: Statutory 5 weeks paid holiday entitlement.

 

Maternity Leave: 16-26 weeks – 100% of pay (paid for by social security).

 

FRANCE - MINIMUM AGE

With a few exceptions for those enrolled in certain apprenticeship programs or working in the entertainment industry, children under the age of 16 may not be employed. In general work considered arduous, or work between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., may not be performed by minors under age 18. Laws prohibiting child employment are enforced effectively through periodic checks by labor inspectors, who have the authority to take employers to court for noncompliance with the law.

 

(Section 6.d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment, France – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

FRANCE - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

The hourly minimum wage is: €6.67. The administratively determined minimum wage is revised whenever the cost-of-living index rises 2 percentage points.

 

FRANCE - REMUNERATION

ERI's Geographic and Salary Assessors are recommended sources for international remuneration covering 189 countries.

 

FRANCE - REPORT OF HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES (2001, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE)

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a.      The Right of Association

 

The Constitution provides for freedom of association for all workers, and workers exercise this right. Trade unions exercise significant economic and political influence, although less than 10 percent of the work force is unionized. Unions have legally mandated roles (as do employers) in the administration of social institutions, including social security (health care and most retirement systems), the unemployment insurance system, labor courts, and the Economic and Social Council, a constitutionally mandated consultative body. Unions and labor federations are independent of the Government, and most are not aligned with any political party; however, many of the leaders of the General Confederation of Labor and its unions belong to the Communist Party.

 

Workers, including civil servants, have the right to strike except when a strike threatens public safety. One-fourth of all salaried employees worked for the Government. The number of workdays lost to strike action in the private sector decreased during the year, as did the number of strikes. In March thousands of public sector workers, including midwives, tax collectors, and police, staged a 1-day strike over wages in Paris. Teachers and health care workers mounted several strikes and protests over pay, better working conditions, and increased job recognition. Public transportation workers and armored car drivers in Paris and other cities struck repeatedly in support of demands for better security and increased compensation. Workers at Marks and Spencer, Danone, and AOM-Air Liberte struck to protest proposed massive airline layoffs. Judges and magistrates held public strikes demanding Ministry of Justice reforms and increased salaries. Police and gendarmes struck repeatedly and successfully for increased salary and benefits.

 

The law prohibits retaliation against strikers, strike leaders, and union members, and in general the Government effectively enforces this provision.

 

Unions are permitted to join federations and confederations, including international bodies, and many do so.

 

b.      The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

Workers, including those in the three small export processing zones, have the right to organize and bargain collectively, and workers exercise this right. The law requires at least annual bargaining in the public and private sector on wages, hours, and working conditions at both plant and industry levels but does not require that negotiations result in a signed contract. In case of an impasse, government mediators may impose solutions that are binding unless formally rejected by either side within a week. If no new agreement can be reached, the contract from the previous year remains valid. Over 90 percent of the private sector work force are covered by collective bargaining agreements negotiated at national or local levels. Trilateral consultations (unions, management, and Government) also take place on such subjects as the minimum wage, the duration of the legal workweek, temporary work, social security, and unemployment benefits. Labor tribunals, composed of worker and employer representatives, are available to resolve complaints.

 

The law requires businesses with more than 50 employees to establish a works council, through which workers are consulted on training, working conditions, profit sharing, and similar issues. Works councils, which are open to both union and nonunion employees, are elected every 2 years.

 

The law strictly prohibits antiunion discrimination; employers found guilty of such activity are required to correct it, including the reinstatement of workers fired for union activities.

 

The Constitution's provisions for trade union rights extend to the country's overseas departments and territories. 

 

c.      Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor; however, trafficking in women was a problem, which the Government took steps to address (see Section 6.f.). In May Parliament passed and implemented a law making slavery a crime against humanity.

 

The law prohibits forced and bonded labor by children; however, trafficking in girls was a problem, which the Government took steps to address (see Section 6.f.).  

 

d.      Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment

 

With a few exceptions for those enrolled in certain apprenticeship programs or working in the entertainment industry, children under the age of 16 may not be employed. In general work considered arduous, or work between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., may not be performed by minors under age 18. Laws prohibiting child employment are enforced effectively through periodic checks by labor inspectors, who have the authority to take employers to court for noncompliance with the law.

 

On April 5, 2001, International Labor Organization Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor was ratified by the National Assembly; it was signed into law by the President on April 19, 2001.

 

The law prohibits forced and bonded labor by children; however, trafficking in girls was a problem, which the Government took steps to address (see Section 6.f.).

 

e.      Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

The administratively determined minimum wage is revised whenever the cost-of-living index rises 2 percentage points, and on July 1, 2001, the hourly minimum wage was changed to $6.25 (43.72 FF). The minimum wage provides a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The legal workweek is 35 hours for firms of 20 or more workers. Overtime under the 35-hour workweek is limited to 1,600 hours per year for most workers. Firms with fewer than 20 workers have until January 2002 to reduce their workweek to 35 hours. For these firms, the legal workweek is 39 hours, with a minimum break of 24 hours per week. Overtime work is restricted to 9 hours per week.

 

The Ministry of Labor has overall responsibility for policing occupational health and safety laws. Standards are high and effectively enforced. The law requires each enterprise with 50 or more employees to establish an occupational health and safety committee. Over 75 percent of all enterprises, covering more than 75 percent of all employees, have fully functioning health and safety committees. Workers have the right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations.

 

f.      Trafficking in Persons

 

The law prohibits the trafficking of persons; however, trafficking in women and girls for prostitution and domestic slavery is a problem. The country is a destination for trafficked victims, primarily women from Moldova, Ukraine, and Romania. Women were also trafficked from Haiti and Africa, particularly Nigeria, Togo, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The number of women trafficked from the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and the Balkans has increased markedly and has received increased press attention. In general victims were trafficked into sexual exploitation or domestic slavery. In addition the country is a transit point for women trafficked for sexual purposes from Africa, South America, and Eastern and Southern Europe.

 

There are organized rings of traffickers, primarily from southeast Europe, and the number of young women, often between the ages 16 and 19 years of age, brought into the country to work as prostitutes continued to increase, in part because traffickers throughout Europe have benefited from the open borders under the Schengen Accords. Some victims come as a result of fraud or force; some are brought by a friend, or a friend of a friend; others have worked as prostitutes in their home countries and are willing to continue the practice to pay for their immigration papers. Traffickers use methods ranging from the confiscation of the victim's identification papers to cultural isolation to physical or psychological abuse.

 

FRANCE - STANDARD WORKWEEK

The legal workweek in France is 35 hours. Overtime is capped at 1,600 hour per year for most workers.

 

FRANCE - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

http://www.ssa.gov/SSA_Home.html

 

FRANCE - TOTALIZATION AGREEMENT WITH U.S.

Effective Date of Agreement: July 1, 1988

 

Coverage and Social Security Taxes: 

 

For employees sent by a French employer to work in the U.S. for five years or less,  taxes and coverage fall to France. If the employee is sent to work in the U.S. for more than five years, was hired in the U.S., or is a U.S. citizen, taxes and coverage fall to the U.S.

 

Certificate of Coverage Request: 

 

Note: Since France's Social Security taxes cover the national health insurance program as well as retirement, survivor, and disability benefits, a worker exempted from paying French Social Security taxes by the agreement must arrange for private health insurance before the exemption may apply. In addition to the information noted above, a request for exemption from coverage and taxes under the French system must also include:

a statement signed by the employer certifying that the employee and any family members living with the employee in France are covered by a private health insurance plan while in France, and dates of any prior periods

of employment in France.

 

To establish exemption from coverage under the U.S. Social Security system, an employer must request a certificate of coverage from the local French agency for sickness insurance to which the employer pays Social Security taxes in France. The same information required for a certificate of coverage from the U.S. is needed except that:

 

·      The French Social Security number should be shown rather than the U.S. number,

 

·      The employer does not need to certify that the employee/family are covered by private health insurance, and

 

·      The dates of any prior employment in the United States should be shown.

 

Minimum Credits Needed: 

 

An employee without enough work credits to qualify for French benefits, but with at least one year of coverage under the French system, may combine Social Security credits from the U.S. and France to meet eligibility requirements.

 

Summary of a Social Security Benefits: 

 

A worker receives retirements or old age full pension benefits at age 60 with 37 1/2 years of coverage, reduced pension if fewer. Two types of disability benefits are payable; total disability (loss of all working capacity) and partial disability (loss of 2/3 of working capacity). France makes no provisions for family benefits, however, a spouse's/child's supplements may be payable to an old-age beneficiary with dependent spouse/child. Full survivor benefits are payable to a widow(er) at age 55 or disabled and not remarried. There are no survivor benefits provided for children. The death benefit is a flat rate, lump-sum payments.

 

Additional Information: 

 

For specific information on France's Social Security program, visit a local French Social Security office in France, or write to:

 

Centre de la Securite Sociale

des Travailleurs Migrants

11 rue de la Tour des Dames

75436 Paris Cedex 09

FRANCE

 

See Totalization Agreements