France: law to reform industrial relations gets adopted

On 23 July, the French parliament gave final approval to adopt a draft law to simplify employee representation bodies and alleviate the level of formalism that so often characterizes social dialogue in the French system. Companies with fewer than 300 employees will be able to integrate their employee bodies (works council, health and safety committee, and employee delegates). Companies with 300 and more employees can, after majority agreement, alter their employee representative architecture. On the other hand however, the law also gives employee representatives new rights to promote union involvement.
Enjoy this article for free while you’re in your trial period
You have access to our content for 1 month.

Simplifying employee representation bodies. The new law allows companies to regroup both bodies and procedures. Thus, companies with more 300 employees or more can, after receiving majority agreement, regroup all or some of their current employee representation bodies: employee delegates (DP), works councils (EC), and the health and safety committees (CHSCT) and the agreement can set out the operation rules (number of meetings, number of delegation hours accorded, training days, etc.). The abil

Do you have information to share with us?
What you absolutely must read this week
The essential content of the week selected by the editorial team.
See all
TRENDS IN 2026 — Reducing workplace absence at all costs: a major challenge for Europe
Workplace absence is on the rise across Europe, particularly among women, older employees and, since the Covid-19 pandemic, young people under the age of 30. Faced with this growing problem, some...
14 January 2026
Italy: banking group Intesa Sanpaolo sharpens focus on quality of life at work
Over the Christmas period Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy's largest bank, penned with trade unions a deal to renew the first part of the company agreement, covering work-life balance, inclusion, parenthood...
14 January 2026
Vincent Lecerf (Orange): “Equality and diversity are competitive advantages for us”
Following the signing of a new agreement on professional equality and diversity in December, the chief HR officer of French multinational telecommunications corporation Orange Group, Vincent...
13 January 2026
United Kingdom: government urged to legislate against forced labour
After consulting victims, businesses and NGOs, the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) has published a report showing that the UK is lagging behind in the fight against forced labour. The...
13 January 2026
Most viewed articles of the month on mind HR
What readers clicked on the most last month.
What readers clicked on the most last month.
1
EU: Parliament formally adopts omnibus, diluting due diligence rules
On 16 December, the European Parliament formally approved the omnibus package amending the EU corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence directives. Their application has been pushed...
16 December 2025
2
United Kingdom: government urged to legislate against forced labour
After consulting victims, businesses and NGOs, the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) has published a report showing that the UK is lagging behind in the fight against forced labour. The...
13 January 2026