Labor law Newsletter, December 2024
Payroll Changes Effective January 1, 2025
Several provisions outlined below, which have an impact on payroll, will automatically expire on December 31, 2024. For some, their renewal requires legislation, which seems unlikely by January 1, 2025. For the valuation of benefits in kind, a simple executive order may suffice and will therefore depend on the actions of the new government.
Commuting Expenses
The employer’s optional coverage of public transportation pass costs (beyond the legal requirement of 50%) will no longer qualify for income tax exemption. However, it may continue to qualify for an exemption from social security contributions under the conditions of tolerance permitted by the Administration (BOSS FP 770)
The amount of the Sustainable Mobility Allowance (FMD) increases to €600 per year per employee (compared to €700 in 2024) and to €900 if combined with the coverage of public transportation pass costs (compared to €800 in 2024).
The conditions for eligibility for the Transportation Allowance (and tax and contribution exemptions), which were suspended in 2024, will once again apply in 2025. For the record, these conditions relate to place of residence or work or specific work schedules (Article L. 3261-3 of the Labor Code).
Provision of a charging station at the workplace
Until December 31, 2024, the benefit in kind resulting from an employee’s non-work-related use of a charging station provided by the employer at the workplace is exempt from social security contributions. Unless the measure is extended, this provision must be reported as a benefit in kind effective January 1, 2025.
Valuation of the Fringe Benefit for Electric Vehicles
Until December 31, 2024, the provision of a 100% electric vehicle qualifies for a 50% reduction, and the cost of electricity is not taken into account. Unless the measure is extended, the value of the benefit in kind will need to be reassessed in 2025.
Tips
Since January 1, 2022, tips voluntarily given to employees in contact with customers whose compensation does not exceed 1.6 times the minimum wage are exempt from social security contributions and income tax.
This temporary measure, applicable until December 31, 2024, will cease to apply on January 1, 2025, unless extended.
Meal Vouchers
The Act of August 16, 2022, on emergency measures to protect purchasing power, as amended by an Act of December 26, 2023, authorizes the use of meal vouchers until December 31, 2024, to pay for all or part of the price of any food product, whether directly consumable or not.
Unless the measure is extended, as of January 1, 2025, meal vouchers may therefore only be used to purchase meals, ready-to-eat food preparations, or fruits and vegetables.
Legislation
Digital Platforms: Toward a Presumption of Employment
The directive provides for:
- establishing, within the legal systems of Member States, a legal presumption of an employment relationship between platform workers and the platform, thereby facilitating their reclassification as employees;
- regulating the algorithmic processing of workers’ data by platforms, so that workers are informed of the use of monitoring systems or automated decision-making.
The French legislature, like those of other Member States, has until December 2, 2026, to transpose the provisions of the directive into national law (Article 29 of the directive).
Directive (UE) n°2024/2831, 23 octobre 2024 : JOUE, 11 novembre 2024
National Interprofessional Agreement on the Employment of “Experienced” Workers
A national interprofessional agreement promoting the employment of experienced workers was signed on November 14, 2024, by Medef, U2P, CFDT, CFTC, and CFE-CGC. It includes several measures to support the employment of older workers, which must be enacted by the legislature:
- Mandatory Negotiation:
In professional sectors and in companies with at least 300 employees, mandatory negotiations must be initiated every three years regarding the employment of older workers. - Preparing for the Second Half of One’s Career:
The mid-career performance review (one year before or after age 45) is strengthened, and a second-half-of-career review (within two years prior to the 60th birthday) would be established. - Creation of an experience-enhancement contract:
This open-ended contract would be available to individuals over 60 registered with France Travail. It would allow the employer to retire the employee at the age at which the employee becomes eligible for a full pension (rather than at age 70, as under the general social security system). The employer would also be exempt from the 30% special contribution due on the retirement severance pay. - Measures to facilitate career-ending arrangements:
Gradual early retirement would become available starting at age 60 (compared to two years before the legal retirement age today), with the option for employees to request to continue contributing on a full-time basis. A part-time career-ending arrangement would be created, with compensation for lost income under the terms set forth in a company or industry-wide agreement.
ANI “Social Dialogue”: Removal of the Limit on the Number of Consecutive Terms on the CSE
The National Interprofessional Agreement (ANI) dated November 14, 2024, regarding the evolution of social dialogue primarily provides for the removal from the Labor Code of the limit on the number of consecutive terms on the Social and Economic Committee, a measure that must be enacted by the legislature.
The signatory organizations also commit to opening negotiations in 2025 on the recognition of trade union careers.
Case Law
The Labor Court’s Mandatory Jurisdiction to Rule on the Occupational Origin of an Employee’s Incapacity
In three published decisions rendered on September 18, 2024, the Court of Cassation held that the protective rules applicable to victims of a work-related accident or occupational disease apply whenever the employee’s incapacity—regardless of when it is established or invoked—is, at least in part, attributable to that accident or disease, and the employer was aware of this occupational origin at the time of termination. As a result, in particular, if an occupational accident or illness has been recognized by the CPAM through a decision that has not been challenged, that decision is binding on the labor court judge.
Cass.soc.,18 sept. 2024, n°22-22.782 F-B
Cass.soc., 18 sept. 2024 n°22-17.737 F-B
Cass.soc.,18 sept.2024 n°22-24.703 F-B
Dismissal due to pregnancy: wages are owed for the period covered by the invalidity
The Court of Cassation confirms that, both before and after the enactment of the 2017 ordinances, in the event of the nullity of a dismissal pronounced in violation of maternity protection rules, an employee who does not request reinstatement is entitled, in addition to the minimum compensation of six months’ salary, to payment of the wages she would have received during the period covered by the nullity.
Cass. Soc., 6 novembre 2024, n°23-14.706 FS-B
Termination agreement amended after refusal of approval: a new withdrawal period is required
When a termination agreement is refused approval, the employer may not submit an amended agreement to the authorities without informing the employee and granting them a new withdrawal period.
Cass.soc., 16 octobre 2024, n°23-15.752 F-D
A fixed-term agreement with tacit renewal may include a termination clause
A fixed-term collective agreement providing for tacit renewal may be unilaterally terminated with effect upon its expiration, provided that the notice period set forth in the agreement is observed.
Cass.soc., 23 octobre 2024, n°23-17.460 FS-B
A final settlement statement not signed by the employee has no effect on the statute of limitations
The Court of Cassation clarifies that an unsigned receipt for final settlement has no effect on the statute of limitations, which is suspended only in cases where it is impossible to take action due to an impediment arising from the law, a contract, or force majeure.
The absence of a signature on the final settlement receipt therefore does not suspend the statute of limitations for the amounts listed therein.
Cass.soc., 14 novembre 2024, n°21-22.540 F-B
The Social and Economic Committee (CSE) cannot obtain, through summary proceedings, a list of employees working at client sites.
The employer’s refusal to provide employee representatives with a list, by site, of employees working at client locations and the locations of their assignments does not constitute a manifestly unlawful interference with the exercise of their mandates, since they had access to the list of work sites for employees within the committee’s jurisdiction, as well as the number of employees present at those sites, and could contact the workers via their work email.
Failure to consult the CSE: what measures can the judge in summary proceedings take?
When the employer has failed to fulfill its obligation to consult the CSE on a project, the judge in summary proceedings may choose to order the suspension of the project and the resumption of the information-consultation procedure while rejecting the committee’s request for a provisional award of damages.
Cass.soc., 27 novembre 2024, n°23-13.806 F-B
Disciplinary suspension: the consent of a protected employee is not required
The Court of Cassation holds, pursuant to Article L. 2411-1,2° of the Labor Code, that the disciplinary suspension of a protected employee which does not suspend the performance of the employee’s duties as a staff representative and does not entail any modification of the employee’s employment contract or change in working conditions is not subject to the employee’s consent.
The Court of Cassation therefore makes no distinction between protected and non-protected employees.
Cass.soc., 11 décembre 2024, n°23-13.332, F-B
Derogatory remarks regarding the company and its executives made using the telephone provided to the employee:
Text messages sent by the employee to colleagues currently employed or who have left the company, containing critical remarks regarding the company and disparaging remarks regarding its executives, are presumed to be of a professional nature because they were sent using a phone provided to the employee for work purposes and whose content is related to his professional activity; they are not of a private nature and could therefore be used in support of disciplinary proceedings.
Cass.soc, 11 décembre 2024, n°23-20.716 F-B
