Pay transparency: information to be provided to employees

Under European law, employers must provide employees with "the main information concerning the employment relationship". The provisions of decree no. 2023-1004 of October 30, 2023, codified in articles R. 1221-34 to R. 1221-41 of the Labour Code, came into force on November 1^st, 2023.. They list the various items of information that employers must provide at the time of hiring. They apply not only to employees hired on or after November 1^st 2023, but also to employees recruited before this date. As a reminder, the European directive 2019/1152 of June 20, 2019 on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union was transposed into national law by law 2023-171 of March 9, 2023 which sets out various provisions for adapting French law to European Union law, imposing a stricter obligation on employers to provide information to employees. The law created a new article L. 1221-5-1 in the French Labor Code, stipulating that "the employer shall provide the employee with one or more written documents containing the main information relating to the employment relationship". The implementing decree of October 30, 2023 thus specifies the information that must be communicated within the new article R. 1221-34 of the Labor Code:

• The identity of the parties to the employment relationship ;
• Place(s) of work and, if separate, employer's address;
• Job title, duties, socio-professional category or job category;
• Hiring date ;
• In the case of a fixed-term employment relationship, the end date or expected duration;
• In the case of the temporary employee referred to in Article L. 1251-1, the identity of the user company, when known and as soon as it is ;
• If applicable, the duration and conditions of the trial period;
• The right to training provided by the employer in accordance with article L. 6321-1
• The amount of paid leave to which the employee is entitled, or the method of calculating this amount;
• The procedure to be followed by the employer and the employee in the event of termination of their employment relationship ;
• The components of the remuneration mentioned in article L. 3221-3, indicated separately, including overtime bonuses, as well as the frequency and terms of payment of this remuneration;
• Daily, weekly or monthly working hours, or the way in which they may be organized over another reference period when the provisions of articles L. 3121-41 to L. 3121-47 are applied, the conditions under which the employee may be required to work overtime or additional hours, and, where applicable, any arrangements for changing shifts when work is organized in successive alternating shifts;
• Collective agreements applicable to the employee in the company or establishment;
• The compulsory schemes to which the employee is affiliated, a mention of the supplementary social protection contracts from which employees benefit collectively in application of a collective agreement or a unilateral decision by the employer, and, where applicable, the seniority conditions attached thereto.

The decree provides for two different deadlines depending on the information to be communicated (art. R. 1221-35 C. trav.) : 1. In the 7 calendar days from the time of hiring for information relating to the identity of the parties, the place of work, the position, the date of hiring, the end date or duration of the fixed-term contract, the trial period, remuneration and working hours. 2. Within one month of hiring for other information. Employees recruited before November 1^st 2023 can request this information at any time from their employer, who must reply within 7 calendar days or one month of receiving the information. Additional information is provided for employees sent abroad for more than 4 consecutive weeks (art. R. 1221-36 C. trav.) :

• The country or countries in which the work abroad is to be carried out and the expected duration,
• The currency in which the remuneration is paid,
• Where applicable, benefits in cash and in kind related to the tasks concerned,
• Information indicating whether repatriation is organized and, if so, the conditions under which the employee will be repatriated.

Employees seconded to provide services in another member state of the European Union or the European Economic Area are also informed:

• The remuneration to which he/she is entitled under the applicable law of the host country,
• Where applicable, allowances specific to the secondment and reimbursement of travel, accommodation and food expenses,
• The address of the national website set up by the host country, containing detailed information on the working and employment conditions applicable to posted workers on their territory.

About informationcommunication can be in paper format by any means conferring a certain date or in electronic format, provided that the employee has a means of accessing the information in electronic format, that the information can be recorded and printed and that the employer keeps proof of transmission or receipt of the information (art. R. 1221-39 C. trav.). When the information changes during the employment relationship, the employer provides the employee with a document indicating these changes as soon as possible, and no later than the effective date of the change. Concerning the consequences of the employer's failure to comply with the obligation to provide informationThe decree of October 30, 2023 has clarified this point: for the record, the law of March 9, 2023 allows employees to take their case to the industrial tribunal to obtain information after the employer has served formal notice. The decree adds that the matter may only be referred to the committee if no response to the formal notice has been received within 7 calendar days of receipt by the employer (art. R. 1221-41 C. trav.). The decree also lays down provisions for employees on fixed-term contracts and temporary employees already on the job market, concerning information on positions to be filled under open-ended contracts: As a reminder, the law of March 9, 2023 requires employers to provide employees on fixed-term or temporary contracts (with 6 months' seniority) who so request, with information on open-ended contract positions to be filled within the company. The decree of October 30, 2023 specifies that the employee must submit his or her request by any means giving certainty of receipt (he or she is entitled to two requests per calendar year). The employer has one month to provide a list of open-ended jobs to be filled that match the employee's or temporary worker's professional qualifications.   Pour aller plus loin Directive (EU) 2023/970 of May 10, 2023 on pay transparency lays down new European requirements to be transposed by June 7, 2026, aimed at reinforcing the application of the principle of equal pay for men and women through the provision of information at the time of hiring and throughout the employment relationship. Article 5 of the directive stipulates that job applicants must receive information from their potential employer on their initial salary or salary range (based on objective, gender-neutral criteria). On October 16, the French Prime Minister announced that several measures would be taken to anticipate the transposition of this directive.