How Macron wants to change French working laws

He has so far stated plans to reform the unemployment insurance system, and wants to reduce tax rates and social contributions for businesses. Both changes will need a change in law, and the latter is likely to be decided in 2018.

Give more power to businesses

Macron wants to give more power back to businesses to decide their own rules about key business principles – for example, employees’ working hours or salary ‒ which is currently partly set by a number of different laws, including the Constitution, depending on the type of business.

There will still be some safeguards, however; the 35-hour week will remain, while there will be still be an absolute minimum wage. Any businesses that cannot get internal agreement on any new measures will default back to the existing laws.

A cap on retrospective work compensation claims

The president has previously been critical of the long time period within which retrospective compensation claims can be brought by former employees following loss of employment. He has denounced these potentially-costly claims as difficult for companies to predict, and has suggested a ‘ceiling’ should be introduced.

He has, however a ‘floor’ – low-level limit – for claims in case of genuinely wrongly dismissal, and has previously stated that these conditions will not apply where a case involves claims of harassment or discrimination.

Creating one system for staff representatives across businesses

Macron wants to create a more uniform system for representing staff across businesses. Right now there are three separate systems – businesses with 11 employees need representatives (‘délégués’), those with 50 or more employees need a business council (comité d’entreprise), health and safety team, security team and official working guidelines.

Macron wants to simplify this system so that all businesses require the same set-up. This will primarily reduce instances in which a company cannot make people redundant, hire someone, or change a team structure through fear of risking moving the company into another tier (e.g. from 11 employees to 10, or 49 to 50).

Macron is so keen to get working on these measures that he wants to use the ‘ordonnances’ system, which will allow him to make new laws without requiring it to pass through a normal parliamentary procedure – which could take months.

However, this process will still require a Parliament vote to allow the executive to sign off and ratify the new laws.

Macron will also need to get majority support from the government’s social partners and unions to pass the laws. Most are in favour, but some have said they are only prepared to negotiate ‘within reasonable margins’, and some are in favour of some changes but not others.

If Macron cannot get support from his own part, La République en marche, (LRM), he will be forced to negotiate with other political groups.