France's new job contract scheme judged a success
Employment ministry says innovative employment contracts extend work duration
CDD employment contracts have been trialled since 2018
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An experiment with a new form of fixed-term employment contract, which allows someone hired on a CDD (contrat à durée déterminée) to replace several people, rather than just one, has been judged a success by France’s employment ministry.
French salaried workers have two main forms of contract – the contrat à durée indéterminée (CDI, promising work until retirement) or a contrat à durée déterminée (CDD, for a fixed period and for a specific purpose, such as covering maternity leave).
CDIs generally come with more benefits, especially when it comes to securing loans, and day-to-day perks such as lunch vouchers.
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CDD contract rules
CDDs have strict rules on how they can be renewed and the number of times.
Allowing a worker on a CDD contract to replace more than one person has been trialled in France since 2018.
A study by the ministry found that within the sectors concerned (industrial and service), 17.6% of CDDs were in the new format and allowed employees to work for an average of 13 days longer than they could before.
Medical and care sectors used the new contracts the most, responsible for two-thirds of them.
In a report, ministry officials said the results were “encouraging” and recommended the experiment be continued.
However, many companies trying to implement the new contracts reported difficulties. This included software and government forms not being adapted and ministry helpdesks which had never heard of the new contracts.
