A collective agreement is a written agreement negotiated between representative trade union organizations and employers or groups of employers.

Each collective agreement is identified by an IDCC number (collective agreement identifier).

In particular, it lays down working conditions, wages, paid leave, the rights and obligations of employers and employees and adapts the rules of the Labor Code to the specific situations of the sector concerned.

The collective agreement contains a basic text, supplemented year after year by agreements and/or addenda and annexes.

The provisions of the collective agreement may be more favorable to the employee than the Labor Code. For example, working hours may be less than the legal 35 hours or severance pay may be higher than legal compensation.

The collective agreement may also contain provisions that the Labor Code does not provide for, such as additional bonuses or leave.

Where a collective agreement applies to a company, all employees of the company who are bound by a contract of employment (CSD: titleContent, trial period, DTA: titleContent, etc.) are concerned.

A collective agreement is called constraining, i.e. it must be applied by all parties who have signed it.

Where it has been subject to extension procedure by the minister responsible for labor, the collective agreement is summerndue. It then becomes obligatory for all employers and employees in the sector, whether or not they are members of the signatory trade unions.

However, some employees, such as VRP: titleContent for example, may be excluded from the scope of the convention because they have a specific status.

The vast majority of sectors of activity and the companies associated with them are covered by a collective agreement, regardless of the number of employees.

The applicable collective agreement shall be the one to which it is subject the main activity by the employer.

The code NAF: titleContent (or code) EPA: titleContent), assigned by theInsee: titleContent when the company is created, is an indication of this main activity, and therefore of the applicable collective agreement.

If this code refers to more than one collective agreement, each field of application must be checked.

A simulator is used to search for the collective agreement with the company's name or Siret number:

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The scope of a collective agreement is determined in the agreement by the signatories.

This scope may be geographically limited (national, regional or local) and/or to the whole of one or more sectors of activity or to a company.

It may apply to all employees or only to certain categories of employees (workers, supervisors, managers).

Most collective agreements are national: national collective agreement (NCC).

A collective agreement is usually of a duration undetermined.

Where it is fixed-term, the duration shall be specified in the agreement by the Parties.

At the end of the period, the collective agreement must be extended or rewritten.

This period may not exceed 5 years.

Yes, every member employers to an employers’ organization which is a signatory to the agreement shall apply the collective agreement.

Where the collective agreement is extent (i.e. where it has been subject to extension procedure by the minister responsible for labor), it applies to all employers engaged in an activity falling within its professional and territorial scope even if they are not members of one of the signatory organizations.

Employees may request the application of the collective agreement and its provisions from their employer. 

If the employer does not comply with the provisions of the collective agreement, the employee may to refer the matter to the labor council.

If the employer refuses to apply the agreement, the unions may also collectively bring the matter before the court.

If an agreement is applicable to the company, the employer must inform the employees.

The employer provides them with a document written informing them of the treaty texts applicable in the company. That document is being provided not later than 1 month after hiring.

If an employee has already been hired and does not have this information, he or she can request it at any time from his or her employer. The latter must answer to the employee in a 1-month period.

The employer has an obligation to make available to employees a copy of the collective agreement applicable to the company. He shall keep this copy up to date.

The employer shall also provide a copy of these texts to the staff representative institutions or to the following persons:

• Social and Economic Committee (ESC)
• Social and Economic Committee for Establishment
• Union Delegate
• Employee mandated by a trade union organization

Each year, the employer must provide the employee representatives with a list of the changes made to the collective agreements applicable in the company. If there are no employee representatives, it shall communicate this information directly to employees.

There are several possibilities for consulting a collective agreement.