2023-12-05 13:51:26
Published on Dec 5 2023 at 2:28 p.m.Updated Dec 5 2023 at 2:51 p.m.
It is a debate that the reform of the Labor Code, initiated upon his arrival at the Elysée by Emmanuel Macron, had extinguished. Not for Bruno Le Maire. Among his proposals to promote employment is the idea of reducing the period during which an employee can contest his dismissal before the judges to just two months. This is what the Minister of the Economy mentioned in an interview with “Parisien” on Sunday, on the eve of a government meeting in Matignon on employment.
Since the end of the 2000s, the limitation period for contesting the real and serious cause of dismissal has already been drastically reduced. In 2008, a law divided it by six, from 30 years to 5 years. Then in 2013, another law ratified its change to 2 years, at the initiative of the social partners. The measure was part of the compromise on “job security” signed between employers and the CFDT, the CFTC and the CFE-CGC.
Duration already drastically reduced
Immediately following the election of Emmanuel Macron in 2017, the work was put back into practice. A reduction to six months had initially been envisaged but given the outcry from the unions, the move to one year was ultimately retained in the reform of the Labor Code.
To justify his proposal to go down to two months, the Minister of the Economy emphasizes that this is the duration of the limitation period “in all other developed countries”. It’s even less in Germany: only three weeks. “We cannot take this measure in isolation,” warns a lawyer. Example: across the Rhine, in the event of unfair dismissal, the employer has the obligation to retain or reinstate the employee where in most cases, he must pay damages which are now capped in France.
“Promote rogue bosses”
In any case, the proposal makes employee organizations jump. “Not giving employees time to turn around can only favor rogue bosses,” denounces Jean-François Foucard, employment manager at the CFE-CGC. For Denis Gravouil, of the CGT, “the rising unemployment figures are causing the government to panic”. “Two months is too short to escape from astonishment, find out regarding your rights and be able to challenge in time,” he pleads.
“Let the Minister of the Economy take care of the economic aspect… The social partners will negotiate what is good for employment and no one believes that it is the time limit for contesting dismissals which will create them”, judges for his part Yvan Ricordeau, of the CFDT.
Employer organizations not demanding
Denounced by the unions, Bruno Le Maire’s proposal does not arouse enthusiasm among employers either. Although inclined to denounce the risks of litigation, none of the three employers’ organizations (Medef, CPME, U2P) are asking for such a reduction in deadlines.
It must be said that following the creation of conventional terminations in 2008 – in the crosshairs of the government – the Macron orders of 2017 seriously eased the judicial pressure on employers, with the capping of the amount of damages. The number of new industrial tribunal cases fell by 44% between 2015 and 2022.
Precautionary complaints
“This is not a subject that has come up in employer circles,” said soberly one of their representatives who, like the others, prefers to remain anonymous so as not to point out the Minister of the Economy. “It is not the priority of business leaders,” summarizes another, who is concerned regarding the risk that such trial balloons pose to the social climate when a major negotiation on employment must begin with trade unions.
“We understand the principle, which is to give more visibility to companies to promote their legal security. But be careful, starting from a good intention, not to end up with problematic side effects,” warns another employers’ organization, pointing out the risk of an increase in complaints as a precaution.
1701787218
#Layoffs #employers #reduction #appeal #period
