The mandatory company disclosure law is evolving

The list of mandatory laws cited in the Labor Code and to be posted by employers, was particularly long.

In two decrees enacted on the 20^th of October 2016 (Nos. 2016-1417 and 2016-1418), the legislature decided to pursue its policy of simplifying posting obligations in order to be compatible with the obligations of employers to “Means of modern communications.”

 

Mandatory display adapts to new means of communication

For many  subjects, the requirement to display information by using traditional posting methods, was reserved for memos and other communications. Now, company management must now communicate "by all means". This means that companies can now use their internal systems to communicate or even send emails to inform their employees of the required information.

This simplification measure covers :

• information about working hours and about paid leave
• the internal rules of a company
• provisions concerning equal remuneration for men and women (see Articles L 3221-1 à L 3221-7 of the Labor Code)
• the nominative list of the members of various committees: health and safety, human resources, working conditions
• the opinions of various collective agreements as well as general agreements to be put into use for the company
• the publication of a referendum to validate a minority business agreement or an agreement negotiated with an authorized employee.
• With regard to temporary work, the temporary employment agency is also obliged to inform by all and any means and not by posting:
  • The communication of nominative information contained in the statements of all contracts with Pôle Emploi and the DIRECCTE
  • The right of access and rectification provided for by the Data Protection Act of January 6^th , 1978, which may be exercised by all concerned at Pôle emploi and at DIRECCTE.

 

From the obligation to transmit information to the obligation to make information available

The two decrees from October 20^th, 2016 also relieve employers of their obligation to transmit information to the management.

Thus, in trying to simplify the formalities for employers, the two decrees also replace the obligation to transmit information to the health and safety boards and to instead make the information available.

This simplification concerns certain subjects related to:

• Health and safety at work (for example: the name and address of the doctor in charge of supervising the premises who is dedicated to breastfeeding, regulation of the inter-company boards of safety and sanitation, and health and working conditions to be set up in large building and civil engineering projects, etc.)
• Working hours (eg communication with the supervising officer who requests the opinion of the company on how part-time schedules are to be implemented).
• Works council (example: organizational reports, financial management of social services which means they can also work on their various ‘social’ tasks).