Jail work

Classification and Assignment Obligation

To be entitled to work, the inmate must be classified at work and assigned to a position by the prison administration.

Each detained person can apply to be classified at work.

The inmate who is classified at work can then apply to be assigned to a work station.

Before applying to be classified as a prisoner at work, the detainee may benefit from a discovery in the prison in a professional setting.

This may allow him to discover a trade or an activity sector, to confirm a professional project or to initiate a recruitment process.

This discovery in a professional environment has a maximum duration of 5 days.

It can be decided by one of the following services:

• Correctional Service for Insertion and Probation
• Structure of insertion by economic activity
• Adapted company for disabled workers
• State service responsible for developing the work and professional integration of persons under the authority of the judiciary

Procedure

The request for classification at work and for assignment to a post shall be made by letter addressed to the head of the penitentiary.

Decision on classification at work

The decision by the head of the penitentiary on a request for classification shall be notified to the detained person.

This decision must set out the reasons on which the head of the establishment based his decision.

The decision may, for example, be based on the need to maintain good order and security of the establishment.

Assignment Decision

The decision on the assignment is taken by the head of the prison. It shall take into account the choice made by the company proposing the work and the reasons relating to the good order and safety of the establishment.

If the decision is favourable, it results in the signing of the contract of employment of the prison.

If the decision is negative, it must state the reasons on which the head of the establishment made the decision.

The decision to refuse the assignment must also be notified the company offering the work and the person detained.

Contract Duration

The contract of employment in prisons may be signed for a fixed term or for an indefinite period.

The fixed-term contract must comply with certain specific rules.

It must first include a firm and precise end date from the time of its conclusion.

By exception, a fixed-term contract may not include a specific term when it is concluded for the replacement of an absent or suspended inmate.

In addition, it is prohibited to sign a fixed-term prison employment contract to provide long-term permanent employment.

Thus, a fixed-term contract of employment in prisons may be concluded only for the performance of a specific and temporary task, and only in the following cases:

• Replacement of detained person in case of absence or suspension of contract
• Temporary increase in the work activity concerned
• Seasonal position

Content of the contract and the annexed agreement

Contract Content

The contract of employment in prisons shall contain the following information:

• Work arrangements
• Specified or unspecified duration of contract
• Renewal clause if necessary
• Effective date of commencement of business and, if required, contract termination date
• Duration and conditions of the test period and conditions of renewal
• Description of the workstation and missions
• Specific Workstation Risks if Required
• Weekly or monthly working hours
• Break and rest time and public holidays
• Organisation of periods of periodic penalty payment if necessary
• Amount of remuneration and possible premiums
• Amount of social contributions
• Contract Change Rules
• Suspension and termination rules

When the work is performed on behalf of a structure of integration through economic activity or adapted company, the contract of employment in prisons must provide socio-professional support.

Content of the annexed agreement

The contract of employment in prisons shall be accompanied by an agreement which shall contain at least the following particulars:

• Allowed Absences
• Agreement Change Rules
• Remedies and time limits
• Obligations of the head of the prison, the company and the detained person

Suspension of contract

The contract can be suspended by the company offering the work and by the prison's general service.

The company may suspend the contract of employment of the penitentiary for one of the following reasons:

• Conjunctural economic difficulties
• Sustainable difficulties in the supply of raw materials or energy
• Exceptional disaster or weather
• Transformation, restructuring or modernisation of the prison structure, service, company or establishment
• Any other exceptional circumstances

The General Service of the Prison may also suspend the contract of employment in the following cases:

• Exceptional disaster or weather
• Transformation, restructuring or modernisation of the structure, service, company or establishment
• Any other exceptional circumstances

In the event of a temporary fall in activity on one of the grounds for suspension, the company must send the administrative authority a request for an opinion on the suspension of the prison contract(s) concerned.

The application shall be in writing and shall specify the following:

• Reasons for the use of this suspension
• Predicted period of sub-activity
• Number of detained persons concerned

The administrative authority is the head of the penitentiary for the activities offered by the companies, and the interregional directorate of the penitentiary services for the general service of the prison.

The opinion of the administrative authority shall be notified in writing to the payer within five days of the date of receipt of the request.

A 5-day silence on a request for suspension is equivalent to a favourable opinion.

The contract(s) for prison employment may be suspended for a maximum period of 3 months from the date of receipt of the opinion of the administrative authority.

Prison employment contracts may be suspended for a maximum period of 6 months, where there are exceptional circumstances.

The suspension of the prison employment contract shall be notified in writing to each inmate concerned.

Termination

The contract of employment in the prison may be terminated by the inmate working, by the general service of the prison or by the company which recruited him. Termination may be amicable or contentious.

Mutual Termination

A person who wishes to terminate the contract must send the other party a written request for termination that sets out the reasons for the decision.

If the other party accepts the request, the terms of the termination are postponed in an amicable agreement to be signed by the two parties. Each party shall receive a copy of the agreement.

Termination on the initiative of the inmate worker

In the absence of an amicable agreement, the inmate must send the employer a letter of early termination of the prison employment contract.

Termination of the company's initiative for professional insufficiency

If the termination is based on lack of professional competence or non-compliance with socio-professional guidance, the company must summon the worker to a prior interview before any decision is taken.

The company must send a letter of invitation, which indicates the purpose of the summons.

Pre-interview must take place no earlier than 2 business days after notification of the letter of invitation.

During the pre-interview, the company must state the reasons for the proposed decision and obtain the comments of the inmate worker.

Termination of the contract of employment of the prison notified to the inmate working no earlier than 1 working day after the date of the prior interview. The termination letter must state the reasons for the decision.

Termination on the initiative of the company on economic grounds

A company wishing to terminate the contract of employment for economic reasons must demonstrate the reality of this ground and respect the procedure of termination.

To prove the business case, the company must show that the termination has a real and serious cause related to one of the following events:

• Economic difficulties characterised either by significant changes in at least one economic indicator, such as a sustained decline in orders or turnover, operating losses or a deterioration in cash or gross operating surplus, or by any other factor likely to justify such difficulties
• Technological Changes
• Reorganisation of the service, company or organisation responsible for the work activity necessary to safeguard its competitiveness
• Termination of service, company or organisation responsible for the work activity

The termination procedure varies depending on the number of prison employment contracts terminated over a 30-day period.

Termination on the initiative of the head of the prison

The head of the penitentiary may terminate the contract of employment of the penitentiary for a reason related to the needs of the service.

Before any decision is taken, he must summon the inmate to a prior interview to present the reason.

The grounds which are considered to be related to the needs of the service and which may justify the termination of the contract of employment of the prison are as follows:

• Disappearance of the needs of the service or removal of the post which justified the conclusion of the prison employment contract
• Transformation of the needs of the service or position when the inmate worker is not able to adapt to this transformation
• Refusal of the inmate worker to modify an essential element of his or her prison employment contract, such as a change in the working time or a change of position

Termination of the contract of employment of the prison notified to the inmate who works at the earliest 5 working days after the date of the prior interview. The letter of termination must state the reasons on which the head of the establishment based his decision.

Working time

The organisation of working time must be specified in the contract of employment in prisons and in the annexe accompanying it.

In the case of work for an outside company, the work offered to the inmate must be sufficient to occupy a normal working day.

Changing the Working Time

Any change in the distribution of working hours between the days of the week or between the weeks of the month shall be communicated to the inmate worker at least 24 hours in advance.

If the inmate is notified less than 24 hours in advance of the change in working hours, the inmate may refuse to work overtime or overtime.

Refusal to perform the proposed overtime or overtime work less than 24 hours in advance does not constitute disciplinary misconduct or cause for termination of the prison employment contract.

Duration and arrangements of working time

Work schedules must include time for rest, meals, walking, and educational and recreational activities.

The working time for a full-time contract is 35 hours per week.

A detained worker is considered to be working part-time if the working hours are less than 35 hours per week or 1771 hours per year.

The minimum weekly working time for part-time work shall be 10 hours.

The maximum daily working time per inmate is 10 hours.

The maximum weekly working time is 48 hours.

The week begins on Monday at 0 a.m. and ends on Sunday at 24 a.m.

The company offering work may set up a working time arrangement over a reference period exceeding the week. But, over a year, this period may not exceed the expected date of release of the detainee. Overtime or overtime shall be counted at the end of this reference period.

Overtime is the time worked beyond the maximum working time of the period.

The overtime shall be the hours worked in excess of the duration specified in the contract of employment of the penitentiary and calculated over the reference period.

Any overtime worked shall be entitled to an increase in pay.

Overtime is counted per week.

The first 8 hours of overtime result in a 25% increase in pay.

Subsequent hours result in a 50% increase.

Overtime may be completed within an annual quota of 220 hours.

Part Time

Part-time working hours may be carried out at the initiative of the company or at the request of the inmate worker.

Any hour of work beyond the working time provided for in the contract of part-time prison employment shall be an additional hour.

Completion of an additional hour shall entitle to an increase in remuneration.

The increase in pay shall be 10 % for each additional hour completed within the limit of 10 % of the hours provided for in the contract of employment of the penitentiary.

The pay increment shall be 25% for each hour worked between 10% and 50% of the hours provided for in the contract.

The number of additional hours worked during a week or month shall not exceed 50% of the weekly or monthly working time provided for in the contract of employment of the prison.

Astrets

A period of probation is a period during which the inmate is not at work, but makes himself available for intervention in the event of a solicitation by the employer.

If the worker is requested by the employer, the duration of his intervention shall be considered as an effective working time.

The period of periodic penalty payment must be subject to a counterparty, either in financial form or in the form of a rest period.

The period of suspension shall be taken into account for the calculation of the minimum daily rest period and the weekly rest periods.

The organisation of periodic penalty payments and their method of compensation shall be determined by the company, after obtaining the opinion of the head of the penitentiary and after informing the supervisory officer of the labour inspectorate.

The method of informing prisoners about the periodic penalty payment must be provided for in the prison employment contract.

The individual programming of the periods of detention must be made known to the inmate working one week in advance. In exceptional circumstances, the detainee must be notified at least one free day in advance.

At the end of the month, the company must provide the inmate who made the periodic penalty payments with a document summarising the number of hours of the previous month and the corresponding compensation.

The company shall keep at the disposal of the labour inspectorate, for a period of one year, a summary of the hours of service performed by the detainees during the preceding month and the corresponding compensation.

Daily rest

The inmate worker shall be entitled to a daily rest period of at least 11 consecutive hours.

As soon as the daily working time reaches 6 hours, the detained person shall be granted a break time of at least 20 consecutive minutes.

Weekly rest

It is forbidden to employ a detained person more than 6 days a week.

Weekly rest must be given on Sundays.

It shall be for a minimum of 24 consecutive hours, in addition to the daily rest.

Weekly rest may be suspended for inmates who are required to perform urgent security work in the institution. In this case, the prisoners shall be granted compensatory rest for a period equal to the period of rest abolished.

Holidays

Prisoners should not work on public holidays.

However, detainees assigned to a work station necessary for the proper functioning of the penitentiary may work during public holidays.

This work is not subject to a pay increase unless the work was performed on 1^to May.

Work completed on 1^to may entitles the employee to double the normal remuneration.

Remuneration

The rates of pay shall be made known to persons held by posting.

The monthly remuneration shall be calculated on the basis of the working time laid down in the contract of employment of the prison.

In the case of part-time work, the remuneration must be proportional to that of the inmate who has the same qualification and works full-time with the same employer.

The minimum hourly remuneration for work performed under the contract of employment in prisons shall be:

• €5.07 for production activities
• €3.72 for General Service, Class I
• €2.82 General Service Class II
• €2.25 for General Service, Class III

The inmate worker may receive productivity or seniority bonuses or any other exceptional bonus from the company that hired him.

Remuneration of prisoners on contracts of employment in prisons shall be paid to the prison, unless the sentencing judge has decided otherwise.

The penitentiary institution must collect the social, employer and wage contributions before supplying the registered account of the inmate worker. Amounts collected must be paid to the appropriate collection agencies.

Hygiene and safety at work

The inmate worker is entitled, like all workers, to the protection of his safety and health.

The hygiene and safety rules provided for in the Labour Code are applicable to work in prison.

They may be supplemented by special rules inserted in the contract of employment in prisons or in the accompanying agreement.

When the work is performed on behalf of a company, it must take the necessary measures to ensure the safety and the physical and mental health of the inmate who is working.

The head of the penitentiary may request the intervention of the labour inspectorate if necessary to ensure compliance with these rules.

Mixture

Prison work must be organised in a mixed environment, unless the maintenance of good order and security of the institution is contrary to it.

Social protection

The employer of the inmate worker must pay his contributions for retirement.

Inmate workers have the right to compensation for accidents at work and occupational diseases.

However, the inmate worker's right to the activity bonus is suspended during the period of incarceration.

General Prison Service

The detainee may work for the general prison service.

This regime consists in entrusting the inmate with the maintenance of the premises and tasks necessary for the operation of the institution.

For example, doing maintenance work on the premises or washing the laundry.

Prison Industrial Governance (Riep)

The detainee may work for the Industrial Administration of Prisons (Riep).

The work is then carried out under the direct control of the prison administration, in workshops run by the Prison Employment Service (SEP).

The inmate produces goods and services that are sold outside the home.

Concession scheme

A prisoner who works in prison may also work for a private company.

We're talking about the concession : the prison administration contracts with a company who settles its workshops in the prison premises.

The company then organises the work.

Delegated Management

In a number of prisons, the State delegates to private companies, through a public contract or a partnership contract, all or part of the non-statutory tasks of their management. Missions concerned: restoration, maintenance of the premises or management of the work of the detained persons, at the general service or in production.

In establishments where the work in production is delegated to such a company, the latter organises the work, as do the concessionary companies.

Cases of work outside prison

Convicted persons may in some cases be employed outside the area of the penitentiary, but under the control of the administration.

It is the regime of the placement outside under the supervision of prison staff.

In order to be designated to work under this regime, detainees must have adequate security and public order guarantees and must be in one of the following categories:

• Persons who have a term of imprisonment of less than or equal to 5 years and who have not previously been sentenced to imprisonment of more than 6 months
• Persons who meet the time requirements to be eligible for parole, regardless of their history and length of incarceration
• Persons eligible for day parole
• Persons who may be placed outside the prison without supervision by prison staff

The work may be performed on behalf of an administration, public authority, natural person or company.

The head of the penitentiary institution must inform the prefect of the department of the employment of persons convicted outside the area assigned to the penitentiary.

Detainees placed outside the prison remain subject to effective supervision by prison staff.

Prison staff must apply the disciplinary regime of the prison to them, in particular with regard to communications with third parties. The employer must comply with the instructions given to him in this regard by the prison staff.

At the end of each working day, the detained persons shall be reinstated in the penitentiary, unless the sentencing judge has decided otherwise.

In the event of an out-of-home supervised placement, the employer or the director of the training or care facility shall inform the prison administration of any incident or absence.