Is the employment contract necessarily written?
Verified 09 April 2021 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
The following employment contracts must be concluded in writing:
- Fixed term contract (fixed term contract)
- Part-time contract of indefinite duration (CDI)
- Temporary employment contract
- Intermittent employment contract
- Apprenticeship contract
- Professionalization contract
- Single Insertion Contract (CUI)
- Contracts concluded with a grouping of employers
- Contract of employment in salary portage for a fixed or indefinite period
If the contract is not written when it should be, the employee is presumed to be in full-time CDI.
The requalification of the contract (i.e. its conversion into a full-time CDI) may be initiated by the labor council (CPH) at the request of the employee.
If the employer did not write when it should have, it could be fined €1,500 for a part-time or intermittent contract.
The employer also faces a fine of €3,750 (€7,500 in the case of a repeat offense) if he uses the CDD or temporary work without a written contract.
Generally, a written form is not required for a full-time DTA, but a collective agreement may provide for a written form.
In the absence of a mandatory written statement, the employer must, however, provide the employee with a copy of the pre-employment declaration (PED).
In practice, and in particular to prevent any conflict, it is always preferable to sign a contract.
FYI
the contract of employment established in writing must be drawn up in french. The foreigner employee may request the translation of his contract into his original language.
- Labor Code: Article L3123-6Mandatory written contract for part-time work
- Labor Code: Articles L3123-33 to L3123-37Mandatory written contract for intermittent work (L3123-34)
- Labor Code: Articles R6222-2 to R6222-5Mandatory written contract for apprenticeship (R6222-2)
- Labor Code: Articles D6325-1 to D6325-5Mandatory written contract for a professionalization contract (D6325-1)
- Labor Code: Articles L1251-16 to L 1251-17Written contract of assignment (temporary work)
- Labor Code: Article L1254-14Written contract of employment in pay carry-over
- Labor Code: Articles L1221-1 to L1221-5Optional written contract (L1221-1), presumption of a non-written contract (L1221-2) and contract in French (L1221-3)
- Labor Code: Article R1221-9Pre-hire declaration