Social law and labor law

Are you looking for an employment lawyer to secure employment relationships, support a reorganization, or defend your company in litigation? ARST Avocats advises employers, managers, and human resources departments in all areas of employment law and social protection.

Our team is involved in the day-to-day management of individual and collective labor relations, as well as in transformation operations, internal investigations, administrative controls and litigation procedures.

Through an operational approach to social law, we help companies to prevent risks, make decisions and implement solutions tailored to their organization, constraints and objectives.

Employment lawyer: providing daily advice to businesses

ARST Avocats assists companies of all sizes, groups, associations and employer organizations in managing their social issues.

Our team advises executives, human resources managers, legal departments and managers, particularly on:

• interpret the applicable legal and contractual provisions;
• secure the decisions made with regard to employees;
• drafting contracts, amendments, agreements and internal documents;
• prepare for discussions with staff representatives;
• to respond to individual or collective complaints;
• to support HR managers in handling sensitive situations;
• to anticipate the social consequences of a business project;
• prevent the risk of litigation;
• organize the storage of documents and evidence;
• to train executives, HR managers and managers on the main rules of labor law.

This support can be occasional or take the form of regular assistance, allowing the company to have a social law contact person who is familiar with its activity, organization and practices.

Employment contracts and individual relationship management

Our team drafts, reviews and adapts employment contracts to the functions performed, the applicable collective agreement and the needs of the company.

Our services include, in particular:

• choose the appropriate employment contract;
• drafting contracts for indefinite or fixed term duration;
• secure the use of temporary contracts;
• draft the trial periods and their renewals;
• organize working time and packages in days or hours;
• define the classification, functions and workplace;
• draft the clauses relating to mobility, teleworking and confidentiality;
• put in place non-competition clauses;
• organize objectives and variable compensation;
• protect the company's confidential information and know-how;
• prepare amendments to the employment contract;
• manage changes in functions, transfers and promotions;
• analyze contract modifications and changes in working conditions;
• to regulate teleworking and hybrid work;
• to organize the provision or secondment of employees.

We also advise companies on matters relating to seniority, conventional classification, remuneration, benefits in kind, bonuses, leave, absences and the fair execution of the employment contract.

Working hours, remuneration and social benefits

ARST Avocats assists employers in the organization and control of working time.

Our intervention focuses in particular on:

• the legal and contractual working hours;
• individual or group schedules;
• overtime;
• fixed-rate agreements based on days or hours;
• travel time and on-call duty;
• night work, Sundays and public holidays;
• daily and weekly rest periods;
• paid leave and special leave;
• working time arrangement mechanisms;
• workload monitoring;
• time and activity control systems;
• fixed and variable compensation policies;
• bonuses, commissions and benefits in kind;
• profit-sharing, employee participation and employee savings plans;
• equal pay and equal opportunities in the workplace.

We are also reviewing existing practices to identify and correct risks of salary reassessment, overtime, or challenges to fixed-rate agreements.

Disciplinary procedures and management of misconduct

The exercise of disciplinary power requires precisely defining the facts, respecting strict deadlines, and choosing a proportionate sanction.

Our team supports employers in:

• analysis of the facts alleged against the employee;
• the collection and securing of evidence;
• the classification of the fault;
• precautionary suspension;
• the summons and preparation of the preliminary interview;
• drafting warnings and reprimands;
• disciplinary suspension;
• disciplinary transfer or demotion;
• dismissal for simple, serious or gross misconduct;
• the management of protected employees;
• the response to the employee's objections;
• preparing the case file in the event of litigation.

Disciplinary sanctions must comply with legal and contractual rules, as well as those set out in the company's internal regulations. The main sanctions and procedural safeguards are detailed on the official page dedicated to disciplinary sanctions in the private sector.

When the facts can also be classified as criminal, we coordinate our intervention with the Business Criminal Law and Disciplinary Law team.

Internal investigations, harassment and discrimination

ARST Avocats assists companies when a report, alert or internal complaint reveals a potential situation of harassment, discrimination, violence or inappropriate behavior.

We operate in:

• the initial analysis of the report;
• defining the scope and methodology of the internal investigation;
• preserving confidentiality and evidence;
• the preparation and conduct of interviews;
• the hearing of the person who made the report, the person accused, and the witnesses;
• the analysis of emails, messages and professional documents;
• the drafting of the investigation report;
• the formulation of recommendations;
• the determination of the necessary precautionary or disciplinary measures;
• providing support to the people concerned;
• the relationship with the CSE and staff representatives;
• the response to an intervention by the labor inspectorate;
• the preparation for possible employment tribunal or criminal litigation.

Our team also assists companies in preventing workplace harassment, sexual harassment, sexist behavior, and discrimination. We advise harassment liaisons appointed by the employer or within the Works Council, as well as human resources departments and managers facing a report of harassment.

Health, safety and psychosocial risks

The employer must protect the physical and mental health of employees and put in place an organization adapted to the prevention of occupational risks.

We advise companies on:

• occupational risk assessment;
• the development and updating of the single document for assessing occupational risks;
• psychosocial risks;
• the prevention of harassment and violence in the workplace;
• workload and the right to disconnect;
• work-related accidents and occupational diseases;
• investigations following a serious accident;
• relations with occupational medicine;
• medical fitness assessments, restrictions and recommendations;
• unsuitability and the search for redeployment;
• the prevention of job loss due to health issues;
• the exercise of the right to alert or withdraw;
• labor inspection controls;
• the responsibility of the employer and its delegates.

Our intervention combines prevention, immediate management of the event and preparation for any administrative, labor, civil or criminal procedures.

CSE, CSSCT and staff representatives

ARST Avocats assists companies in setting up and operating the social and economic committee.

Our team provides services including:

• determine the scope of implementation of the CSE;
• prepare for the professional elections;
• negotiate the pre-election memorandum of understanding;
• organize the electronic vote;
• to handle election disputes;
• draft or revise the internal regulations of the CSE;
• organize meetings and prepare agendas;
• define the mandatory information and consultations;
• manage the economic, social and environmental database;
• to support consultations on the economic situation, strategic directions and social policy;
• manage the delegation hours and resources of elected officials;
• to prevent the risks of obstruction of justice;
• organize relations with trade union organizations;
• managing the status and protection of employee representatives.

We also support the establishment and operation of the health, safety and working conditions committee – CSSCT –, which has taken over some of the responsibilities formerly exercised by the CHSCT.

Our team can assist the employer during sensitive meetings of the CSE or the CSSCT, in preparing responses to elected representatives and in handling alert rights, expert assessments and consultation procedures.

Collective bargaining and company agreements

ARST Avocats assists companies in the preparation, negotiation, drafting and implementation of collective agreements.

We work specifically on agreements relating to:

• during working hours;
• to annual packages in days;
• to teleworking;
• to remuneration;
• to profit-sharing and participation;
• to employee savings plans;
• to professional equality;
• to quality of life and working conditions;
• to the right to disconnect;
• to the prevention of psychosocial risks;
• to the employment of seniors and people with disabilities;
• to the management of jobs and career paths;
• to internal mobility;
• to holidays and days off;
• to the functioning of the CSE;
• to separate establishments;
• to union representation;
• to collective performance agreements;
• to collective negotiated terminations.

We support the company in defining its negotiation strategy, discussions with trade unions, formalizing the agreement and completing the filing and publication formalities.

Termination and negotiation of the employment contract

Terminating an employment contract is a sensitive step, both for the company and for the employee concerned.

Our team advises employers on choosing, preparing and implementing the appropriate termination method:

• termination of the trial period;
• resignation and acknowledgment of termination;
• job abandonment;
• negotiated individual termination;
• negotiating a departure;
• dismissal for personal reasons;
• disciplinary dismissal;
• dismissal for professional incompetence;
• dismissal for incapacity;
• economic dismissal;
• departure or retirement;
• termination of the contract of a salaried executive;
• termination concerning a protected employee.

ARST Avocats also assists companies in negotiating settlement agreements, particularly when a dispute exists over the execution or termination of the contract.

We assess the legal and financial risks, prepare negotiations, calculate compensation, draft the necessary documents and secure the social, tax and confidentiality consequences of the departure.

Restructuring, redundancies and reorganizations

Our team supports companies in their projects involving transformation, reorganization, staff reduction or business closure.

We operate in:

• the analysis of the economic motive;
• the definition of professional categories;
• the application of the criteria for the order of dismissals;
• the search for redeployment;
• the modification of contracts for economic reasons;
• the preparation of the CSE consultations;
• individual or collective redundancies for economic reasons;
• procedures concerning fewer than ten employees;
• job protection plans;
• voluntary departure plans;
• collective negotiated terminations;
• collective performance agreements;
• transfers of business activities and employment contracts;
• establishment closures;
• reorganizations within a group;
• operations carried out within the framework of a collective procedure.

We coordinate the social calendar with the legal, financial and operational constraints of the project, as well as with the procedures for informing and consulting staff representatives.

Social audit and corporate M&A operations

A social audit helps to identify risks that may affect a company, an acquisition, a restructuring or a sale project.

ARST Avocats conducts audits focusing in particular on:

• employment contracts and amendments;
• the applicable collective agreements;
• working hours and fixed-rate agreements;
• remuneration, bonuses and benefits;
• staff representatives;
• collective agreements and company practices;
• ongoing disciplinary and legal proceedings;
• situations of harassment or discrimination;
• work-related accidents and occupational diseases;
• self-employed workers and risks of reclassification;
• labor loans and secondments;
• social security contributions and URSSAF controls;
• supplementary social protection;
• social commitments and severance pay.

In merger and acquisition operations, we identify social risks, propose the necessary contractual guarantees and support post-acquisition integration measures.

We also assist with employee transfers, CSE consultations and the harmonization of collective agreements following an acquisition or reorganization.

URSSAF, contributions and social protection

Our team advises companies on managing their obligations regarding social security contributions.

Our services include, in particular:

• the basis for social security contributions;
• benefits in kind and professional expenses;
• profit-sharing, employee participation and employee savings plans;
• severance pay;
• supplementary social protection;
• pension and health insurance schemes;
• URSSAF audits;
• the response to the letter of observations;
• contesting a tax adjustment;
• referral to the amicable appeals commission;
• the procedures before the social division of the judicial court;
• recovery measures and constraints;
• the responsibility of managers in social matters.

We assist the company from the moment of the audit notice and throughout the verification operations in order to prepare the documents, structure the exchanges and anticipate points likely to lead to adjustments.

Employment litigation and social security litigation

ARST Avocats represents employers before the competent social courts.

Our team handles, in particular, litigation relating to:

• to the execution of the employment contract;
• to classification and remuneration;
• overtime;
• to fixed-price agreements;
• to harassment and discrimination;
• to disciplinary sanctions;
• to the judicial termination of the contract;
• upon taking note;
• to the dismissal and its real and serious cause;
• to serious or gross misconduct;
• to unfitness and reassignment;
• to the negotiated termination;
• to non-competition clauses;
• to professional elections;
• to collective agreements;
• to URSSAF contributions and adjustments;
• to work-related accidents and occupational diseases;
• due to the employer's inexcusable fault.

We intervene before the labor court, the social division of the judicial court, the judicial court, the courts of appeal and, in coordination with a lawyer admitted to the Courts of Cassation.

Social support integrated into the company's strategy

Social decisions can have significant human, financial, organizational, and reputational consequences.

Our approach involves understanding the company's operations and objectives in order to offer legally sound and operationally applicable solutions. When the case also presents corporate, commercial, criminal, or insolvency-related issues, we mobilize the firm's other teams.

Are you looking for an employment lawyer to ensure your practices are compliant, conduct an internal investigation, negotiate a termination, support your works council, carry out a social audit, or defend your company? The Employment Law team at ARST Avocats is available to examine your situation and define a tailored support plan.