What meetings does this refer to?

The biennial professional meeting

This meeting is not a review of the employee’s work; it is devoted to the employee’s career development opportunities, notably in terms of qualifications and employment, but also to information on the VAE, the activation of his/her personal training account (CPF), the matching contributions that the employer is likely to finance, or advice on career development (Article L 6315-1 - I of the French Labor Code).

The frequency of this meeting can be modified by agreement.

The professional meeting taking stock of the employee’s career path that must take place every six years

The employer must check that during this period, the employee has indeed benefited from biennial professional meetings but also:

• benefited from at least one training action
• acquired certification elements through training or VAE
• benefited from salary or professional progression (Art. L 6315-1 - II of the French Labor Code)

Although a collective agreement cannot modify the frequency of this meeting, it can however modify these three assessment criteria.

When? An order dated December 2, 2020 postponed until June 30, 2021 the deadline to conduct the biennial professional meetings and the “stock taking” meeting.

In what form? The French Labor Code does not provide for any specific form of organization so that the meetings can be carried out by video conference provided they respect the conditions set out in Article L 6315-1 of the French Labor Code and notably that each meeting give rise to the drafting of a written document, a copy of which is given to the employee.

What sanction? In case of non-compliance with the obligations for the holding of professional meetings, companies with less than fifty employees will be required to make matching contributions to the CPF of the employees concerned up to €3,000 per employee.

The penalty’s implementation was due to become effective as from July 1, 2021. However, the Senate has adopted an amendment to the bill on the exit from the health crisis currently in discussion: it plans to postpone until October 1, 2021 the date from which the sanctions may be applied.

To appreciate the performance of its obligations, the employer has to be able to justify that the employee has indeed benefited from professional meetings every two years (or depending on the frequency agreed) and at least one training action other than a mandatory training action.

Again, the Senate has voted an amendment extending until September 30, 2021 the second method that had been granted to the employer before the adoption of the law on the professional future of September 5, 2018 to prove that it has respected its obligations: the employer may again be able to provide this proof by demonstrating that the employee has benefited from all his professional meetings but also from two of the three following measures: a training action, salary or professional progression and/or a certification.

We will have to wait for the final vote on the law to know whether these two measures will be definitively adopted.

All employees (regardless of the company’s workforce) can also claim damages in the context of an action before the Employment Tribunal for breach by the employer of its obligations.