The possibility of varying the workforce and the payroll according to the company's activity is, along with the cost of work, the main concern of business managers.
The considerable development of new forms of work such as the use of self-employed workers, temporary workers, Wage portage or even in general to subcontracting confirms the concerns of business managers and the evolution of the labor market towards greater flexibility.
The so-called “Macron” ordinances reforming the Labor Code are no exception to this trend and specifically provide, regardless of the expansion of collective bargaining opportunities, for the generalization of a so-called “project” contract (ordinance on the predictability and security of employment relationships, chapter 3).
This type of contract, whose concept is already well known to construction companies under the name “CDI de site”, or in other specific sectors of activity such as cinema, should be extended to other sectors provided that branch agreements authorize it. In particular, companies covered by the Syntec collective agreement have already shown interest.
In any case, we must wait for the final version of the text and its publication so that branch negotiations should not take place before the autonomous one.
Focus on the specific provisions for the extension of project contracts.
What does the project CDI consist of?
The project CDI will allow employers authorized by their branch to hire permanent employees for a limited period of time to carry out a project or mission. The end of the project or mission defined in the contract constitutes a specific reason for terminating the employment contract..
The contract is therefore concluded for a period that is not precisely determined when the contract is concluded, even if it seems to us that it will not necessarily be impossible to refer to an estimated duration (Cass. Soc. November 15, 2006, No. 04-48672).
For the company, the project permanent contract therefore has the advantage of being able to hire an employee for a specific mission without taking the risk of having to keep the employee in place if the company's activity does not experience the expected development or if the management of so-called “inter-contract” periods poses too many difficulties.
However, unlike fixed-term contracts, the end of the project will not automatically end the contract and it will be necessary to notify the employee concerned of his dismissal after complying with the individual dismissal procedure (future article L. 1223-9 of the Labor Code).
In addition, If the employee hired on a permanent project contract will not benefit from precariousness benefits unlike employees on a fixed-term contract, end-of-contract benefits specific to dismissal for real and serious reasons will be payable (legal/contractual dismissal compensation, payment of notice, etc.).
With regard to the amount of social security contributions attached to this type of contract, the ordinances are currently insufficiently precise and it will probably be necessary to wait until the end of the year to know whether these contracts will be subject to an increase in employer contributions. Negotiations in the branches could also include specific provisions.
Finally, the employee will however be able to benefit from unemployment compensation at the end of his contract.
What are the limits of the project CDI?
First, the ordinances clearly provide that, except in specific cases, the Use of the project CDI must be authorized by the branches : we will therefore have to negotiate, and, in this area, it is likely that the social partners will at least draw inspiration from some of the practices in force in the construction sector (obligation to find another project, priority for rehiring or even increased redundancy payments).
The future article L. 1223-9 of the Labor Code in fact provides that” The collective branch agreement or agreement provided for in Article L. 1223-8 may specify in particular:
- 1° The size of the companies concerned;
- 2° The activities concerned;
- 3° Measures to inform the employee about the nature of his contract;
- 4° The compensation in terms of remuneration and redundancy benefits granted to employees;
- 5° The guarantees in terms of training for the employees concerned. ”
Specific features should also be provided for according to the sectors of activity in which these project contracts will be implemented. This includes projects or operations that could end early due to a unilateral decision by the employer (for example, project abandonment).
These are all issues that will have to be resolved as part of negotiations at the branch level in order to allow peaceful use of these new forms of contracts.
HUBERT Avocat is in a position to assist you in the development, negotiation and implementation of your construction site or project contracts.
Tristan Hubert
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