ARE YOU A COMPANY DIRECTOR?
DO YOU WORK WITH THE SENIOR MANAGEMENT OF A COMPANY?
« We help directors safeguard their business when it comes to employment matters »
As the director of a micro-company or SME, are you looking for a trusted partner on whom you can rely to deal with employment matters? We can help you:
in the day-to-day management of your company’s employment law situations (employment contracts, termination of probationary periods, promotions, training, mutually-agreed termination of employment contracts, collective bargaining agreements, on-call scheduling, internal rules and regulations, management of staff representatives, etc.) as well as on a more ad hoc basis (withdrawal negotiations, rewriting the company’s collective regulations, company relocation, etc.);
in the management of complex situations (impact on employees of company mergers and acquisitions, employee savings schemes, complaints of psychological or sexual harassment in the workplace, etc.);
in the management of situations with significant consequences for people and/or company finances (disputed departure from the company, litigation jeopardising the company’s survival);
THE BACKGROUND
The board of directors of a private education establishment organised the replacement of two directors, who were also the school’s co-founders, as they were soon to retire.
THE ISSUE
One of the two co-directors was blocking the succession plan even though it had been drawn up with his approval. He was mistreating the employee designated as his successor and this behaviour exposed the company to the risk of prosecution. The board of directors decided to put an end to his employment and asked us to assist them deal with the issues at stake.
OUR INVOLVEMENT
We helped the company in the negotiation of a mutually-agreed termination then in the implementation of disciplinary dismissal procedures. We represented the company in the ensuing litigation right up to the Appeal Court ruling.
THE OUTCOME
The client was able to rely on our experience to carry out negotiations and set the limit beyond which another strategy was required. Having ensured the fair grounds for termination of the employment contract, the client’s case was won on appeal, after 7 years of legal action. The good relations maintained with the opposing party’s lawyer, despite the eminently conflictual context, enabled payment to the court of provisional amounts in the first instance and a payment schedule to be negotiated, including for costs and other contingencies arising from the numerous litigation proceedings, which meant the company was able to avoid filing for bankruptcy.
THE BACKGROUND
A group, with around 200 employees, working in the financial sector was actively pursuing growth through acquisitions.
THE ISSUE
Integration of new subsidiaries meant that collective regulations had to be harmonised, especially with regard to working hours, employee savings schemes and insurance benefit plans, in the knowledge that harmonisation resulted in the loss of benefits for the employees of newly-acquired companies. Moreover, the insurance benefit contracts of the acquired companies had just been renewed at a prohibitive price.
OUR INVOLVEMENT
We assessed the technical difficulties arising from the envisaged integration based on an audit of the acquired companies’ collective regulations. We flagged the various stages of this integration and helped the human resources department in its negotiations with staff representatives.
THE OUTCOME
Senior management was able to negotiate a balanced agreement with staff representatives, which allowed for the gradual roll-out of the group’s collective regulations to include the new teams without any escalation of conflict or cost within the company. The integration schedule established by general management was duly adhered to. Employees of newly arrived companies could be included in the group’s insurance and health benefits contracts without waiting for the following year’s due date and so the cost of these acquisitions was considerably reduced.
THE BACKGROUND
A healthcare establishment had an employee with a fixed-term employment agreement. This short-term contract was chosen as it was impossible to grant tenure to this employee due to her lack of a vocational qualification certificate, a situation exacerbated by the shortage of qualified applicants.
THE ISSUE
The employee was often on sick leave and so the employer envisaged not renewing her fixed-term contract. However, he wanted to ensure that this process took place smoothly.
OUR INVOLVEMENT
After digging deeper into the situation by asking pertinent questions, we were able to piece together the context. In the first place, it was apparent that pursuing a purely legal process would trigger a domino effect exposing the company to numerous industrial tribunal lawsuits given that this employee’s situation was not an isolated case. Then, it transpired that the employee was a good professional but that she was caught up in a personal conflict with her line-manager. By working hand-in-hand with the establishment’s director, we devised a solution that embraced both legal and HR aspects. This solution involved, on the one hand, training the employee so she could obtain the required qualification enabling her, over the medium-term, to be employed in an open-ended contract and, on the other hand, developing her line-manager’s skills in order increase awareness of psychological risk factors in the workplace.
THE OUTCOME
The recruitment issue was eliminated along with the risk of litigation. For the two parties involved, professional development and repositioning fostered an improvement in the working environment.
THE BACKGROUND
The board of directors of a private education establishment organised the replacement of two directors, who were also the school’s co-founders, as they were soon to retire.
THE ISSUE
One of the two co-directors was blocking the succession plan even though it had been drawn up with his approval. He was mistreating the employee designated as his successor and this behaviour exposed the company to the risk of prosecution. The board of directors decided to put an end to his employment and asked us to assist them deal with the issues at stake.
OUR INVOLVEMENT
We helped the company in the negotiation of a mutually-agreed termination then in the implementation of disciplinary dismissal procedures. We represented the company in the ensuing litigation right up to the Appeal Court ruling.
THE OUTCOME
The client was able to rely on our experience to carry out negotiations and set the limit beyond which another strategy was required. Having ensured the fair grounds for termination of the employment contract, the client’s case was won on appeal, after 7 years of legal action. The good relations maintained with the opposing party’s lawyer, despite the eminently conflictual context, enabled payment to the court of provisional amounts in the first instance and a payment schedule to be negotiated, including for costs and other contingencies arising from the numerous litigation proceedings, which meant the company was able to avoid filing for bankruptcy.
THE BACKGROUND
A group, with around 200 employees, working in the financial sector was actively pursuing growth through acquisitions.
THE ISSUE
Integration of new subsidiaries meant that collective regulations had to be harmonised, especially with regard to working hours, employee savings schemes and insurance benefit plans, in the knowledge that harmonisation resulted in the loss of benefits for the employees of newly-acquired companies. Moreover, the insurance benefit contracts of the acquired companies had just been renewed at a prohibitive price.
OUR INVOLVEMENT
We assessed the technical difficulties arising from the envisaged integration based on an audit of the acquired companies’ collective regulations. We flagged the various stages of this integration and helped the human resources department in its negotiations with staff representatives.
THE OUTCOME
Senior management was able to negotiate a balanced agreement with staff representatives, which allowed for the gradual roll-out of the group’s collective regulations to include the new teams without any escalation of conflict or cost within the company. The integration schedule established by general management was duly adhered to. Employees of newly arrived companies could be included in the group’s insurance and health benefits contracts without waiting for the following year’s due date and so the cost of these acquisitions was considerably reduced.
THE BACKGROUND
A healthcare establishment had an employee with a fixed-term employment agreement. This short-term contract was chosen as it was impossible to grant tenure to this employee due to her lack of a vocational qualification certificate, a situation exacerbated by the shortage of qualified applicants.
THE ISSUE
The employee was often on sick leave and so the employer envisaged not renewing her fixed-term contract. However, he wanted to ensure that this process took place smoothly.
OUR INVOLVEMENT
After digging deeper into the situation by asking pertinent questions, we were able to piece together the context. In the first place, it was apparent that pursuing a purely legal process would trigger a domino effect exposing the company to numerous industrial tribunal lawsuits given that this employee’s situation was not an isolated case. Then, it transpired that the employee was a good professional but that she was caught up in a personal conflict with her line-manager. By working hand-in-hand with the establishment’s director, we devised a solution that embraced both legal and HR aspects. This solution involved, on the one hand, training the employee so she could obtain the required qualification enabling her, over the medium-term, to be employed in an open-ended contract and, on the other hand, developing her line-manager’s skills in order increase awareness of psychological risk factors in the workplace.
THE OUTCOME
The recruitment issue was eliminated along with the risk of litigation. For the two parties involved, professional development and repositioning fostered an improvement in the working environment.
ARE YOU A FOREIGN INVESTOR?
« The denseness of the French Labour Code can be very daunting for a foreign Human Resources Director »
Our perfect fluency in English and broad experience in assisting international entities enable us to help foreign companies have a firm grasp of French employment law. We help you comply with your legal obligations and, by doing so, enable you to gain credibility in the eyes of job applicants in France. We are also a trusted partner upon whom you can rely to manage contractual relations over time and be in contact with the payroll service provider, who often does not speak English.
THE BACKGROUND
A foreign industrial group specialising in cosmetic product packaging decided to survey the French market and open an establishment here. There were already two French applicants with interesting backgrounds in sales.
THE ISSUE
The HR manager was based in the Netherlands and knew nothing about the legal requirements in effect in France. She had to draft employment contracts, paying particular attention to the variable component of the remuneration package.
OUR INVOLVEMENT
We helped our client understand not only the applicable French rules but also the challenges and risks involved so that she could make fully-informed decisions. The responses we sent to her could be transferred directly to her senior management, to whom she reports. We drew up employment contracts and put our client in touch with a payroll service provider who had been recommended by other foreign clients.
THE OUTCOME
Dual (French/English) employment contracts were drafted that were perfectly tailored to the employees’ profiles and circumstances of the company which, at that time, was undergoing incorporation and being remotely managed. These contracts took into account the business practices of competitors in France and can be easily duplicated in the event of further recruitment.
THE BACKGROUND
A foreign industrial group specialising in cosmetic product packaging decided to survey the French market and open an establishment here. There were already two French applicants with interesting backgrounds in sales.
THE ISSUE
The HR manager was based in the Netherlands and knew nothing about the legal requirements in effect in France. She had to draft employment contracts, paying particular attention to the variable component of the remuneration package.
OUR INVOLVEMENT
We helped our client understand not only the applicable French rules but also the challenges and risks involved so that she could make fully-informed decisions. The responses we sent to her could be transferred directly to her senior management, to whom she reports. We drew up employment contracts and put our client in touch with a payroll service provider who had been recommended by other foreign clients.
THE OUTCOME
Dual (French/English) employment contracts were drafted that were perfectly tailored to the employees’ profiles and circumstances of the company which, at that time, was undergoing incorporation and being remotely managed. These contracts took into account the business practices of competitors in France and can be easily duplicated in the event of further recruitment.
ARE YOU AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR?
« If you have the choice of whether or not to go before an industrial tribunal, chose not to go! »
Litigation is long, costly and unpredictable. It compels the parties to dredge up uncomfortable moments and often causes anxiety (fear of losing credibility within the profession, for example). For all these reasons, we make every effort to foster an amicable solution. To lend credibility to your claims, we will help you prepare your case in advance; in other words, gather the necessary proof and gauge realistic demands based on our experience with cases brought before the industrial tribunal.
Are you an executive director seeking assistance in negotiating your departure from your company?
THE BACKGROUND
Our client, the director of a large group, was sidelined following restructuring that the group’s executive board obliged him to implement. For the first time in 15 years, he received a derisory bonus even though group profits had never been so high.
THE ISSUE
This situation belittled his skills and compromised his ability to bounce back professionally; the demeaning and humiliating experience shattered his confidence. After taking the matter to the group’s executive board, in vain, he resigned. However, believing that he had been forced to leave, he wanted to receive his contractual compensation for termination as well as an additional bonus.
OUR INVOLVEMENT
We helped the client define the stakes at issue and then we quantified his expectations based on a legal analysis of his case file. We helped him take the precautionary interim measures that would help ensure his chances of success. Then, we carried out negotiations with his former employer’s advisor.
THE OUTCOME
We were successful in reaching a settlement during the conciliation hearing. Our client was able to rely on our technical expertise and litigation experience in order to maximise his chances of success in the negotiations and optimise taxation of the compensation awarded.
THE BACKGROUND
An employee, executive director of a large foreign group, was literally working herself into an early grave. Initially appointed as an assistant, she rose through the ranks and was promoted to the role of sales director after the departure of her predecessor, with whom she had been working for 23 years. Senior management did not appoint anyone to fill her previous role and so she found herself occupying two positions, without any acknowledgement of this situation since her sales targets remained the same as her predecessor’s.
THE ISSUE
Despite reaching her targets in the first year, our client was exhausted. The group’s senior management did not respond to her requests for assistance. She had no other choice than to take sick leave, knowing that this absence would be a stumbling block to her career. She did not see any future in the company and wanted to negotiate the termination of her employment contract.
OUR INVOLVEMENT
First, we lent a sympathetic ear and together defined the issues at stake. We quantified a realistic target for negotiations in relation to her expectations from the litigation. We pulled out all the stops to negotiate an amicable solution with her employer’s advisor and then, when this proved unsuccessful, we represented her before the industrial tribunal.
THE OUTCOME
The occupational doctor certified our client’s incapacity for work, which allowed her to leave the company while duly acknowledging her many years’ of service and she was able to resume her career elsewhere. During the industrial tribunal proceedings, we were able to negotiate a balanced financial settlement that took into account the prejudice she suffered and enabled her to finally turn the page.
THE BACKGROUND
Our client, the director of a large group, was sidelined following restructuring that the group’s executive board obliged him to implement. For the first time in 15 years, he received a derisory bonus even though group profits had never been so high.
THE ISSUE
This situation belittled his skills and compromised his ability to bounce back professionally; the demeaning and humiliating experience shattered his confidence. After taking the matter to the group’s executive board, in vain, he resigned. However, believing that he had been forced to leave, he wanted to receive his contractual compensation for termination as well as an additional bonus.
OUR INVOLVEMENT
We helped the client define the stakes at issue and then we quantified his expectations based on a legal analysis of his case file. We helped him take the precautionary interim measures that would help ensure his chances of success. Then, we carried out negotiations with his former employer’s advisor.
THE OUTCOME
Nous parvenons à transiger lors de l’audience de conciliation. Notre client a pu s’appuyer sur notre expertise technique et notre expérience du contentieux pour maximiser ses chances de succès dans le cadre de la négociation et optimiser fiscalement les indemnités perçues.
THE BACKGROUND
An employee, executive director of a large foreign group, was literally working herself into an early grave. Initially appointed as an assistant, she rose through the ranks and was promoted to the role of sales director after the departure of her predecessor, with whom she had been working for 23 years. Senior management did not appoint anyone to fill her previous role and so she found herself occupying two positions, without any acknowledgement of this situation since her sales targets remained the same as her predecessor’s.
THE ISSUE
Despite reaching her targets in the first year, our client was exhausted. The group’s senior management did not respond to her requests for assistance. She had no other choice than to take sick leave, knowing that this absence would be a stumbling block to her career. She did not see any future in the company and wanted to negotiate the termination of her employment contract.
OUR INVOLVEMENT
First, we lent a sympathetic ear and together defined the issues at stake. We quantified a realistic target for negotiations in relation to her expectations from the litigation. We pulled out all the stops to negotiate an amicable solution with her employer’s advisor and then, when this proved unsuccessful, we represented her before the industrial tribunal.
THE OUTCOME
The occupational doctor certified our client’s incapacity for work, which allowed her to leave the company while duly acknowledging her many years’ of service and she was able to resume her career elsewhere. During the industrial tribunal proceedings, we were able to negotiate a balanced financial settlement that took into account the prejudice she suffered and enabled her to finally turn the page.
