France: Focus on equality and anti-discrimination measures

In late 2007 and early 2008, equality and non-discrimination at work have been prominent issues in France. The government has proposed legislation to implement fully a number of EU Directives in these fields, strengthening national provisions in areas such as the definitions of direct and indirect discrimination, and of sexual harassment. It has also organised a tripartite conference on gender equality, announcing initiatives on, for example, eliminating pay inequality. Meanwhile, notable collective agreements on equality have been signed at companies such as PSA Peugeot Citroën.

On this page:
DRAFT LAW ON EQUALITY AND NON-DISCRIMINATION
Main provisions
NEW EQUALITY MEASURES ANNOUNCED
EQUALITY AGREEMENT AT PSA PEUGEOT CITROEN
Developing women's employment
Equality in pay and career development
Promoting greater gender balance in occupations
Improving working conditions and work-life balance

Key points

  • On 5 November 2007, the government published draft legislation on equality and non-discrimination, aimed at completing the transposition into French law of a number of EU Directives in this field (following findings by the European Commission that some had not been fully implemented). The changes include new definitions of direct and indirect discrimination, and of harassment and sexual harassment. New measures to prohibit instructions to others to discriminate would also be put in place.

  • On 26 November, the government organised a tripartite conference on employment and pay equality between women and men. It announced initiatives on company-level equality audits and pay equality plans. Participants also agreed action on: improving the gender balance in certain occupations; tackling involuntary part-time work; and improving work-life balance.

  • On 14 November, the PSA Peugeot Citroën automotive group signed a collective agreement on "the development of women's employment and gender equality at work". It contains measures on: developing women's employment; equality in pay and career development; promoting greater gender balance in occupations; and improving working conditions and work-life balance.

DRAFT LAW ON EQUALITY AND NON-DISCRIMINATION

On 5 November 2007, the government presented draft legislation on equality and non-discrimination to the Higher Council on Employment Equality (Conseil supérieur de l'égalité professionnelle). The aim is to complete the transposition in French law of three EU Directives:

France has already enacted legislation to transpose these Directives, but the European Commission regards the implementation as inadequate in areas such as the definition of direct and indirect discrimination, sexual harassment, and protecting the rights of victims of discrimination. The commission has brought infringement proceedings against France on the grounds of failing to meet its obligations under all three Directives, and this has prompted the government to amend the relevant legislation.

The draft law also seeks to implement Directive 2006/54/EC on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation (recast) (on the EUR-Lex website). This Directive aims to improve legal clarity and certainty, and to reflect developments in European Court of Justice case law by consolidating in a single instrument seven previous Directives in the field of gender equality (including 2002/73/EC).

Finally, the proposed legislation aims to transpose Directive 2004/113/EC implementing the principle of equal treatment between men and women in the access to and supply of goods and services (on the EUR-Lex website).

Main provisions

The draft legislation would introduce into French law the definitions of direct and indirect discrimination set out in the relevant EU Directives. These provide that: direct discrimination exists where one person is treated less favourably than another is, has been or would be treated in a comparable situation; and indirect discrimination exists where an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice would put people in one category at a particular disadvantage compared with people in another category, unless that provision, criterion or practice is objectively justified by a legitimate aim, and the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary. The proposed law would also add to French law the Directive's definitions of:

  • harassment - where unwanted conduct occurs with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person, and of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment; and
  • sexual harassment - where any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature occurs, with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person, in particular when creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.

Also in line with EU law, the draft would prohibit instructions to others to discriminate and define these as a form of discrimination. It would also forbid discrimination:

  • based on race or ethnic origin in access to, and supply of, goods and services, social security, healthcare, social services and education;
  • in employment, access to employment, vocational training, work (including self-employed or unpaid work) and membership of or involvement in trade union or employers' organisations (and any advantages obtained by such organisations) on grounds of sex, national origin, membership or non-membership (real or supposed) of an ethnic group or race, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation or opinions;
  • on grounds of sex in access to and supply of goods and services, with specified exceptions; and
  • between women and men, including in relation to pregnancy and maternity, except where the aim is purely protective.

These prohibitions on discrimination would apply to everyone in the private and public sectors, including civil servants and other public employees, self-employed people and those doing unpaid work.

The draft law would also:

  • provide protection from any reprisals for people who have reported or witnessed discrimination;
  • render null and void any discriminatory clauses in contracts, company rules or the statutes of organisations;
  • shift the burden of proof in discrimination cases (except criminal cases) to the advantage of the complainant;
  • allow anti-discrimination associations that have been operating for at least five years to bring court cases on behalf of people who claim that they have suffered discrimination;
  • exclude from the definition of discrimination certain differences in treatment based on age; and
  • affirm in a broader manner than at present the principle of freedom to join a trade union.

As well as amending employment law, the proposed legislation also modifies the Penal Code, adding to the list of discriminatory actions that may not lead to criminal sanctions: discrimination in recruitment on grounds of sex, age or physical appearance where one of these characteristics is a "determining condition" for doing the job concerned; discrimination on grounds of sex in access to goods and services where this is justified on the grounds of protecting the victims of sexual violence; and discrimination in recruitment on grounds of nationality where this is justified on the grounds of public policy. Further, the legislation would amend the Social Security Code and Mutual Society Code to clarify that no sex discrimination is permitted in contributions to and benefits from schemes governed by these codes.

NEW EQUALITY MEASURES ANNOUNCED

Beyond complying with EU law, equality and non-discrimination are also on the government's wider agenda at present. On 26 November, the minister of labour, Xavier Bertrand, organised a tripartite conference on employment and pay equality between women and men, involving representatives of trade unions and employers' organisations. Bertrand announced several initiatives during the conference.

Employers with more than 50 employees are obliged by law to draw up a "comparative report" on the respective situation of female and male employees in terms of employment, working conditions, pay and so on. However, in practice, only 30% of companies currently meet this obligation and the exercise is reportedly regarded as too complex by many employers. The minister announced that a group of experts and practitioners will examine the scheme and propose amendments by 1 March 2008. The Higher Council on Employment Equality will consider these proposals and draw up a new set of "reliable tools" for employers to assess gender equality, to apply from June 2008.

On the basis of the new scheme, by the end of 2009 all employers found to have unjustifiable gender pay disparities will have to draw up a plan to eliminate them. The plan should be based on a collective agreement or, where this is not possible, a unilateral employer initiative. Employers that fail to introduce such plans would be subject to financial penalties, with the sums involved being used to fund measures to promote a better gender balance in the company concerned.

The tripartite conference agreed to pursue gender equality at work in three areas: improving the gender balance in certain occupations; preventing involuntary part-time work (where the employee takes up this form of work by necessity rather than choice); and improving work-life balance. For example, a round table will be held on involuntary part-time work, looking at issues such as multi-skilling and training, while the government and social partners will examine the issue of childcare. Further, the government:

  • stated that it will promote a greater involvement of women in its apprenticeship policy;
  • called on employers' organisations to take steps to promote a greater presence of women in senior management and directorship positions; and
  • suggested that, to improve work-life balance, parental leave could be made more attractive and rules on enabling parents to work part time could be made more flexible.

The participants at the conference agreed to meet again in autumn 2008 to assess progress in these areas. Moreover, at European level, the government will place emphasis on gender equality when it takes over the EU presidency in the second half of 2008.

EQUALITY AGREEMENT AT PSA PEUGEOT CITROEN

Equality is not only on the government's agenda at present, but is also increasingly featuring in company-level bargaining, with notable recent agreements including that signed at France Télécom in November. The PSA Peugeot Citroën automotive group was a pioneer in this area, being the first major French company to sign an agreement on the development of women's employment in 2003. This led to it becoming the first company to win an "employment equality" award from the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Equality in 2005.

On 14 November 2007, PSA Peugeot Citroën signed a new agreement on "the development of women's employment and gender equality at work" with all trade unions represented in its operations. The three-year accord, covering 2008-10, renews and extends the commitments in the 2003 agreement. The main new provisions are given below.

Developing women's employment

Since 2003, PSA Peugeot Citroën's policy of promoting women's employment has proven increasingly fruitful among all employee groups. For example, among managerial and professional staff, women now make up 28% of those aged under 30, compared with 8.5% among the over 50s. The new agreement seeks to build on this success by:

  • committing the company to recruiting, in each occupational group, a number of women at least equal to the proportion of women candidates applying for jobs. Similar targets are set for apprentices and trainees; and
  • providing for the development of cooperation with educational institutions to encourage female students to take up technical and scientific studies relevant to the automotive industry.

Equality in pay and career development

Since 2004, according to research, male and female employees in the same grade and classification at PSA Peugeot Citroën on average receive the same annual remuneration. Particular attention is paid in annual pay setting to male-female comparisons, and the budget available for individual wage increases is balanced between men and women.

The new agreement introduces in-depth examinations of the pay situation at each PSA Peugeot Citroën site. If unjustified pay gaps are discovered that affect groups of female employees, a "pay repositioning" exercise will be conducted to rectify the situation.

The previous agreement provided that periods of maternity leave should have no effect on women's career development. The new accord strengthens the measures to support pregnant women and those with young children, in areas such as paid absence to attend medical appointments and the possibility of reduced working hours without loss of pay.

Promoting greater gender balance in occupations

The 2003 agreement provided for occupations that were traditionally male-dominated to be opened up to women. PSA Peugeot Citroën reports that this has been successful, with action taken at all sites and in all categories of employment, using career management, training and mobility measures. The new agreement provides for the company's "careers observatory" to take greater account of the situation of female staff in its analyses of current and future skills and occupational needs. The aim is to ensure that the skills profiles and evaluation systems used are in line with the aim of promoting greater gender diversity in occupations and increased female employment.

The accord also stipulates that staff returning from parental leave will be offered, on their return to work, a package of measures including an assessment of their career and skills situation, an individual training plan and a career-development programme.

Improving working conditions and work-life balance

The agreement states that the development of female employment is linked to the general improvement of working conditions, and that progress made since 2003 should be continued, as follows:

  • plant-level equality committees will consider improvements that make it easier for women to have access to particular jobs. For example, the jobs accessible to pregnant women at PSA Peugeot Citroën's manufacturing sites will be examined;
  • efforts will be made to develop the provision of crèches and of childcare partnerships with local authorities, as well as other services that help improve work-life balance; and
  • as an expression of its commitment to corporate social responsibility, PSA Peugeot Citroën will participate in awareness-raising and information campaigns on domestic violence, and will provide, in confidence, support to employees who are victims of such violence.

The agreement provides for mechanisms to ensure its full implementation. Notably, the plant-level equality committees will evaluate local implementation and identify priority equality actions for their particular site.

Jean-Luc Vergne, the PSA Peugeot Citroën group HR director, said: "This agreement clearly indicates our wish to remain a point of reference in the field of employment equality between women and men, and to pursue our innovative policy on promoting women's employment. The follow-up methods that we have chosen aim to guarantee that we respect our commitments, so that gender balance in the company is not just a good idea but a reality."

This article is based on material provided by Christophe Boulay, European Employment Review correspondent for France.

European Employment Review 408 (EER 408) contents