France: Court clarifies redundancy rules

The Cour de Cassation, France's highest court, issued a ruling on 30 September 2009 that ended legal uncertainty as to whether employers can make redundancies if they have previously failed to observe a statutory obligation to hold negotiations on employment and skills.

Companies with 300 or more employees are obliged by law to hold negotiations with trade unions every three years on the "forward-looking management of jobs and skills" (gestion prévisionnelle des emplois et des compétences, GPEC).