France: Employment law developments

March 2008 saw a number of significant developments in the employment law field, including the publication of draft legislation to implement the national agreement on "labour market modernisation" signed by trade union and employers’ organisations in January.

The January 2008 agreement, which was negotiated at the government’s behest, increases flexibility in some areas for employers and reduces the “risks” of recruiting staff, while providing greater guarantees for employees as they move between jobs during their career and increasing their security against long-term job loss.