Employment law
Strikes
The right to strike is guaranteed to all employees. That is the starting point, and it is not open to argument. A strike suspends the employment relationship, it does not end it: the contract survives, save gross misconduct by the employee.
But the right is exercised within a framework, and that framework was clarified by the 2017 reform. The most important point to know today: a strike must be preceded by a fifteen-day notice period, during which the parties are required to negotiate. Law No. 2017-021, Articles L.231 and L.231-1 as amended — French.
1. The fifteen-day notice
This is an obligation, not an option, and it has content: notice is not a mere waiting period, it is a mandatory negotiation period.
| Element | Content |
|---|---|
| Duration | 15 calendar days |
| Purpose | Negotiation, which binds both parties |
| Scope | The strike must be preceded by this notice |
This requirement transforms the employer's role during those fifteen days. Doing nothing, or passively waiting for the deadline, does not comply: negotiation is owed. And negotiating seriously during the notice period settles a significant share of disputes before they break out.
2. Minimum service
The Code provides for a minimum service, intended to preserve the population's essential needs. The services concerned are determined by regulation, after consulting employers' and workers' organisations.
For a company in an essential activity, this means knowing, before any dispute, what level of service must be maintained and on what terms. It is not a question to address on the first day of a strike.
3. What may a lawful strike concern?
A strike is a right exercised over occupational demands. The most frequent grounds:
- being placed on technical unemployment;
- changes to contracts;
- working conditions;
- pay-rise demands.
One useful point: a single employee, or a small group, may lawfully take part in a strike called by a union instruction. The number of participants is not a test of lawfulness.
4. What makes a strike unlawful
Two periods close off the exercise of the right:
| Period | Consequence |
|---|---|
| During conciliation proceedings | The strike is unlawful |
| After an arbitration award becomes enforceable | The strike is unlawful |
An unlawful strike terminates the employment contracts from the day work stopped, with no rights beyond the salary and accrued paid-leave compensation as at that date. Symmetry is preserved on the employer's side: a lock-out, closure of the company decided by the employer, is equally unlawful during those same periods, exposing it to financial and administrative penalties.
5. What to do during a strike
- Negotiate with the strikers' representatives. This is the central obligation, and it begins with the notice period.
- Avoid giving orders to strikers. The employment relationship is suspended: instructing a striking employee sustains ambiguity and weakens the company's position.
- Do not pay for hours not worked. Suspension entails suspension of the obligation to pay, absent agreement otherwise, a consequence of the law, not a sanction.
- Do not sanction the exercise of the right. Only established gross misconduct can support an individual measure.
- Maintain the minimum service where it applies.
6. When internal negotiation fails
The collective dispute is then brought before the labour administration. The competent authority depends on the scope of the dispute:
| Scope of the dispute | Authority seised |
|---|---|
| Confined to one region | The Regional Labour Inspectorate |
| Extending beyond the region | The National Directorate of Labour |
The conciliator has six clear days to record agreement or failure. A signed and endorsed conciliation record acquires enforceable force, making it a binding commitment, not a statement of intent. See The labour inspector.
7. What to prepare before any dispute
- Identify the counterparts: staff delegates, union committee, and their respective mandates.
- Know the minimum service applicable to the company's activity.
- Document demands as they arise, rather than discovering them when notice is served.
- Prepare continuity: which activities stop, which must be maintained, and with what resources.
- Appoint a single point of contact for negotiation, to avoid contradictory messages.
Key takeaways
| The rule | What it implies |
|---|---|
| The right to strike is guaranteed to all employees | A strike suspends the contract, it does not end it |
| Fifteen days' notice is mandatory | With negotiation binding on both parties |
| A minimum service applies | For essential activities, determined by regulation |
| A strike is unlawful during conciliation | And after an enforceable arbitration award |
| A lock-out is unlawful in the same periods | With penalties attached |
| The conciliator has six clear days | A signed, endorsed record is enforceable |