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1. The characteristics of CSE meetings
The mission of the new body called “CSE” is to represent employees with the employer and take into account their interests in corporate decision making.
THEarticle L.2311-2 of the Labor Code provides that” a social and economic committee is set up in companies with at least eleven employees. Its establishment is only mandatory if the workforce of at least eleven employees is reached for twelve consecutive months. ”.
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2. The different types of CSE meetings
A. Regular meetings of the CSE
The frequency of CSE meetings depends on the size of the company with mandatory CSE meetings. THEarticle L.2312-19 of the Labor Code foresees that”the number of CSE meetings is fixed by collective agreement and cannot be less than six per year. Otherwise, the CSE meets according to the number of employees present in the company”:
• In companies with 11 to 49 employees: at least once a month according to theitem L.2315-21 of the Labour Code;
• In companies with 50 to 299 employees: at least once every two months according toarticle L.2315-28 of the Labor Code ;
• In companies with more than 300 employees: every month.
The employer also has the option of organizing additional meetings when deemed necessary.
B. Extraordinary meetings of the CSE
Extraordinary meetings may be organized by the majority of the full elected members of the CSE or by the employer when it is impossible to wait for the next ordinary meeting in view of the Imperious character of the request according to the terms of Articles L.2315-27 and L.2315-28 of the Labour Code.
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3. The participants of the CSE meetings
For any meeting of the Social and Economic Committee of a company, the participants are as follows:
- LThe employer or his representative, assisted by employees having an advisory voice whose number is equivalent to that of the titular representatives;
•”Les full members of the staff delegation or their alternates If they are absent” in accordance with thearticle L.2314-1 of the Labor Code ;
• The union representatives at the CSE are employees appointed by a representative trade union organization whose mission is to represent it and have an advisory voice. In companies with less than three hundred employees, thearticle L.2314-2 of the Labor Code provides that” each representative trade union organization in the enterprise or establishment may appoint a trade union representative to the committee ”;
• “Of external speakers invited according to the subjects submitted to the agenda of the meeting: on the one hand, the occupational physician and the internal manager of the safety and working conditions service, who have an advisory voice” in accordance with thearticle L.2314-3 of the Labor Code, on the other hand”the labour inspection officer and the internal manager of the safety and working conditions service” in accordance witharticle L.2315-27 of the Labor Code.
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4. Organization for the first CSE meeting
The establishment of the first CSE meeting must take place in a maximum period of thirty days beginning with the election of its members. The employer must set the agenda and convene the elected members no later than three days before the meeting. Regarding the participants in the meeting, no legal provisions are provided. In this sense, the employer can invite:
• Full members;
• Alternate members;
• The trade union representative at the CSE if he has been appointed, otherwise his appointment will be carried out during the meeting.
During the establishment of the first CSE meeting, it is mandatory to address certain themes and in particular:
• The transfer of skills between the Works Council (EC) and the CSE;
• The establishment of the CSE office and the appointment of its members: composed of a secretary and a treasurer;
• The development of internal regulations: mandatory for companies with at least fifty employees. It lists all the operating and organizational methods of the CSE;
• The appointment of other members of the CSE: in accordance with the ordinance of September 22, 2017, it is now possible to appoint local representatives whose mission is to ensure proximity between staff representatives and employees. The union representative will be appointed if this is not yet the case.
At the end of the meeting a report is drawn up by the secretary previously appointed to carry out this mission.
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5. The conduct of CSE meetings
A. Convening and agenda
The employer must convene the stakeholders to the CSE meeting three days before it was held. It should indicate certain essential elements including Date, time and agenda where the various points are addressed. THEarticle L.2315-29 of the Labor Code provides that” The agenda for each meeting of the Social and Economic Committee is established by the chairman and the secretary. Consultations made mandatory by a legislative or regulatory provision or by a collective labour agreement are automatically included in the agenda by the president or the secretary. ”.
The employer is responsible in case of non-compliance with legal provisions. In this sense, if he does not respect the inclusion of items on the agenda, he is committing a Offence of hindrance according to the terms ofarticle L.2317-1 of the Labor Code.
B. Deliberations and minutes
The conduct of the CSE meeting is regulated byarticle L.2315-22 of the Labor Code which states that:” the members of the staff delegation of the Social and Economic Committee shall provide the employer with a written note setting out the subject of the requests submitted, two working days before the date on which they must be received. The employer shall respond to these requests in writing no later than six working days following the meeting. ”.
Deliberations take place during CSE meetings on various topics such as the economy, health, safety, working conditions, etc. resolutions are adopted by a majority of the members present during the meeting.
At the end of the CSE meeting two documents are drawn up:
• one debriefing by a member of the CSE;
• one Minutes by the secretary of the CSE where all the deliberations are recorded.
Find our legal summary on the register of the social and economic committee.
C. The establishment of remote CSE meetings
THEarticle L.2315-4 of the Labor Code foresees”the possibility of using videoconferencing if there is a prior agreement between the employer and the elected members of the staff delegation. In the absence of such agreement, this arrangement is limited to three meetings per year”.
However, faced with the health crisis, exceptional temporary measures were put in place by theThe ordinance of November 25, 2020 to allow the holding CSE meetings remotely, without limitation and by any means. These measures apply from November 27, 2020 and until the end of the state of health emergency that ended on June 1, 2021.
It is therefore possible to use one of the following processes for all CSE meetings:
• Video conferencing ;
• Telephone : the employer must notify the members three days before the meeting is held;
• Instant messaging if the first two alternatives are not possible.
In this sense thearticle D. 2315-1 of the Labor Code provides that” When the Social and Economic Committee meets by videoconference, the technical arrangements implemented ensure the identification of the members of the Committee and their effective participation, by ensuring the continuous and simultaneous retransmission of the sound and image of the deliberations ”.
For more information on the regulations applicable to videoconferencing following the health crisis: Holding a video meeting during lockdown: it's possible!
Conclusion
A company's CSE is an indispensable staff representative body within the company since employees are represented and their interests are taken into account when decisions are taken into account. Its establishment is regulated by law. Exceptional temporary measures have come to frame the holding of remote CSE meetings during the health crisis.
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