France

Impact date: 1 January 2026 France’s statutory minimum wage, known as the SMIC (“salaire minimum interprofessionnel de croissance”), is revalued annually.

From 1 January 2026, the SMIC increases by +1.18% to:

• €2.02 gross/hour (previously €11.88)
• €1,823.03 gross/month for a full‑time 35‑hour week

The “minimum garanti” (used for calculating certain benefits) rises to €4.25.

Impact date: 1 January 2026 The “rupture conventionnelle” is France’s mutually agreed termination of an indefinite term employment contract.

From 1 January 2026, the employer’s specific social contribution on termination indemnities increases from 30% to 40%. This applies to the portion of the indemnity exempt from standard social security contributions. The applicable rate is determined by the effective contract end date, not the signature date.

Impact date: 14 January 2026 (immediate effect as case law) Recent rulings of the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation, 14 January 2026) clarify that when an employee claims that a disciplinary measure infringes their freedom of expression, judges must conduct a full proportionality assessment. This requires balancing the employee’s right to free speech with the employer’s legitimate interest in protecting its organization. The court must examine: the content of the statements, the context in which they were made, their scope and impact within the company, and any negative consequences for the employer.

The court also confirmed that disloyal behavior does not fall within the scope of freedom of expression, meaning that a dismissal based on disloyal conduct can be valid even where the employee attempts to frame the matter as an expression related issue.

Impact date: 14 January 2026 (immediate effect as case law) The French Supreme Court held that employers are not legally required to conduct an internal investigation when a sexual harassment allegation is reported. Judges must therefore assess the value and weight of all evidence submitted based on the principle of freedom of evidence in labour disputes.

Once the employee presents facts suggesting potential harassment, the burden shifts to the employer to prove that harassment is not established. The court confirmed that the absence of an internal investigation does not prevent the employer from proving misconduct through other evidence (statements, attestations, psychological assessments, police complaint, etc.).

The court overturned the appellate decision for wrongly considering the absence of an internal investigation as a decisive deficiency in the employer’s burden of proof.

Impact date: 21 January 2026 (immediate effect as case law) The French Supreme Court ruled that an employer cannot impose, via a Collective Performance Agreement (APC), an increase in the number of days included in an employee’s days per year working time scheme without the employee’s explicit consent. Even though an APC may normally override incompatible contractual clauses, the court held that changing the number of days worked under an individual days per year working time scheme necessarily constitutes a modification of the employment contract, which cannot be imposed unilaterally, even in the context of an APC.

Impact date: 11 February 2026 (immediate effect as administrative case law) The French Conseil d’État confirmed that the safeguarding of the company’s competitiveness can justify the economic dismissal of a protected employee, provided the employer establishes a real threat to competitiveness. Crucially, this threat may stem not only from a deterioration of the company’s own competitive position within its sector but also from a predictable deterioration of the sector itself.

The administrative authority (Labour Inspectorate), when authorizing an economic dismissal, must verify the reality of the economic reason, even where the employee has refused a contractual change proposed as part of a reorganization aimed at safeguarding competitiveness.

The Conseil d’État clarified that the threat to competitiveness is not limited to the loss of market share: it may equally arise where the market is shrinking or undergoing structural transformation. This position aligns with prior case law recognizing that reorganization for anticipated economic difficulties—even before measurable financial indicators decline—may constitute a valid economic motive.

Impact date: 11 February 2026 (immediate effect as administrative case law) The French Supreme Court ruled that, for the purposes of the redeployment obligation under Article L. 1233 4 of the Labour Code, the existence of a group must be assessed based on the control criteria defined in the Commercial Code, even where such control is exercised by a natural person acting as manager.

In this case, two companies employing the same employee were both managed by the same individual, who also held majority shareholding in each company (majority in one entity and 70% of the capital in the other). The court held that this situation created a capitalistic control link, meaning the two companies formed a redeployment group.

Since the employer failed to search for redeployment opportunities within the second company, the economic dismissal was deemed without real and serious cause.

Impact date: Effective no later than 1 March 2026, with the exact implementation date to be set by a forthcoming decree. The 2026 Finance Act introduces a new €50 “legal aid contribution” payable for each claim filed before a labour court (conseil de prud’hommes) or a judicial court. The fee will take the form of a dematerialized stamp and is payable by the party initiating the proceedings. Beneficiaries of legal aid (aide juridictionnelle) are exempt. The contribution finances the legal aid system and will apply to any claim filed from a date set by decree, and no later than 1 March 2026.

Impact date: 1 July 2026. The measure applies to children born or adopted from 1 January 2026 onwards. The French Government has confirmed the creation of birth leave which does not replace the current parental leave but is added to existing maternity, paternity and adoption leaves.

The details have now been finalized as follows:

• a duration of one or two months per parent, which can be taken at the same time or successively, either in a single block or split into two separate one‑month periods
• the leave must be taken within nine months after birth or adoption, and only after maternity, paternity or adoption leave has ended
• compensation by Social Security at 70% of net salary for the first month and 60% for the second, within the Social Security ceiling; employer top‑up remains optional
• no employer approval is required. Employees must give one month’s notice (reduced to 15 days if taken immediately after paternity or adoption leave)

Impact date: To 31 December 2026 A discretionary power has been given to the préfets until 31 December 2026 to regularize illegal workers working in jobs and geographical areas where there is a recruitment shortage. In practice, this involves granting a one year’s residence permit, applicable if the individual has:

• Worked as a salaried employee in a job included in the list of jobs and geographical areas that have experienced recruitment difficulties for at least 12 consecutive or non-consecutive months over the last 24 months
• Held a job in one of these jobs or areas
• Proven uninterrupted residence in France for at least three years and
• A clean criminal record (“bulletin n°2”) with no convictions, inabilities or disqualifications

There is discretion to refuse regularization even if the above conditions are met. Préfets will have to take into account the social and family integration of the illegal workers, whether they comply with public order, whether they are integrated into French society and whether they embrace the way of life and values of French society and the principles of the Republic.

Other changes include training for foreign non-French speaking employees, and social security benefits for foreign nationals who are not EU nationals.