The new obligations of an employer offering an indefinite-term contract to an employee on a fixed-term or temporary contract

[Credit Image : Photo de Gabrielle Henderson sur Unsplash]

Since January 1^st, 2024, employers (or user companies in the case of temporary work) offering an indefinite-term contract (“CDI” in French) at the end of a fixed-term contract (“CDD” in French) (or temporary work contract called “intérim” in French) have a new dual obligation:

– to notify the employee in writing of the offer of an indefinite-term contract;

– to inform “France Travail” (i.e. the French unemployment services, renamed as of January 1^st 2024 from Pole emploi) if the employee refuses the offer of an indefinite-term contract.

These new rules are designed to promote employment stability and control access to unemployment benefits.

• Offering an indefinite-term contract

From now on, any employer wishing to continue the employment relationship with an employee on a fixed-term contract (“CDD”) or a temporary worker (“interim”) in the form of an indefinite-term contract must make a written offer to the employee in the following scenarios:

• If it concerns an employee on a fixed-term contract (“CDD”), the offer of an indefinite-term contract must relate to the same job or a similar job, with at least equivalent salary for equivalent working time, in the same classification and with no change to the place of work. 

• If it concerns a temporary worker at the end of an assignment, it must relate to the same or a similar job, without any change in the place of work.

The employee must be notified of the offer of an indefinite-term contract before the end of the fixed-term or temporary contract:

• by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, or
• by hand-delivered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, or
• by any other means that provides proof of the date of receipt.

The offer must also specify the period of time allowed for the employee to consider the offer, and state that failure to respond will be considered as a refusal of the offer of an indefinite-term contract.

The employer should allow the employee a reasonable period of time to decide whether or not to accept the offer of an indefinite-term contract.

If the employee doesn’t reply at the end of this period, the offer is deemed to have been rejected.

• Informing “France Travail” of the refusal 

If the employee refuses (expressly or tacitly) the offer of an indefinite-term contract, the employer is obliged to inform “France Travail” within one month, justifying the similar nature of the job offered on the dedicated platform : https://www.demarches-simplifiees.fr/commencer/refus-de-cdi-informer-francetravail

Upon receipt of all the information relating to the refusal of the indefinite-term contract, “France Travail” informs the employee of the receipt of this information and of the consequences of this refusal on the entitlement to unemployment benefit.

To summarize: