Are you facing economic difficulties and forced to make redundancies?
Your company’s reputation may be affected by these changes.
A company’s reputation refers to the assessment of its credibility, reliability and reputation by its stakeholders, i.e. customers, employees, investors and business partners.
Reputation influences the trust and loyalty of customers and employees, public perception of the company and can have an impact on financial performance.
It is therefore important, in a context of redundancy, to preserve one’s reputation. This involves a number of steps, which cannot be listed exhaustively.
In this article, we present the various steps we recommend you take to preserve your company’s reputation when implementing a redundancy procedure.
Comply with legal procedures
The French Labor Code sets out a specific procedure for redundancies, designed to preserve the social climate, mitigate the consequences for employees and avoid litigation.
So, when it comes to informing and consulting the CSE, it is essential to work closely with employee representatives, and to explain the company’s situation clearly and transparently.
☝ It is also important to seek out genuine proposals for adaptation and redeployment, for example by sending letters to outside companies to find out about their available positions. During preliminary interviews with the employees concerned, the reasons for the dismissal should be discussed, as well as existing training and redeployment measures.
Propose accompanying measures
The French Labor Code provides for various measures to support employees and limit the consequences of redundancies for economic reasons.
Priority for re-employment
It enables former employees made redundant for economic reasons to be given priority for any job that becomes available within the company, for a period of one year from the termination of their employment contract. This possibility must be specified in the letter of dismissal.
If the employee accepts the contrat de sécurisation professionnelle, this possibility must be included in the written document setting out the economic reason for the termination.
The job must be compatible with the employee’s qualifications at the time of his departure, or with any new qualifications he may have obtained subsequently, if he has informed the employer in advance. To benefit from this scheme, the employee must request it.
When several employees wish to benefit from the priority of re-employment in the same position, it is possible to freely choose the future employee according to the interests of the company and according to criteria that you yourself can freely define. There is no imperative order determined by legal texts.
If these provisions are not complied with, both in terms of informing the employee in the letter of dismissal and informing the employee of available positions, the employee may seek damages, depending on the prejudice suffered.
If the employee has at least two years’ seniority in a company with at least 11 employees, the amount of damages will correspond to at least one month’s salary.
The professional security contract (CSP)
Once the employment contract has been terminated, the employee benefits from a range of accelerated redeployment measures offered by France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi). The employee receives redundancy pay, compensation in lieu of notice and an allocation de sécurisation professionnelle (at least equivalent to the ARE), as well as job-search support.
Reclassification leave
Any company with more than 1,000 employees must offer this leave, unless the company is in receivership or liquidation. All employees who may be dismissed for economic reasons must be informed in advance of the conditions for implementing redeployment leave. Such leave must be proposed in the letter of dismissal.
This enables the employee to benefit from training and assistance from a job search support unit, including assessment interviews and VAE… During this leave, the employee receives his usual remuneration for the duration of the notice period, then an allowance of not less than 85% of the minimum wage.
Mobility leave
The aim of this leave is to help the employee return to stable employment at the end of the leave, by providing support and training. The employee is supported in his or her transition to a new position. Periods of training and work are therefore alternated, within or outside the company (via permanent or fixed-term contracts). Employers can offer this leave to employees as part of a collective agreement or a Collective Bargaining Agreement. During this leave, employees receive their usual remuneration for the duration of the notice period, followed by an allowance of no less than 65% of their average gross remuneration over the previous 12 months.
Maintaining dialogue with employees
A company’s reputation depends first and foremost on its employees. It is therefore necessary to be clear and transparent with all partners: employees, employee representatives, managers, external collaborators… This requires several elements:
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Being transparent: communicating the difficulties encountered by the company as early as possible, to avoid rumors and speculation, and receiving the difficulties encountered by employees is essential.
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Know the current situation and be able to predict the future, so that solutions can be devised to secure employees’ future. It is important to communicate how the company is taking steps to recover and preserve remaining jobs.
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Find solutions and offer different types of support by referring employees to professionals (psychologist, social worker, France Travail, etc.).
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Raise awareness among managers and employees who are always present: make them aware of the difficulties perceived by employees and encountered by the company, (re)work on team spirit and corporate culture, to maintain a positive image of work within the company.
Monitor your e-reputation
Today, most corporate communications and information take place on websites and social networks.
The Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) defines e-reputation as the online image of a company or an individual. It develops from information posted online on new media: websites, social networks, blogs, forums, video-sharing platforms… The information is visible to all, and comes from a wide variety of sources.
It’s through this means of communication that many customers and employees, potential or otherwise, find out about and develop the company’s reputation.
This means responding to criticism in a professional and balanced way. To maintain the company’s image, external communications may be necessary to communicate transparently about the company’s situation and, above all, to explain the measures taken to mitigate the consequences.
Naturally, DESRUMAUX AVOCATS will be happy to assist you with your dismissal procedures.
