NewsletterNewsletter No. 200 – August 2025
COMPANY ADMINISTRATION: A decree details the rules for balanced representation of women and men in company management bodies.
This measure, which falls within the scope of the European Directive “Women on Boards” of 23 November 2022, transposed into French law by Ordinance No. 2024-934 of 15 October 2024, nevertheless goes beyond EU requirements. Unlike the directive, which is limited to listed companies, French law extends the mechanism to all commercial companies, including those with public participation. Among the measures provided for, the text specifies the minimum number of supervisory board members required to comply with the principle of balance. Furthermore, it grants priority in appointment to the candidate of the under-represented sex in the event of equal qualifications. Finally, the decree imposes an obligation of information on companies: voters must be informed of the measures taken to ensure gender balance, as well as the consequences to which the company is exposed in the event of non-compliance with these obligations (Decree No. 2025-744, 30 July 2025, Official Journal 2 August 2025).
HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK: A decree specifies the procedures for declaring occupational health and safety training in the prevention passport.
The prevention passport, established by Law No. 2021-1018 of 2 August 2021 to strengthen occupational health prevention and codified in Article L.4141-5 of the Labor Code, is intended to connect workers, employers, and training organizations to ensure the simplified management and traceability of occupational risk prevention training. The new provisions specify, in particular, the eligibility conditions to be trained for declaration, the deadlines for declarations, and the procedures for verifying and correcting data. To be declared in the prevention passport, occupational health and safety training must meet three cumulative conditions: 1) meet an occupational risk prevention objective or the general obligation to train workers; 2) result in issuing a training certificate or proof of success to the holder of a CPF, and (3) allow the mobilization of knowledge and skills acquired or developed during the training and transferable to any other position exposing the worker to similar occupational risks as those present in the position held at the time of training (Decree No. 2025-748, 1 August 2025, Official Journal 2 August 2025).
PATERNITY LEAVE: The Constitutional Council upholds the scope of beneficiaries of paternity leave, dismissing the alleged breach of equality for same-sex couples.
The association of gay and lesbian parents and future parents argued that the provisions governing access to paternity and child-receiving leave breached the principle of equality, in particular with respect to male couples, women couples resorting to medically assisted reproduction, and transgender individuals. In response to a QPC (i.e., a preliminary question of constitutionality), the Constitutional Council upheld the constitutionality of Articles L. 1225-35 of the Labor Code and L. 623-1 of the Social Security Code. While acknowledging the breach of equality created by these articles, the Council stated that breach of equality is justified in light of the objectives pursued by these texts: “to prevent the mother from being left alone after childbirth, in order to provide her with support and protect her health during a period when she is particularly vulnerable.” The Council further observed that “the father is not exposed, after the birth of the child, to the same risks as the mother who has given birth, and that the situation of the spouse, partner, or civil partner of the child’s father is thus distinct from that of the person living with the mother” (Cons. Constit., decision No. 2025-1155, QPC 8 August 2025).
PAYSLIP: The entry into force of the permanent payslip model has been, once again, postponed for another year.
An Order of 31 January 2023 established two payslip models. The first provided for the addition of a section corresponding to the net social amount. The second model incorporated new sections and adjustments: gross amount section, net social amount, reimbursements and various deductions, net amount payable before income tax, etc. Initially mandatory as of 2026, a new Order postpones the obligation to use this new payslip to 1 January 2027 (Order of 11 August 2025 amending the Order of 31 January 2023, Official Journal of 14 August 2025).
CLASS ACTION: A decree provides new procedural clarifications regarding class actions.
In particular, it introduces into the Code of Civil Procedure the procedure of swift dismissal of manifestly unfounded actions and the inadmissibility arising from conflicts of interest in which the claimant to the class action may be placed. Furthermore, it specifies the conditions for implementing the public register, the purpose of which is to inform the public of all actions pending before the courts. This register will take the form of a publication on the website of the Ministry of Justice and will state the identity of the parties and the alleged breaches (Decree No. 2025-734, 30 July 2025, Official Journal 1 August 2025).
HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK: An Order specifies the scope of the smoking ban extended to certain uncovered areas. It also publishes new signage models to be displayed in non-smoking areas.
Since 1 February 2007, smoking has been prohibited in places intended for collective use, enclosed and covered, which are open to the public or which constitute workplaces (Articles L. 3512-8 and R. 3512-2 of the Public Health Code). Employers may also be required to enforce the smoking ban in certain uncovered places of the establishment if such areas appear on the list of non-smoking spaces under Article R. 3512-2. Decree No. 2025-582 of 27 June 2025 extended this list to uncovered areas of libraries and sports facilities mentioned in Article R. 312-2 of the Sports Code, to beaches adjoining bathing waters during the bathing season, and to public parks and gardens. Pursuant to this decree, the Order of 21 July 2025 extends the scope of the smoking ban to uncovered areas of public or private middle schools and high schools, as well as establishments intended for the reception, training, or accommodation of minors, libraries, and the sports facilities referred to in Article R. 312-2 of the Sports Code. The ban applies within a 10-meter radius from the entrance to such places during opening hours. An employer who violates the provisions on the smoking ban or knowingly facilitates their violation is liable to the fine applicable to 4th class contraventions. The Order of 21 July 2025 also publishes, in an annex, the new signage models that must be displayed in the areas subject to the smoking ban, in particular in enclosed and covered places that constitute workplaces. Failure to display the required signage is punishable by the fine applicable to 4th class contraventions for the smoking ban, namely €750 for natural persons and €3,750 for legal entities (Decree No. 2025-582 of 27 June 2025, Official Journal 28 August 2025 ; Order TSSP2518305A of 21 July 2025, Official Journal of 22 August 2025).