Court of Cassation, Labor Div., February 26, 2025, n° 24-12.295
Court of Cassation, Labor Div., February 26, 2025, n° 23-20.714
When there is a management college at the elections of the social and economic committee, at least one seat must be allocated to one of its representatives.
Article L. 2315-39 of the French Labor Code provides that the CSSCT “(…) comprises at least three members representing the personnel, including at least one representative of the second college, or where applicable the third college provided for in article L. 2314-11”.
Does this article impose an obligation to designate a representative of the third college, once it has been set up, or is this optional?
In the first case, the French Highest Civil Court (Cour de cassation) clearly settled the issue: the text establishes the obligation, in companies or establishments where a third electoral college has been set up, to allocate at least one seat to an elected member of the CSE representing the third college.
It thus censured the court which had ruled in the opposite direction, notably in view of the wording of the article using the term “or” (Court of Cassation, Labor Div., February 26, 2025, n° 24-12.295).
When the appointment of a member of the CSSCT is contested, the judicial court’s decision is final and subject to appeal to the Court of Cassation within 10 days.
In the second case, similar facts and issues had been brought before the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal, which had also interpreted article L. 2315-39 of the Labor Code as establishing an alternative rather than an obligation.
The matter was referred to the Court of Cassation, which censured the trial judges, this time on the grounds that the appeal was inadmissible.
In its view, the matter should never have been referred to the Court of Appeal: in such matters, decisions are taken by the court of last resort, and are not subject to appeal, but only to an appeal to the Highest Civil Court within 10 days (Court of Cassation, Labor Div., February 26, 2025, n° 23-20.714).
* The CSSCT is a commission of the social and economic committee in charge of health, safety and employment conditions.