Conventions Collectives Nationales (Collective Bargaining Agreements, CBA)
Collective agreements, also called national collective agreements (Conventions Collectives Nationales or CCN in French), define all employment and working conditions, as well as social guarantees for the employees in France. These agreements are established between employee unions and groups of employers – usually professional organizations of employers from a certain field. A collective agreement adjusts the general provisions of the French Labor Code to the specific situations of a sector of activity and establishes obligations that the Labor Code does not impose (for example, the application of a pension plan) or specific benefits for employees, like the duration of the trial periods, the grid of minimum wages, bonuses, paid holidays, allowances or exceptional leaves. Since collective agreements adapt to the particularities of each activity field, profession or even geographic area, their stipulations can be very different from one case to another. It is important for both employee and employer (or their representatives) to know which collective agreement is applicable to their company and to be able to read it and interpret it correctly.