Home » HR practices » Professional development » Legal developments » National legislation » France: first legal challenge to the shortening of related works council consultation deadlines due to Covid-19 proves unsuccessful France: first legal challenge to the shortening of related works council consultation deadlines due to Covid-19 proves unsuccessful The ruling on 17 June by a French court of first instance (lower court), came about from what ostensibly appeared as a classic dispute between works council (WC) and company management over the provision of the information necessary for the WC to be able to provide an reasoned opinion as part of a consultation procedure. In fact, the issue grew beyond the scope of a company dispute, because trade unions, expert and lawyers groups joined in to question the shortening of the information and consultation periods, which had been decided as part of the emergency measures implemented to deal with the Covid-19 health crisis. The complainants invoked European regulations but without success, as the judges considered that they were not applicable in a dispute between private individuals. Through . Published on 18 June 2020 Ă 15h09 - Update on 18 June 2020 Ă 15h49 Resources The company’s WC, believing itself insufficiently informed, went to court to obtain the missing information on the measures being considered for the resumption of activity and the protection of the health and safety of employees in the context of the Covid-19 health crisis. The WC was also requesting a new consultation period of two months in order to enable it to provide its opinion,… Managing the fallout of Covid-19 Need more info ? Contact mind's on-demand study service Which service do you want to contact :WritingCommercial serviceTechnical SupportFirst name Last name Organization Function email* Object of the message Your messageRGPD J’accepte la politique de confidentialitĂ©.CommentsThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Essentials Les dernières publications Supporting parenthood in the workplace: a win-win strategy Supporting employee carers: a CSR challenge Analyzes Les dernières publications Paternity leave: data observations from 41 countries EU: during H1 2022 five EU Member States have raised their minimum salary levels