Supporting employers in their labor relations, their dialogue with the Works Council (CSE) and trade unions, the negotiation of collective agreements, and the management of the workplace climate.
Engaging in dialogue and negotiation with employee representatives
Labor relations have become a strategic issue. A well-informed Works Council, negotiations conducted under the right conditions, and well-constructed company agreements allow an organization to move forward with confidence, even when projects are sensitive.
The firm supports employers across the entire spectrum of collective labor relations, from the day-to-day management of the Works Council (CSE) to the negotiation of structural agreements.
The Works Council on a day-to-day basis
The day-to-day management of the Works Council takes up a significant share of HR teams' time. Preparing meetings, drafting minutes, responding to written questions, handling mandatory consultations, managing expert assessments, and interacting with local employee representatives: every week brings its share of issues where legal precision makes the difference.
The firm supports internal teams in securing their practices, drafting sensitive documents, and handling specific difficulties (disputes over the meeting agenda, requests for expert assessments, Works Council alert procedures).
What our support covers
- Setting up and renewing the Works Council (pre-election agreement, organization of elections)
- Day-to-day management of the Works Council (meetings, consultations, expert assessments, budget)
- Negotiation of collective agreements (mandatory annual negotiations, company agreements, method agreements)
- Mandatory consultations (strategic orientations, economic and financial situation, social policy)
- Collective performance agreements and other non-standard agreements
- Management of collective disputes (strikes, strike notices, emergency proceedings)
- Relations with representative trade unions
- Specialized committees (health, safety and working conditions committee, economic committee)
Collective bargaining: specialized expertise
Negotiating a company agreement cannot be improvised. Defining the negotiating mandate, setting red lines, sequencing the meetings, handling counterproposals, drafting the text step by step, and signing under conditions that ensure its validity: each stage requires method and experience.
The firm intervenes upstream to frame the negotiation, during sessions to advise in real time, and afterwards to legally secure the signed agreement.
Mandatory consultations: three key milestones
The three mandatory annual consultations (strategic orientations, economic and financial situation, social policy) structure the year in companies with more than 50 employees. Each consultation entitles the Works Council to appoint an expert, with significant cost and timing implications.
The firm helps prepare the documents submitted to the Works Council, organize the discussions, and manage expert assessments so that an opinion is delivered within a controlled timeframe.
Collective disputes and crisis situations
Strikes, work stoppages, strike notices, site occupations, emergency proceedings to restore site access, media coverage of an internal conflict: labor relations crises require a rapid and coordinated response. The firm intervenes within the short timeframes these situations impose, in coordination with HR teams, management, and, where appropriate, communications teams.
An approach built over time
Labor relations are built over several years. A firm that only intervenes occasionally cannot grasp the internal dynamics, the personalities involved, the history of agreements, and the points of friction. The firm favors ongoing support that allows it to intervene with a genuine understanding of the company and to anticipate issues rather than react to them.
