An employer must give to each employee (in French) at the commencement of their employment contract an explanatory note (notice d’information) clarifying their rights to private health insurance for health expenses (additional reimbursement coverage including for medical expenses, hospital expenses, pharmacy costs, dental costs, etc) and life assurance coverage (benefits for death, work incapacity or disability) (Law called “Evin” n°89-1009, 31 December 1989, article 12).
After recruitment, the employer must also inform the employee of any changes made to the guarantees offered to employees under the insurance contract. This explanatory note must be provided by the insurance company and contain certain information (such as the nature of the guarantees, rate and amount of contributions, etc). The document provided to employees must also be drafted in French.
In the event that the employer does not comply with this duty, it can be ordered to pay damages to employees. The employer can also be ordered to pay if it has not complied with its duty to fully inform the employee (French Supreme Court, 12 March 2008, n°07-40.665; French Supreme Court, 17 March 2010, n°08-45.329).
The employer should therefore incorporate this in the start of the employment process and systematically provide employees with this notice upon their recruitment, updating them afterwards if there is any change to insurance coverage provided.
In order to prove that the employer has complied with this duty, it must retain a record that the employee has duly received this explanatory note. The employer can, for example, have each employee acknowledge in writing that they have received this note, and/or add a specific provision in the employment contract, confirming that the employee acknowledges they have received this notice by signing the employment contract (in this case, the notice d’information should ideally be attached to the employment contract).
Written by Emma Rohsler, Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Key contacts
Steve Bell
Managing Partner - Employment, Industrial Relations and Safety (Australia, Asia), Melbourne
Emma Rohsler
Regional Head of Practice (EMEA) - Employment Pensions and Incentives, Paris
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