In a time of ultra-connected communication tools and work from home, the access rights of a France-based company’s works council (WC) to its electronic and internal communication resources is a necessity now more than ever. However, at present, there is no legal provision regulating or allowing the use of employer-owned communication tools by a WC. It is up to the employer to be proactive in supervising the WC’s use of such communication tools to avoid the establishment of practices that could be prejudicial to the organization.
The members of a WC must have sufficient leeway to exercise their freedom of speech, carry out their missions, and fulfill their obligations (e.g., information and collective expression of employees, obligation of transparency) without being subject to any prior control by the employer.
The current provisions of the French Labor Code relating to the communication tools of the WC [1] were not modified when this institution was established by the Macron ordinances of 2017 and as such are now outdated.
Only notice boards are envisaged as a way of providing written information:
« Members of the works council may display the information they are responsible for bringing to the attention of staff in the places designated for trade union communications, and at the entrance to the workplace. »
The French Labor Code requires that the WC notice boards must be distinct from those used for trade union communications. [2]
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