OD FLASH | Invitation to negotiations on the pre-election agreement: clarification of mandatory information

Décret n°2024-514, 6 juin 2024 : JO, 7 juin 2024

A decree of 6 June 2024, published in the Official Journal on 7 June, now specifies the information that must be included in the invitation to negotiate the pre-election agreement (PEA) in the event of the creation or renewal of the CSE, as of 8 June 2024.

As a reminder, after informing employees of the date and organisation of the professional elections, the employer must invite the trade union organisations concerned to negotiate the pre-election agreement. This invitation must reach the interested parties at least fifteen days before the date of the first negotiation meeting. If the body is to be renewed, the employer must send the invitation two months before the term of office of the current elected representatives expires.

It should be noted that failure to provide information in the invitation to negotiate the pre-election agreement affects the validity of the elections and can lead to their annulment. Until now, the texts did not specify the list of compulsory information to be included in the invitation to negotiate the PAP. The 6 June decree, which was issued at the request of a number of unions, now requires employers to specify a number of points in the invitation to negotiate the pre-election agreement. The unions had warned that employers were making their invitations too vague, making the elections more vulnerable.

As a result, a new article D. 2314-1-1 of the Labour Code now requires that the invitation sent by the employer to trade union organisations must include

– the name and address of the employer and, where appropriate, the name of the establishment;

– the title and reference of the collective agreement applicable to the establishment, if any;

– the place, date and time of the first PAP negotiation meeting.

This is the minimum content now required by law, to which the employer can add further information if they wish. This minimum content not only makes it easier for the employer to send and prepare the invitation, but also makes the election process more secure, as the unions had hoped.

It should be noted, however, that the decree does not explicitly provide for penalties for failure to comply with these new formalities.