In a decision dated 28 May 2026 (Cass. soc., 28 May 2026, No. 24-17.361), the French Supreme Court clarified the method for determining the delegation time credit granted to members of an establishment-level Social and Economic Committee (Comité social et économique – CSEE).
The Court held that, in a company employing more than fifty employees and divided into distinct establishments, the number of delegation hours allocated to elected members of an establishment-level CSE must be determined on the basis of the workforce of the establishment concerned.
The facts
A company with six distinct establishments employed 181 employees, including 44 employees within one of its establishments.
Following the adoption of the internal rules of the CSEE, a dispute arose between the employer and the elected representatives regarding the number of delegation hours to which the committee’s regular members were entitled.
The CSEE argued that each regular member should be entitled to sixteen delegation hours per month on the grounds that the company employed more than fifty employees. The employer, however, maintained that the workforce of the establishment concerned, which employed fewer than fifty employees, limited the delegation time credit to ten hours per month.
The Court of Appeal held that the number of delegation hours had to be determined by reference to the workforce of the relevant distinct establishment rather than that of the company as a whole. It therefore concluded that the elected representatives of that establishment, which employed fewer than fifty employees, were entitled to only ten delegation hours per month.
The Ruling
The French Supreme Court upheld the analysis adopted by the Court of Appeal.
It recalled that Article L. 2315-7 of the French Labour Code provides for a minimum of ten delegation hours in undertakings employing fewer than fifty employees and sixteen hours in undertakings employing fifty or more employees. However, these provisions must be read in conjunction with Article R. 2314-1 of the same Code, paragraph 4, which provides that workforce numbers are assessed at the level of the company or, in case of multiple establishments in the company, at the level of each distinct establishment.
The French Supreme Court therefore concluded that, where a company employing more than fifty employees is divided into distinct establishments, the number of delegation hours granted to members of an establishment-level CSE must be determined by reference to the workforce of the establishment concerned.
As the relevant establishment employed fewer than fifty employees, its regular elected representatives could not claim more than ten delegation hours per month.
In practice, employers and HR departments of companies organised into distinct establishments should ensure that the delegation time credits granted to elected representatives are determined on the basis of the workforce of each individual establishment, in accordance with the rules applicable to establishment-level CSEs.Cass. soc., 28 mai 2026, n° 24-17.361, publié au Bulletin
