The social and economic committee (CSE) is the new representative body for company personnel, developed by the government, which will take precedence over the works council.
The establishment of the CSE will take place in each company on the occasion of the next elections of staff representatives. (no later than January 1, 2020).
Remember that the law requires the establishment of the CSE for all companies with at least 11 employees.
The elections must take place every 4 years (can be reduced by collective agreement to 2 or 3 years) and within 90 days following the information of the employees. (vote in an envelope or electronically)
Now let’s look at some big questions on the subject to help you see more clearly.
Mandatory number of elected officials and hours of delegations by company size
The social and economic committee requires fewer staff representatives but nevertheless with more responsibility.
When compiling your list of candidates, make sure to respect the principle of balanced representation between men and women.
The composition of the CSE differs according to the size of the company:
- Less than 300 employees: one or more commissions can be decided by the company.
- At least 300 employees: a health commission, training commission, information and housing assistance commission, a professional equality commission and a markets commission.
- More than 1,000 employees: as for less than 300 employees, plus an economic commission.
The number of elected members therefore depends on the size of the company.
Here is a summary table concerning the number of holders and the number of hours of delegation.
CSE operating budget
The budget of the social and economic committee is divided into 2 parts:
- The operating budget
- The budget for social and cultural activities
The first part of the budget, namely the operating budget, is paid by the employer and must represent 0.20% of gross payroll (company with 50 to 2000 employees and 0.22% more than 2000 employees).
As for the budget for social and cultural activities, this is established by a prior company agreement.
Interesting to know: if the operating budget is not entirely used, it is possible to transfer the unused budget to the budget for social and cultural activities.
Meetings and social and economic committee
To finish this introductory article to the CSE, we will see the number of mandatory monthly meetings.
The number of annual meetings of the CSE is fixed by a collective agreement in the company.
If no agreement is found, however, the meetings must take place:
- Once every two months (company with less than 300 employees)
- Once a month (company with more than 300 employees)
The minimum number of CSE meetings is 6 per year.
Who should be present at this meeting?
- A party representing the employer
- Elected officials who represent staff or their substitutes
The employer must allow the CSE to carry out their activities in good compliance.
Go further with the Social and Economic Committee
We just explained to you the basics of CSE and the changes to expect in 2019.
To find out more, we recommend the first digital platform dedicated to the staff representative CSE-guide.fr.
You will find all the information you need to take precedence over this new instance: guides, practical sheets, a forum and many more.