The State Labour Inspectorate is a French state institution responsible for ensuring that labour law is properly applied in all its aspects (health, security, working hours, work contract etc.). It informs and advises employers, employees, and staff representatives on the law applicable to their situation and carries out checks in the workplace.
How can it help you?
Handling complaints and alerts
You can contact the State Labour Inspectorate if you wish to alert or complain about a situation that seems incorrect, such as:
- Conflict between employer and employee
- Non-compliance with regulations on working conditions, health and safety in the workplace, forced labour, discriminations etc.
- Harassment (sexual, physical or moral) within the company
- Non-compliance with the ban on smoking on the company’s premises
To this end, you can contact the local unit of the DREETS (Direction Régionale de l’Economie, de l’Emploi, du Travail et des Solidarités) of where the company is located. Labour Inspection officers are on duty there. You should keep in mind that the Labour Inspectorate is not competent to settle disputes concerning your employing contract (disciplinary sanctions, payment of wages, holidays etc.). In this case, you should complain instead to the Labour Tribunal (Conseil des prud’hommes).
After receiving your complaint, labour inspectors can conduct investigations within the company, enter inside the premises without prior warning, call in external organisations to check the state of the premises and equipment, etc.
Putting an end to breaches
If, at the end of his investigations, the labour inspector finds that labour law has been breached, he can issue a reminder to the employer, in the form of letters of observation or formal notices. In the event of a serious offence, he may draw up a report which he will forward to the public prosecutor in order to initiate criminal proceedings. For certain breaches (wages, working hours, sanitary facilities) he can ask the DREETS to impose an administrative fine. Finally, in the case of a particularly dangerous situation, the labour inspector may take the initiative to stop the activity to remove an employee from a situation exposing him or her to a serious and imminent risk.
Activities
- Mediation of conflicts between employers and employees through negotiations
- Supervision of compliance with the rules regulating employment relationships and safety in the workplace
- Investigations in the premises of the company with or without prior-warning
- Registration and investigation of accidents within workplaces
- Consultations on questions relating to employment relationships and safety requirements in the workplace for employees and employers
More information and Contacts
For more information on what you can ask to the Labour Inspectorate: https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F107
You can find the local unit of the DREETS on this webpage: https://dreets.gouv.fr/