Changing an employment contract: employee consent and procedure

Quick answer. It all depends on the nature of the change. Modifying an essential element of the contract (pay, job grade, working time, sometimes the place of work) cannot be imposed: it must be proposed and accepted through a signed amendment. By contrast, a mere change in working conditions falls under the employer's managerial authority and is binding on the employee, whose refusal may amount to misconduct. If an employee refuses a contract change, the employer must either drop it or start a dismissal based on a proper ground. For an economic reason, article L1222-6 imposes a written procedure and a one-month deadline.

The question comes up constantly in small and mid-sized companies: "Can I change my employee's hours, role, place of work or pay?" The answer depends entirely on a distinction many owners overlook: is it a contract change or a change in working conditions?

This line is not theoretical. On the right side, you decide alone. On the wrong side, you need the employee's consent, and imposing the change without it opens the door to constructive dismissal claims or labour litigation. At Hayot Expertise, we regularly see owners impose a pay cut "because the business is struggling": that is legally impossible without consent, even where the measure seems justified.

The dividing line rests on the notion of an essential element of the contract.

• Modifying an essential element requires the employee's express consent. Essential elements include: pay (its amount and structure), job grade and duties, contractual working time, and, in certain situations, the place of work.
• A change in working conditions falls under managerial authority. The employer can impose it; the employee's refusal may then be treated as misconduct. This includes, for example, assigning new tasks within the job grade, adjusting hours within the same framework, or a transfer within the same geographic area.

The place of work deserves particular attention: in principle, the mention of the place in the contract is informational. A change within the same geographic area is a mere change in working conditions. A move outside that area, or the use of a mobility clause, follows specific rules.

1. Classify the change. First, determine whether it affects an essential element. That classification drives everything else.
2. Propose, never impose (essential element). Send the employee a written and precise proposal: subject, new terms, intended effective date.
3. Obtain consent through an amendment. Consent must be express. The employee's silence does not amount to acceptance (except in the specific economic case below). Formalise it with a dated, signed amendment.
4. Handle a refusal. For a contract change, the refusal is not in itself misconduct: the employer drops it, or starts a dismissal based on a real and serious ground of its own (economic or personal depending on the context).
5. Update payroll. Any change in pay, working time or duties affects the payslip. An up-to-date payroll service avoids back-adjustments and disputes.

Where the modification of an essential element is contemplated for an economic reason, the Labour Code sets out a specific procedure in article L1222-6:

• The employer sends the proposal to the employee by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.
• The employee has one month to state a refusal (reduced to fifteen days if the company is in receivership or liquidation).
• Absent a reply within that period, the employee is deemed to have accepted the modification.

This mechanism is valuable: it secures the proposed change and starts a clear deadline. If the employee refuses, the employer can drop it or consider an economic dismissal or mutual termination, depending on the situation.

• Protected employees. Any change, even a mere change in working conditions, requires a protected employee's consent. On refusal, the employer can only keep the existing terms or start the special dismissal procedure, subject to labour-inspectorate authorisation. Our support for companies with a works council builds in this constraint.
• Mobility clause. Where a valid mobility clause exists, its use must remain in good faith and proportionate; it does not remove the need for reasonable notice.
• Switching to part-time or full-time. Changing working time is a contract change: it requires the employee's consent and a written document. See our pointers on part-time work.
• Variable pay. Changing the structure of pay (fixed/variable split, targets) affects an essential element and requires consent, even if the total stays the same.

• Imposing a pay cut. Never without consent, even in financial difficulty. The L1222-6 procedure is still required for an economic reason.
• Confusing new tasks with a change of grade. Assigning new duties within the grade is lawful; downgrading the employee is not, without consent.
• Treating refusal as misconduct. Refusing a contract change is not misconduct; sanctioning on that basis exposes you to a dismissal without real and serious cause.
• Skipping the written document. A modification of an essential element not formalised by an amendment is fragile and hard to prove.

Recently, the owner of a small retail company asked us for advice: he wanted to cut several employees' pay by 10% to get through a cash crunch. His instinct was to "have them sign a memo." We stopped him: a pay cut is the modification of an essential element, which requires each employee's express consent and, for an economic reason, the formal procedure of article L1222-6. Imposing the cut would have turned a cash-flow problem into multiple labour claims.

Our conviction is that managing contract changes is, above all, a discipline of classification and written records. Before changing anything, ask a single question: am I touching pay, job grade, working time, or the place of work outside the area? If so, I propose and have it signed. If not, I decide, but I explain. That rigour protects the company as much as the working relationship, and it avoids disputes whose cost always exceeds the saving sought.

Hayot Expertise tip. Record every change in writing, even minor ones. For a modification of an essential element, always use an amendment; for an economic reason, respect the registered letter and the one-month deadline. If the employee refuses, do not sanction: decide to drop the change or open a suitable termination procedure, with a proper, documented ground.