Should an association that employs an employee apply a collective agreement?

Verified 10 March 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

An association which employs employees must apply the provisions of collective agreements to which it is attached.

The criteria are as follows:

  • Economic activity of the association (its main activity)
  • Geographical location of the association, in the absence of a decree extending or widening the territorial perimeter
  • Ministerial Order extending the professional and territorial scope of a collective agreement, without conditions of membership to the signatory or member organizations

If its activity is not covered by one of the preceding cases, the association does not have to apply a collective agreement. In this case, it can choose to voluntarily apply or to join a collective agreement that regulates a category of trade different from its own. She then has 2 options:

  • Apply some or all of the provisions of the selected collective agreement
  • To benefit only one category of its employees (for example: a manager and not a non-manager)

In order to determine whether its main activity is covered by a collective agreement, the association may refer, by way of indication, to the EPA code assigned to it (by theInsee: titleContent) during sound registration to the directory Sirene: titleContent.

In order to determine the collective agreement to which it may be subject, the association may approach the regional directorate for the economy, employment, labor and solidarity (DREETS or DRIETS for the Île-de-France), ex-Direct.

Who shall I contact

  • Departmental Directorate for Employment, Labor and Solidarity (DDETS or DDETS-PP)

    https://dreets.gouv.fr/

    Search for DDETS on the interactive map by clicking on the department desired.

In principle, all employees of the association are covered by the same collective agreement.

However, where the association has several establishments which carry out genuinely different activities, each establishment may be subject to the agreement applicable to it according to its own activity.

Exceptionally, associations which occasionally organize live shows and hire artists, workers and entertainment technicians must grant these employees one of the following agreements:

The reference to the agreement shall be included in the declaration of use form.

The collective agreement is mentioned in the employee's employment contracts and/or on his pay slip.

In addition, the president of the association must give the employee, at the time of his hiring, a information notice the treaty texts applicable in the association.

It must keep these texts up to date and at the employee's disposal at the workplace. This can also be done via an intranet.

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