II. ESTABLISHING IN FRANCE
D. Certain Rules Concerning Some
Specific Fields of Services.
b. Consultancy in Management
of Firms and Civil Engineering
All individuals, whether
French or foreign, can establish a firm of
consultants.
This is why there is a proliferation of Anglo-Saxon
management consultant firms in Paris. The
field of activity of these firms is wide and
mostly include auditing, counsel in matters
of strategies (product - market) and counsel
in matters of organization.
This is also true in the field
of civil engineering. There are no laws, rules
or regulations which limit the use of the
title of Consultant Engineer, unlike the diploma
of engineer obtained from a particular university
which is strictly regulated.
However, the members of these
professions have sometimes felt that the absence
of rules and regulations was a negative factor,
and have founded organized professional bodies
with a code of deontology.
This is the case with the Chambre
Syndicale des Ingénieurs-Conseils (Consultant
Engineers Committee), and the Chambre Syndicale
Nationale des Conseils en Recrutement (Recruitment
Consultants National Committee).
There is no mandatory obligation
for consultant firms to take malpractice insurance
coverage. Nevertheless, these firms are strongly
advised to do so, and it is mandatory in order
to become a member of certain associations.
In the particular case of recruitment
of consultants, the activity, even though
not governed by any laws, is curtailed by
the monopoly which is conferred to the Agence
National Pour l'Emploi (A.N.P.E.) - (National
Agency for Employment) by a Government Order
of 1945 regarding employment.
Where an intermediary acts as
the authorized agent of a person seeking employment
(whether unemployed or not), on his behalf,
with a person offering employment, the A.N.P.E.'s
monopoly is infringed. The recruitment consultant
who acts as the authorized agent of a firm,
providing it with candidates does not infringe
the monopoly of the A.N.P.E.
Recruitment consultant firms may
seek candidates by (i) advertising or (ii)
direct contact:
(i) Advertising is usually done through
newspapers.
The consultant, in this case shall have
to comply with the statutes and regulations
relating to employment ads in the newspapers
(Code du Travail - Labor Code, Article L
311-4).
In particular, it is prohibited to advertise
a job offer:
indicating a maximum age limit (except
where a law, rule or regulations contains
a requirement regarding age)
containing false allegations (e.g., duration
of employment, remuneration, place of work)
discriminating on the basis or origin, race,
religion, or sex, or written in a foreign
language or with foreign expressions having
equivalent translations in French and concerning
work carried out in France. There is, however,
an exception for foreign language publications.
In addition, the consultant must give to
the Director of the newspaper the name,
corporate names, and address of the anonymous
client for whom the advertisement is published.
(ii) The recruitment consultant also operates
by direct contact, that is to say that he
or she acts as a head-hunter.
Certain precautions must be taken in order
to ensure that such a practice does not
amount to unfair competition.
It is constantly stated through case law
that to bring an employee to quit his employment
amounts to unfair competition if the person
was employed under a non-competition clause
or if the incitement to leave is accompanied
by actions which are prejudicial to the
new employer. In the latter situation, to
entice a worker to leave by offering him
abnormal advantages with a view to weaken
the organization or to embezzle the assets
of a rival company, amounts to unfair competition.
