Employee advisor

The Labor Code clearly states the necessity of an employee advisor in the context of a dismissal. Indeed, this need applies to companies that do not have an institution able to represent their staff.

This advisor assists the employee summoned before their dismissal. In this article, we will define for you who these advisors are, their main responsibilities, and how to call on them.

What is an employee advisor

By definition, an employee advisor is the person who assists the employee. They are appointed by the employee at the first request for dismissal of an employee. This assistance is provided in case of lack of intra-company institutions to represent the staff.

It is then a social committee that replaces the former bodies attached to the company.

Employee advisors benefit from the following statuses:

• They may be absent for the needs of their training in order to fulfill their mission.
• They are specially protected by employee status against dismissal.
• They have 15 hours of monthly credit to carry out their mission if they work in an SME with 11 employees or fewer.
• They may receive accommodation expenses and travel allowances.
• They receive a fixed work allowance if they perform more than 4 interventions per year.
• Employees have their salary maintained and benefit from rights compensating for the time they devote to their missions outside the execution of their work. Their hours outside their working time are also paid as such. Indeed, the employer receives aid from the State because absences are detrimental to the company’s productivity.

Here are the obligations of an employee advisor:

• An employee advisor is bound by professional secrecy to respond to questions related to various internal processes.
• They are also required to show discretion regarding confidential intra-company information and according to the status decreed by their employer.

What is the role of the employee advisor?

As the name suggests, an employee advisor advises and supports the employee during the interview preceding their dismissal. If and only if the reason is personal or economic. Their prerogatives are then:

• Interventions and mediations between employer and employee.
• Request from the employer the reason for the dismissal.
• Observe the facts and draw conclusions.
• Be the employee’s witness.
• Record the course of the interview in writing and draft an official report.

Usually, an employee advisor meets the employee in question before the dismissal interview. The advisor then prepares them to adopt a better strategy and outcome after the interview.
They can also be called upon for any problem between the company and the employee, notably for example: moral harassment at work,

Once the interview takes place, the employee advisor will be of valuable help because in addition to participating in the discussion, they will ask for explanations and pose legitimate questions related to the reasons for the dismissal.

After the interview, the staff advisor writes a detailed report which he will give to the employee so that they can defend their rights before the court. This report will also help identify procedural flaws or define internal problems that led to unfair dismissal.

In this case, the advisor will act as a witness before the court. The law does not clearly define the duties of a staff advisor. Their mission is solely the following: intervention, requesting explanations from the employer, establishing an observation outline, and becoming a witness for the employee.

Who can be an employee advisor?

An advisor can be anyone, regardless of their nature, whether inside or outside the company, as long as they have expertise in the business world. This person may also have expertise in intra-company relations between employer and employee.

On the other hand, the primary condition is that they must have knowledge or experience in labor law.

The only people or groups who cannot aspire to this position are active labor court advisors. The union defender who has left their position or not can become an advisor to an employee to act as a defender of an employee before a labor court.

How to become an employee advisor?

An employee advisor is part of a departmental list which is periodically reviewed for a period of 3 years. Employee advisors are appointed according to certain criteria and the formalities differ from one candidate to another for an individual application.

On the other hand, it is also possible to become a staff advisor through a spontaneous application, but your application will be examined exclusively.

The labor code has created a conflict between the powers of the employee advisor and those of the labor court. It is a kind of legitimate antagonism aimed at preventing an advisor from being both judge and party in a labor dispute. However, becoming both an employee advisor and a defender of employee rights is not prohibited by law.

According to the law, an employee advisor is an employee of a company who enjoys the right of union defender. They perform the functions of accompanying an employee except for the interview preceding a dismissal or within the framework of a contractual termination.

We remind you that the powers of an employee advisor under the law only allow them to assist the employee during dismissal. In other cases, it is as valid as a conventional termination.

Those applying for the position of employee advisor must complete a form dedicated to DIRECCTE if the candidate is eligible and truly wishes to exercise this function professionally.