U2P “alerts” on two proposals for the simplification law

The measures proposed in the report submitted Thursday to the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire and to the Minister of Business Olivia Grégoire, in preparation for a future simplification law, could "at least partially simplify the life of businesses", notes the 'U2P in a press release.

“Unfortunately, it is tainted by guidelines which could prove harmful to small businesses,” believes the Union.

Among the 14 proposals in the report, the one which aims to allow companies less than 5 years old and less than 50 employees to deviate from sector agreements in agreement with employees "may well be a false good idea", for the employers' organization.

“Sectoral collective agreements are absolutely essential for organizing a profession, guaranteeing competition rules, and pooling costs, particularly for small businesses,” underlines the press release.

However, "allowing certain companies to exempt themselves from common rules risks undermining the whole of conventional life and drying up the financing possibilities made possible by pooling: in other words small companies would be the first victims of "a measure supposed to unleash their potential", according to the U2P.

For her, it would be "inconsistent, at a time when the government is asking the professional branches to make efforts in terms of salaries, to weaken them by a measure which calls into question their usefulness".

The CPME, the second representative employers' organization after Medef and ahead of U2P, also expressed reservations about this proposal on Friday.

U2P is also alarmed by the proposal aimed at raising the employee thresholds corresponding to the various obligations for companies.

“The idea seems attractive given its simplicity but it can lead to denying the specificities of small businesses and ultimately to increasing their costs and obligations,” she notes, requiring at least “prior consultation”.

Both the CPME and the U2P would like to see the implementation of tests on VSE/SMEs enacted in law before the entry into force of a reform concerning them.

Medef simply “welcomed” Friday on X (formerly Twitter) “the rigorous work” of the five parliamentarians, without expressing criticism, believing “that it is time to move from proposals to action”.