Article
In French companies with 50 or more employees, the works council (CSE) is informed and consulted on the introduction of new technologies (Labour Code, L2312-8). Failing an agreement, it gives its opinion within one month, two if it calls on an expert (R2312-6): plan that time before the first interview, not after.
Key takeaways
- From 50 employees: works council information and consultation on the introduction of new technologies (L2312-8).
- Failing an agreement: one month for the opinion, two with an expert, three with an expert review across several councils (R2312-6).
- Consult before the first interview; below 50 employees, inform each employee before interviewing them (L1222-4).
Who is concerned
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In companies with at least 50 employees, the works council is informed and consulted on “the introduction of new technologies” (article L2312-8, II, 4°). Whether your AI project falls within that rule is a question for your adviser; in 2025, a court held that AI tools did, including during a test phase.
Below 50 employees, this consultation is not required. Each employee is still informed before being interviewed: no information about them may be collected by a system they have not been told about beforehand (article L1222-4). If a works council exists, nothing prevents you from informing it with the same file.
The timeline, step by step
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These are the periods set by the Labour Code failing an agreement with the works council; an agreement may set others.
| Step | Period | Text |
|---|---|---|
| Prepare the file: purpose, process, safeguards, use of the results | Before sending it | L2312-8 |
| Send the information to the works council, or tell it the information is available in the economic, social and environmental database (BDESE) | The period runs from this point | R2312-5 |
| Works council opinion | 1 month | R2312-6 |
| Opinion if the works council calls on an approved expert | 2 months | R2312-6, L2315-94 |
| Opinion if an expert review covers both the central works council and establishment councils | 3 months | R2312-6 |
| No opinion when the period expires | The works council is deemed consulted, with a negative opinion | R2312-6 |
| First interview | After the opinion, or when the period expires | L2312-8 |
What the file should say
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A clear file shortens the discussion. The trust centre describes, with sources, where the data of a SHIFTLABS Diagnostic goes: material for the safeguards section.
- The purpose: describing tasks and processes, not assessing people.
- The process: who is interviewed, for how long, by whom; an AI agent introduces itself as such.
- The safeguards: what the employer receives (summaries, not full conversations), from how many interviews, where the data is stored, for how long.
- The use of the results, and what they will not be used for: a means of monitoring employees’ activity calls for a separate consultation (article L2312-38).
Why consult before starting
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On 14 February 2025, the Nanterre court suspended the rollout of AI tools until the works council consultation was complete. It saw the test phase not as a mere trial but as a first implementation (according to the law firm CMS).
For a SHIFTLABS Diagnostic, the duration is therefore stated in full: 2 weeks of data collection; from 50 employees, allow about 1 more month beforehand for the works council information and consultation. What follows, automating a task or reorganising a department, may call for further consultations: plan them in the roadmap.
Frequently asked questions
When does the period start?
When the information required by the Labour Code is sent to the works council, or when the works council is told it is available in the economic, social and environmental database (article R2312-5).
What if the works council gives no opinion?
When the period expires, it is deemed to have been consulted and to have given a negative opinion (article R2312-6).
Can the works council appoint an expert?
Yes: when new technologies are introduced or a major project changes health, safety or working conditions, it may call on an approved expert (article L2315-94). The period then becomes two months.
Is an interview-based assessment a new technology?
No text says so for this specific case. A court has treated AI tools as such, including during a test phase; the safest course is to consult before the first interview and to raise it with your adviser.
Sources
The sources (7)
- French Labour Code, article L2312-8: works council information and consultation on the introduction of new technologies, companies with at least 50 employees (code.travail.gouv.fr, in French, accessed 23 October 2026)
- French Labour Code, article R2312-5: when the consultation period starts (code.travail.gouv.fr, in French, accessed 23 October 2026)
- French Labour Code, article R2312-6: opinion periods failing an agreement, opinion deemed negative (code.travail.gouv.fr, in French, accessed 23 October 2026)
- French Labour Code, article L2315-94: the works council’s use of an approved expert (code.travail.gouv.fr, in French, accessed 23 October 2026)
- French Labour Code, article L1222-4: prior information of employees about any collection system (code.travail.gouv.fr, in French, accessed 23 October 2026)
- French Labour Code, article L2312-38: works council consultation on means of monitoring employees’ activity (code.travail.gouv.fr, in French, accessed 23 October 2026)
- CMS, “Quand le CSE stoppe le déploiement de l’IA” (14 April 2025): Nanterre court, interim order of 14 February 2025 (in French, accessed 23 October 2026)
Further reading
Keep reading
- Playbook: running a successful AI assessment in an SME
- Where to start with AI in an SME: five steps, from baseline to decision
- What an AI assessment costs, what it should deliver and how to judge it
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