What is a job offer?
A job offer is an explicit offer made by an employer to a candidate. This offer clearly expresses the functions that the candidate will occupy and the date of his hiring.
Numerous disputes concerning promises of employment have taken place between employers and candidates. The Court of Cassation has ruled on this subject several times. It turns out that the promise of employment truly commits the employer, it has in fact the value of an employment contract. Thus a promise of employment, whether oral, written, by email, by fax, by telephone, etc., is considered as a commitment binding the employer to the person about to be hired. (Court of Cassation of 04/12/1995, judgment 91-44249).
NB: A proposal from an employer that does not mention the exact title of the job held, nor the remuneration, nor the date of hiring, nor the working time, cannot be considered as a promise of employment. (Court of Cassation of 12/07/2006, judgment 04-47938)
The employer who signs an internship agreement with Pôle Emploi, designating the job seeker as the beneficiary of a promise of employment, is fully committed.
What happens if the promise of employment is not kept?
It may happen that the employer retracts. He must be aware that this can be relatively expensive.
Consequence for a CDI contract:
- Failure to respect the promise of employment can be considered as dismissal without real and serious cause. (Court of Cassation of 02/02/1999 judgment 95-45331)
- The promise of hiring is worth a contract of employment, not keeping this commitment is similar to a rupture which can give rise to a payment of damages.
- Breaking a promise of employment amounts to a breach of the contract before its execution which obliges the employer to pay compensation in lieu of notice.
Consequence for a CDD contract:
If the contract is broken even before the start of its execution, the employer will be obliged to pay damages, the minimum amount of which corresponds to the income that the employee would have received throughout the duration of his contract. (Labor Code Article L122-3-8)