In the French work contract, a distinction is made between “Cadres” (executive employees) and “Employees” (other lower grades of employees).

While there is no strict definition from a legal point of view, the” Cadre” status could be defined as follows: it is a hierarchical status that reflects a certain level of higher education, expertise and the exercise of a profession of an intellectual nature.

Generally, collective agreements set out criteria such as function, diplomas, management and management tasks.

For a long time, Cadre was defined as opposed to non- Cadre. Today, the standardization of the two categories is necessary, and the opposition is no longer so blatant.

Points that can be used to make the difference between Cadre and Non-Cadre:

WORKING TIME

Cadres are not subject to working time regulation.

THE LENGTH OF THE PROBATIONARY PERIOD AND NOTICE PERIOD

For a Cadre, the duration of the probationary period is 4 months, while it is 3 months for supervisors and technicians and reduced to 2 months for manual and non-manual workers. In the event of resignation or dismissal, the notice period for Cadres is 3 months, unlike for non- Cadres for whom it is only one month.

REMUNERATION

The cadre have on average a higher salary than the non-cadres.

In addition to the salary, executives often benefit from other benefits, such as a company car, a company telephone and computer, a business bank card, company housing, etc.

It is important to note, however, that these benefits depend on the industry, and that more and more companies are choosing to standardize the rights of managers and non-executives.

UNEMPLOYMENT

Professionals who have cadre status contribute to the Association for the Employment of cadre (Apec). The aim of this organization is to support managers throughout their professional careers, and, among other things, to help them find a job in the event of unemployment.

SUPPLEMENTARY PENSION FUNDS

While non-executive employees only contribute to ARRCO, executives have the significant advantage of being able to contribute to both ARRCO and AGIRC (pension fund dedicated to executives). Thus, the retirement pension is higher, because the executive has contributed twice throughout his career.

WORKING TIME

The employees concerned in this way must benefit from appropriate provisions on working hours; They are entitled, by virtue of the autonomy they have, to exceed or reduce the contractual working time within the framework of compliance with the legislation in force. The employee's monthly remuneration is not affected by these variations.
In order to be covered by these arrangements, the employees concerned must necessarily have the widest possible autonomy of initiative and assume full responsibility for the time they devote to the accomplishment of their mission, which is the real measure of their contribution to the company. They must therefore have a great deal of latitude in their work organization and time management.
They fall under at least position 3 of the classification grids for executives of the national collective agreement or receive an annual remuneration of more than twice the annual social security ceiling or are corporate officers.

Weekly working time is 35 hours, article 4.8 of the CBA states that this may not apply to Cadre. They are entitled to a minimum daily rest period of 11 consecutive hours and a minimum weekly rest period of 35 consecutive hours (24 hours + 11 hours).
It should be noted that the purpose of these limits is to define a maximum exceptional length of the working day.

Calculation of working time in days on an annual basis Article 4.3

The employee's working time is recorded in days over an annual reference period, with a maximum set at 218 working days per year, including solidarity days.

TTERMINATION:

NOTICE PERIOD -The length of the notice period varies according to the employee's seniority and professional category.

In the event of dismissal or resignation: for ETAMs: with less than 2 years' seniority: 1 month; more than 2 years' seniority: 2 months;
for engineers and managers (Cadres): 3 months.

A longer or shorter notice period may be defined by agreement between the parties.

SEVERANCE– Any dismissed employee with at least 8 months of uninterrupted seniority is awarded severance pay. This indemnity is in addition to any indemnity in lieu of notice that may be paid.

The severance pay is calculated in months of remuneration on the following basis:
ETAMs:  for a seniority of up to 10 years: 1/4 of a month for each year of presence;
 after 10 years of seniority: 1/3 of a month for each year of presence;
Engineers and managers (Cadres): for a seniority of less than 2 years: 1/4 of a month for each year of presence;  for a seniority equal to or greater than 2 years: 1/3 of a month for each year of presence.

PAID LEAVE – 1 additional working day leave after 5 years of seniority; 2 additional working days leave after 10 years of seniority.

SICKNESS and LEAVE PAYMENT– is higher in case of Cadres with >1 year seniority. (100% gross salary for 90 days)