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On and off the job - Unpaid Leave - Marriage Contract - Deposit in Restaurant - Old Cheque
Dick in Juan-les-Pins is “totally fed up” with
his job. If he quits voluntarily, can he claim unemployment benefit?
Normally, no. The claimant would have to show a serious reason for
taking such a decision. These include the necessity to follow a spouse
who has to move for job reasons and the failure of an employer to pay
arrears of salary. If Dick just walks out he’ll get nothing.
Unpaid Leave
Caroline is a New Zealander working here. Her mother’s ill in Napier
and might not see out the year. Caroline would like to take six month’s
unpaid leave. What’s the law on this? The Code du Travail says that
anyone who’s worked in a company for at least 36 months can ask for
unpaid leave (“un congé sabbatique”) for up to eleven months. An
employer can, though, refuse such leave if he can demonstrate that the
person’s absence could damage the good functioning of the firm. If
Caroline gets to take her sabbatical, on her return she will have the
right to resume her job or a similar post with an equivalent salary.
You never know
Barry
in Aix, one of our subscribers along there, says his French fiancée
wants them to have a régime matrimonial. What do I think? Well, nothing
really, it’s up to Barry and his future spouse. But what is un régime
matrimonial? In fact, under a law of 1966 all couples marrying in
France are automatically made subject to a limited régime matrimonialof a standard kind unless they say they are making their own more
specific arrangements in the form of a marriage contract which is what
Barry’s lady wants. This is drawn up by a notary and governs financial
and property matters between the partners (what is owned individually
and what jointly, liability for debts and arrangements if the marriage
is dissolved, among other things). I sense in Barry’s query a feeling
that this hard-nosed talk is out of place at the beginning of a
marriage. Well, maybe but the French, if at times “romantic”, can be
very realistic and if things turn sour that sort of contract could be
very useful. If I were you, Sir, I’d sign and shut up.
You don’t eat, you still pay
Morten
writes to say he walked into a restaurant in Cannes to book a table for
himself and his wife on the following day. The patron noted the
reservation ... and then asked for a deposit of 10 euros. Is this
normal ... or legal? Well, it’s certainly legal according to article
1590 of the Code civil. It’s quite a common practice where group
bookings are involved. It’s rare to my knowledge, that deposits are
asked from individuals, couples or small groups.
What’s the date?
Mary
has found a cheque from 2003 in an old purse “at the back of a drawer”.
It’s for fifty-five euros and she thinks “is worth cashing”. She asks
if there’ll be a penalty. Worse than that, I’m afraid. It’s just not
possible: in France cheques are valid for one year and eight days and
no longer. And while I’m on the subject of cheques, I’ll just clear up
a mistaken idea that came up in conversation the other day. Postdating
a cheque in France won’t delay the payment in question. It’s valid the
moment you issue it – and if the bank wants to be nasty they can fine
you 6 per cent of its value for making out an irregular cheque.
From Reporter 114 - Apr/May 2006
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Doing It in France 
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