Professional election of the social and economic committee

In companies with at least 11 employees the employer organises elections for the members of the ESC every four years.
Below 11 employees the election is optional. A CSE can be set up by agreement or collective labour agreement.

There is one seat for a member and one seat for a substitute.
The members of the CSE are elected by the employees of the company for a maximum of 4 years.
Note: a collective agreement can set a term of office of between 2 and 4 years.

The employer informs the employees of the organisation of the elections and the date of the first round.

=> If at least one employee is a candidate within 30 days of being informed about the organisation of the elections, the employer informs the trade union organisations.
He invites the following people to negotiate the pre-electoral agreement protocol (PAP), which sets out the rules for organising the ballot:

• Those who are representative in the company 
• who have formed a trade union section
• Affiliated to a representative trade union at national and interprofessional level
  

It invites by any means to negotiate the PAP the trade unions meeting the 2 following conditions:

• it has a minimum of 2 years' seniority in the professional and geographical field covering the company or establishment concerned
  
• it meets the criteria of respect for republican values and independence
  

=> If, on the other hand, no employee has put himself forward as a candidate within 30 days of the employer being informed, the employer is not obliged to organise the elections. The electoral process is over. The employer draws up a report on the absence of a candidate at that time.

Establishment of the ESC at the initiative of the employer:

The first round must take place no later than the 90th day after the information on the organisation of the elections has been circulated.
The employer invites the unions to negotiate the PAP.
The invitation must be sent no later than 15 days before the date of the first negotiation meeting. If a second round is organised, it takes place within 15 days of the first round.

Establishment of the ETUC at the request of a trade union:

Within one month of the request of the employee or the trade union, the employer starts the electoral process and invites the trade unions to negotiate the PAP.
The first round must take place at the latest on the 90th day after the information about the organisation of the elections has been distributed. If a second round is organised, it takes place within 15 days of the first round.

Please note: the request to organise a new election cannot be made during the 6 months following the drawing up of a report on the lack of elections.

Renewal of the CSE:

The 1st round of elections must take place :

• At the latest on the 90th day following the day of the diffusion of the information
  
• And within 15 days before the end of the current mandates
  

The invitation of the trade unions must be made at least 2 months before the end of the mandates of the CSE members. The invitation must be sent at least 15 days before the date of the first negotiation meeting. Where a second round is organised, it takes place within 15 days of the first round.

In order to be a voter, the following three criteria must be met

• Be an employee of the company and have at least 3 months of seniority at the 1st round of voting
• Be 16 years old
• To be in possession of your civic rights

To stand for election, the employee must meet the following 4 conditions

• Be 18 years old
• Have worked in the company for at least 1 year
• Not be a spouse, PACS partner, cohabitant, ascendant, descendant, brother, sister or relative to the same degree 
• Not to have had a conviction prohibiting them from being an elector and therefore from being elected the employer

The employer draws up the electoral list. If there is no mention in the PAP, the employer must include the following information on the list

• Name and surnames of those registered
  
• Date of joining the company
  
• Place and date of birth
  

If there are no provisions in the PAP, the employer shall post the electoral list within a sufficient period of time (e.g. 5 days before the first round of voting).

The employer shall update the electoral list if there is a change in the number of employees between the publication of the list and the first round of elections. The employer shall post the amended electoral list within a sufficient period of time.

List of candidates :

The lists are presented by college.
Separate lists of candidates must be drawn up for titular members and substitutes, and the electoral lists must contain the same proportion of women and men as the electoral college.

First round of voting

The first round of the professional elections is reserved for all the trade union organisations invited to negotiate the PAP.

Second round of voting

In the second round of the elections, candidacies are free and the lists from the first round are maintained unless the trade union organisations that presented them decide to withdraw them.

Material organisation of the elections :

Voting takes place in principle in the company and during working hours.

Voting materials
The employer provides the employees with the material necessary to vote:Ballot papersEnvelopesPossibility for the employee to isolate himself (isolator, room next to the polling station for example)Ballot boxes (2 ballot boxes per college)

Methods of voting
The vote is carried out :

• At the ballot box
• By post if this possibility is provided for by a collective agreement, by the PAP, or by a court decision
• By electronic means

Note: voting by proxy is prohibited.

Voting office

It is responsible for the following tasks
Directing and controlling the electoral operations
Proceed to the counting of votes
Declare the results
Drawing up the minutes of the elections
A bureau is set up for each electoral college. It is composed of at least 3 members: 1 president and 2 assessors.

Ballot

The elections are held in a two-round list system. Employees vote for a list of candidates. The first round is valid if the quorum is reached.

A second round is organised in the following 3 cases:

• The quorum is not reached in the first round
• Not all seats were filled in the first round
• No candidatures in the 1st round

Counting
The counting takes place in public immediately after the vote. Blank and invalid ballots are separated from valid ballots in order to count the number of valid votes cast. The ballots of each list are then counted, followed by the votes cast for each candidate.

Allocation of the number of seats
Seats are allocated by calculating the electoral quotient and then the highest average. This operation is carried out for the titular and substitute members separately.

The seats are first allocated by applying the electoral quotient. This is obtained by dividing the number of valid votes cast by the number of seats to be filled.
Then, if no seats have been filled or if there are still seats to be filled, they are successively allocated on the basis of the highest average. This is obtained by dividing the average number of votes received by each list by the number of seats obtained + 1.
Candidates are elected in the order of presentation of the list. If the number of erasures on a candidate reaches at least 10% of the votes validly cast for his or her list, the appointment is made according to the number of votes obtained by each candidate on the list.
Calculation of the electoral quotient
The electoral quotient is calculated by dividing the number of valid votes cast by the number of seats to be filled and awarding as many seats as the number of votes received by the list contains times the electoral quotient.

Calculation of the highest average
If no seats have been filled or if there are still seats to be filled, they are successively allocated on the basis of the highest average. This is obtained by dividing the average number of votes received by each list by the number of seats obtained + 1.

Drafting of the minutes and proclamation of the results

As soon as the counting is over, the minutes are drawn up in the voting room by the polling station in the presence of the voters. It is drawn up in two copies (one sent to the service provider acting for the Ministry of Labour, the other for the trade unions) and signed by all the members of the polling station.

As soon as the minutes are drawn up, the results can be announced in public by the president of the polling station.

Minutes of the failure to act
If the ESC has not been established or renewed, the employer will draw up a report of the failure to act.
The report of the failure is :

• brought to the attention of the employees by any means
• Transmitted within 15 days to the labour inspector by any means
• Transmitted to the service provider acting for the Ministry of Labour within 15 days of the election.