Recurring works council consultations

The Works council consultations tab follows the three recurring consultations of the works council (CSE) based on the BDESE: their calendar, the file made available, the opinion deadline and the opinion given. This article explains how to set the agreement that spaces out the consultations, open a consultation and put together its file, then how a CSE member downloads the file and records the committee’s opinion. It is intended for HR staff who organise the consultations and for CSE members who respond to them.

Before you start #

• The BDESE module is enabled for your company and you have access to it (BDESE module — Access right).
• Anyone holding a read right on the database sees the tab, the calendar and the list, and downloads the file and the opinion document. For CSE members and experts, this is the Works council space: consult the published BDESE fiscal years, read-only right, carried by the Works council member and Works council expert roles.
• To Set the agreement, you need Execute level of the BDESE structure right.
• To Open a consultation, you need Execute level of the BDESE publication right.
• The opinion is recorded by someone holding Execute level of the BDESE publication right on the database, or by a Full member whose mandate is current on that database (see The works council area: staff list, mandates and experts).
• The database’s structure has been chosen (see Choosing a BDESE’s structure and designating contributors) and at least one fiscal year is published (see Entering, validating and publishing data): a consultation always relies on a published fiscal year.

The three consultations #

The law pack read by the database describes three recurring consultations, shown on screen with their article:

• Strategic orientations of the company (Art. L2312-24);
• Economic and financial situation (Art. L2312-25);
• Social policy, working conditions and employment (Art. L2312-26).

If you have access to several databases, choose the database from the BDESE list at the top of the tab. A warning notice indicates when the consultation rules (periods, themes attached to the file) are pending legal review in the pack: check them before opening a consultation.

Reading the consultation calendar #

The Consultation calendar card shows one row per consultation:

• Consultation, with the article it is based on;
• Frequency: “Yearly” or “Every N years (agreement)”;
• Period: “Statutory” or “N month(s) (agreement)”;
• Latest: the year and status of the latest consultation, or “None”;
• Next due: the year of the latest consultation plus the frequency; with no past consultation, the current year.

A consultation due this year or earlier is highlighted with the Due this year or Overdue badge. If you can open a consultation, an Open button on the row starts the opening with the type already chosen.

Setting the agreement on the consultations #

A company agreement may space each consultation out up to 3 years (L2312-19) and set its own opinion periods. Without an agreement entered, the frequency is yearly and the statutory periods apply.

1. In the Consultation calendar card, click Set the agreement.
2. The Agreement on the consultations dialog recalls the statutory periods (R2312-6): 1 month, 2 with an expert, 3 with an expert and several works councils.
3. For each consultation, choose the Frequency: “Every year”, “Every 2 years” or “Every 3 years”.
4. If needed, enter the Period in months, from 1 to 12. Leave it empty to apply the statutory periods.
5. Click Save. The message “Agreement saved.” confirms, and the calendar is recalculated.

Opening a consultation #

1. Click Open a consultation, or Open on a due row of the calendar.
2. Choose the Consultation.
3. Choose the Published fiscal year it relies on (for example “2025 — version 1”). The most recent one is suggested.
4. In Made available on, enter the date on which the information is made available in the BDESE; today’s date is suggested. The opinion period runs from this date.
5. Tick With an expert if the CSE uses an expert, and Several works councils (central and establishment) if several committees are consulted. The period line updates: “Applicable statutory period: N month(s) (R2312-6).”, or “Agreement period: N month(s).” if the agreement sets this consultation’s period; in that case, the boxes do not change the period.
6. Put together the Consultation file (see below).
7. Click Open a consultation at the bottom of the dialog. The screen confirms the opening and gives the date by which the opinion is expected at the latest. Click Close.

The database’s readers, CSE members included, are notified of the opening.

Putting together the file #

The file presents the tree of the BDESE’s themes and sections as checkboxes. The boxes are pre-ticked according to what the law pack attaches to this consultation. Untick or tick themes and sections to adjust the file; a theme of which only part is kept shows an intermediate box. Without a selection, the file takes what the pack attaches.

One consultation per type and per year #

A consultation of a given type can only be opened once per calendar year, based on its availability date. If it already exists, the screen shows “This consultation is already open for year.”

Following the consultations #

The Consultations card lists the database’s consultations:

• Consultation, with the “With an expert” and “Several works councils” mentions where relevant;
• Year and Made available;
• Deadline, with a countdown of the days left (“J-12” for 12 days) that turns red at three days or fewer, then “Past due” once the date has passed;
• Status: Open, Opinion given or Opinion deemed negative (with the Art. L2312-16 mention);
• Opinion: its direction (Favourable, Unfavourable or With reservations), its date and its comment.

On each row, File (PDF) downloads the file and Opinion downloads the document attached to the opinion, if there is one.

What a CSE member sees and does #

A CSE member opens the same tab, without the Set the agreement and Open a consultation buttons. They read the calendar, the list, the deadlines and the opinions already given.

Being notified #

• When a consultation is opened, the member receives a notification and an email “Works council consultation opened: …”, which gives the deadline and offers Open the file.
• Reminders are sent 15 days and then 3 days before the deadline if the opinion has not yet been recorded (“Works council consultation: deadline on …”).
• If the deadline passes without an opinion, a final message “Works council consultation closed: …” informs them that the works council is deemed to have given a negative opinion.
• On the home page, the BDESE tile shows the next deadline (“works council opinion by …”).

Each message leads to the database’s Works council consultations tab. The member chooses whether to receive emails in their personal notification preferences, under the “BDESE: validation, publications, contributor designations, works council consultations, retention and export ready” group.

Downloading the file #

1. Open BDESE › Works council consultations.
2. On the consultation’s row, click File (PDF).

The PDF contains the themes and sections kept for the consultation, drawn from the latest published version of the fiscal year. It is watermarked in your name, with the date and time of the download. Confidential information appears with its mark and its end date.

Recording the works council’s opinion #

The Record the opinion button appears, while the consultation is open, for a full member whose mandate is current on the database, and for HR staff who publish. Substitute members, union representatives and delegates, and experts read the consultation but cannot record the opinion.

1. On the consultation’s row, click Record the opinion. The Record the works council’s opinion dialog recalls the consultation and its deadline.
2. Choose the Opinion: Favourable, Unfavourable or With reservations.
3. If needed, add a Comment (5,000 characters at most).
4. If needed, attach the Document (minutes, signed opinion): PDF, Word, OpenDocument, PNG or JPG, 20 MB at most.
5. Click Record the opinion. The message “Opinion recorded.” confirms; the consultation moves to Opinion given status.

Once recorded, the opinion can no longer be changed: check the direction and the document before confirming. The date and author of the record are saved.

Periods, reminders and opinion deemed given #

• The deadline is calculated from the availability date: the period set by the agreement if there is one, otherwise the statutory period of 1 month, 2 months with an expert, 3 months with an expert and several works councils (R2312-6).
• Reminders are sent automatically 15 days and then 3 days before the deadline, once each.
• On the deadline day, the opinion can still be recorded.
• The day after the deadline, if no opinion has been recorded, the consultation automatically moves to Opinion deemed negative status (L2312-16) and the database’s readers are notified.

Good to know #

• The deadline runs from the availability date entered, not from the date on which the consultation was opened in the tool.
• The file is always drawn from the latest published version of the fiscal year: if an update is published after the opening, the downloaded file reflects it.
• Each download of the file is recorded in the database’s consultation log.
• The legal content of this tab (consultations, periods, themes attached to the file) follows the law pack published by Illizeo; the screen indicates when this pack is pending legal review.
• Access links given to an expert without an account are managed in the Works council area tab (see The works council area: staff list, mandates and experts).

Frequently asked questions #

I am a CSE member and I don’t see the “Record the opinion” button. Why? #

The button only appears for a full member whose mandate is current on this database, and only while the consultation is open. If you are a substitute member, union representative or union delegate, the opinion is recorded by a full member or by HR. If your full-member mandate has just started, check with HR that it appears in the register of mandates.

Why does the screen say “This consultation is already open”? #

A consultation of a given type can only be opened once per calendar year of availability. Find it in the list of consultations.

What happens if the CSE does not give an opinion? #

The day after the deadline, the consultation moves to Opinion deemed negative status (L2312-16) and the database’s readers receive a message.

Can the consultations be spaced out? #

Yes, if a company agreement provides for it: each consultation can be spaced out up to every 3 years, with an opinion period of 1 to 12 months. Enter it with Set the agreement.