I (US Citizen) took a job with a reputable organization in France that sponsored my visa. I have a spouse, kids, and 3 pets (pets alone cost $6k to relocate). We sold our belongings in the US and had all just begun to really adjust. However I was notified last week that my employer is actually getting rid of an entire segment of their business which includes my job.
My employment contract does not contain any job loss protections outside of my trial period which was 3 months, which they had originally specified verbally is standard in France and would only end if I failed to pick up on the job.
I realize I have no legal protections as it was my naiveté to not pursue additional contract language regarding job loss during the trial period. I just never imagined this.
I’ve applied to over 50 jobs in a week and have already recieved rejections for most, as most employers won’t sponsor visas for whatever reason.
Not sure the purpose of the post but to say that when relocating, please protect yourself and truly realize how much you’re putting on the line by accepting a job abroad. My husband has not found work either in France so we’re at the point of having to go back to the US, pay all of the travel costs to do so, and have nothing there for us.
Is your entire family already in France? How long have you been working in the job? I.e. you moved 1 month ago, was that your starting date as well?
Will you be layed off, or will you be terminated in your trial period?
Was it an internal transfer within a large company, or did you find the employment in France by yourself?
What does your employment visa state? Is it valid for the time it was issued for, or is it dependent on that particular job? (sorry, I’m not familiar with EU work visas)
Have you told your HR in France about your situation? Like, do not assume they are aware, but have you had active conversations with them regarding your situation after you received the notice? Could HR find you work in a different segment of the company? Also, I’m wondering, is there no agreement with the new owner of the segment to take over employees? For larger companies in Europe when big chunks are sold off the labor unions are very involved and they usually wouldn’t sign off on the sale if the employees are not properly taken care off, which in most cases means the transfer of the current job to the new company for at least one year. Did you not receive any information on this? Maybe it’s different in France vs where I live, but I was under the impression it was standard in Europe.
I’m wondering if you could have grounds to sue them based on putting you into this situation? Usually lay offs don’t happen over night, you could look into if they have acted with gross negligence on your behalf. You’ve moved your entire life and family for this job, they should have stated that there are a lot of uncertainties around this job before your moved. When did you sign the contract? HR will deny this, but there is a good chance that they most likely had a good idea what is going on. There is also the possibility that they legit did not know if it comes from very high up, but selling off an entire business segment does not happen over night! But whatever the case, unfortunately it will be very hard, if not impossible, to prove in court.
Other than that I’d like to chime in with what others have said. I’m very sorry this happened to you, it’s a bad situation.
But I think you could not have avoided this, I don’t think European labor law has protection guarantees for trial periods, nor for lay off scenarios. So I’m not sure how it would be handled if something like that were to be written in your contract, if the company would fight it. You could have tried to negotiate an exit compensation for one of the scenarios, but I have a feeling that no HR department would approve something like that. You are competing with local employees who won’t need such guarantees if you are not having a very specialized and though after skill set.
So yes, now you need to apply, apply, apply. And make it clear why you are now available (mass layoff) and that you already are in Europe and have the visa, but that it must be transferred to the new company. I believe that’s easier than requesting a completely new visa. It might also make sense to simultaneously look for work in the US and take it until you find a new opportunity in Europe. It could only be you returning to the US and your family could stay in Europe. Or maybe you are lucky and will find a remote job in the US. Anything to keep the cashflow going. But obviously you and your family are on a clock regarding the work visa if it’s tied to the actual work place. How long are you allowed to stay after you lose your job?
Good advice. I know France is not the same as the US but I remember that in the US or some states in the US have laws about employees being able to access a website to see if their company is planning layoffs as the companies have to post that information 60 days prior to any lay offs. I wonder if any EU countries have a law like that. Would make it easier to keep tabs on who is about to lay people off and who isn’t.
In Europe by law there at quite long negotiation periods in lay off scenarios. However, this does not give an advance notice. You’ll be informed that layoffs are now happening in a few days and who will be subject to it. Then the negotiation period begins, after which the final outcome will be announced. Usually companies state the initial layoff number on the higher end, so that in the end the unions who are a big part of the negotiations, can book a “win” stating that only X amount of people will get layed off and not Y like initially stated. Unfortunately these negotiation periods are more of a show for all contributing parties, in which the end result is relatively known by the company from the start. It also depends on what is the reason for the layoffs. Financial reasons, demand for products, or sale of a business unit. Obviously all of these are interrelated, but the driving force still has an effect on how things are handled and what is the desired outcome.
I find it grossly negligent to hire someone from abroad, especially with a family, when large structural changes with unknown outcomes are on the horizon.
I’m actually now wondering if OP got an actual lay off notice, or only the statement that he is now subject to the layoff negotiations. Those two are very different things, but if one is not familiar with the concepts might confuse the one for the other. But again, it could be that different types of layoffs are handled differently. Fortunately I’ve only been once subject to layoff negotiatings. I received the notice that our department is part of the layoffs and that my job is under threat. In the end my job was not terminated and nothing happened. At the end of the negotiation period I received another notice informing me that I’m not affected by the layoffs.
Also what I forgot to mention in my earlier answer, in Europe employers have a social responsibility for their employees. That means that they usually provide a package and or support to find a new job if possible. This includes that employees who were actually layed off are given absolute hiring priority when other opportunities arise in the company. No external person can be hired for I believe 6 months if a person previously layed off could do the job and would accept the job. But these laws can vary according to different EU countries.
Additionally, and this also varies by EU countries, when layoff decisions are made, i.e. in the negotiations on who has to go, some countries take the social situation of the employee into consideration. If France does this, OP will get priority over a local worker I believe. Or for example a father will get priority over a bachelor with the same qualifications. But this is not the case in all countries.
Again OP, please book a meeting with HR and discuss your situation. Tell them what else you are willing to do and what else you can do if you indeed are already chosen to be layed off. I’d also look to speak with the local employee representative that is voted for to represent the employees in the lay off negotiations and possibly with the union(s) involved. You might also want to reach out to the new owner of the to be sold off segment. Again, hard to believe that the entire staff will be axed, very, very unusual in Europe to my knowledge. But I’m no expert on this topic, someone please correct me if I’m wrong here.
It would be nice to get an update from OP so that we can help better. The one item I find most worrying is that OP is still in the trial period and could be terminated any day without reason. But from the lay off talks it seems that that is not happening. This is one of the major differences between Europe and the US. Companies take their social responsibility seriously. Nobody is randomly fired and even if the company could easily and cheaply “get rid” of OP, it seems that they are not choosing this path. Which is the correct path when following the European way.
Thank you for that detailed response and sharing your knowledge of how things work in Europe. I’m moving overseas in 2024 but not to Europe and I’m retiring so I won’t need this but I’m always curious how neoliberalism operates in other countries. With corporations having the upper hand these days and the housing crisis all over the world I would not want to be in the OP’s shoes. I hope, as you say, that they have misunderstood the notice they received.