Title II: Branch managers

The provisions of Chapter I are applicable to self-employed managers as defined in article L. 7322-2, subject to the provisions of this chapter. The company owning the branch is responsible for applying the provisions of Book I of Part Three relating to working hours, rest periods and holidays for the benefit of self-employed managers, as well as those of Part Four relating to health and safety at work when the…

A self-employed manager is any person who operates, in return for discounts proportional to the amount of sales, branches of food retail businesses or consumer co-operatives where the contract does not set out the terms and conditions of his work and leaves him free to hire employees or arrange for replacements at his own expense and under his own responsibility. The exclusive supply clause with fixed-price sales is a commercial…

Collective agreements setting out the conditions to be met by individual contracts concluded between companies and their self-employed branch managers are governed, as regards their validity, duration, termination, scope, effects and penalties, by the provisions of Book II of Part Two. These agreements determine, in particular, the minimum remuneration guaranteed to self-employed managers, taking into account the size of the branch and its operating methods.

The provisions of the collective agreements mentioned in article L. 7322-3 may, after consultation with the professional organisations concerned, be made compulsory by the administrative authority for all food retailers and consumer cooperatives within their scope. In the absence of such agreements, the administrative authority may, after consultation with the professional organisations concerned, lay down, either for the specific region or for the entire territory, the conditions to be met…

Disputes between companies and their self-employed managers fall within the jurisdiction of the commercial courts when they concern the commercial terms and conditions of operation of branches. Disputes concerning the working conditions of self-employed managers fall within the jurisdiction of the industrial tribunals.