The annual appraisal interview is a management tool for the employer. It allows him to discuss with the employee, to evaluate the results of his activity and to set objectives for the coming year.
The annual assessment interview is in principle optional. However, a collective agreement may provide for this procedure, which is then binding on the company. It allows employees to take stock of their skills, career prospects and training opportunities. When to have the annual appraisal interview? What should be its content? Details.
The Labor Code does not require the employer to set up an annual evaluation interview. Only a collective agreement or a collective agreement can oblige him to organize such an interview. It is then necessary to respect the conditions provided for by this text under penalty of having to compensate the employees. The latter cannot refuse the annual evaluation interview once they have been informed of the evaluation techniques used.
An employer who decides to have his employees undergo an annual assessment interview must first inform the staff representative institutions or, failing that, the staff representatives. The information collected from employees must be relevant and necessary for their assessment. If this personal data is recorded on a computer file, the employer must declare it to the CNIL.
The first subject to be addressed in this interview is the assessment of the past year. It is a question of taking stock of the working relations but also the results obtained by the employee following the objectives set during the last interview. The second subject to be discussed concerns the objectives for the coming year. These must be achievable and suitable for the person who is required to achieve them. Finally, the employer must also discuss with his employee his wishes for development or training. In this context, the annual interview can lead to a salary increase or a promotion.
During the interview, the employer does not have the right to ask questions about the private life of the employee. Indeed, these must have a direct link with the assessment of his aptitude. Otherwise, the leader can be condemned for discrimination and moral harassment.
At the end of this interview, the company can submit a report to the employee. However, this process is not mandatory, unless the collective agreement provides for it. The data collected as part of this exchange must remain confidential, they can in no way be disclosed to other employees.
The poor results observed at the end of the evaluation do not authorize the employer to unilaterally lower the employee's remuneration because this would lead to a modification of his employment contract requiring his agreement. If the evaluation is positive, the employee can use it to contest a professional incompetence of which he is accused or even a dismissal. Some companies do not wait until the end of the year to carry out this interview and prefer to organize regular exchanges to take stock of the work of their employees.
