Employment law · French law
Career-development interviews in France: EPP records
France’s entretien de parcours professionnel concerns career development and training, not performance appraisal. The current framework provides a first-year interview, a four-year cycle and an eight-year review, with specific qualifications. Earlier agreements and certain returns from absence need a dated check. The preparation file should connect each relevant duty with its actual record rather than infer compliance from a calendar alone.
Informational guide. An independent qualified legal review has not been completed.
What you leave withAn HR inventory separating interview evidence, training and timing review.
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Can a performance appraisal replace the EPP?
No. The EPP does not assess work performance. Performance may be reviewed separately; that record alone does not establish the EPP.
Read the referencesBuilding a career-development interview file? We can separate interview records, training and timing questions for review.
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How does it differ from annual appraisal?
Performance appraisal and the EPP have different purposes. A sales review, rating or annual target should not be relabelled EPP to fill a missing box.
| Record | Purpose to identify | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| EPP | Career, skills, training and prospects | Check delivery of the written record |
| Performance appraisal | Work and targets assessed | Alone, does not prove an EPP |
| Training certificate | An action actually attended | Does not replace an interview record |
References : Légifrance · article L6315-1
What is the career-development interview for?
The career-development interview concerns career history, skills, training and professional prospects. The text separates it from evaluating work performance.
A useful file identifies the meeting’s purpose, date and document supplied to the employee. A list of HR appointments without their content is insufficient to classify the interviews.
References : Légifrance · article L6315-1
How should first-year, four-year and eight-year stages be read?
The current framework provides information at hiring about an interview in the first year, followed by interviews every four years in the same company. The career review has an eight-year reference.
For the first review, the text allows seven years after the first interview, with reference to company seniority. Do not derive an individual deadline from one isolated date.
References : Légifrance · article L6315-1
What changes for earlier frequency agreements?
The reform applies from October 1, 2026 to then-existing company or branch agreements on frequency. Its transition calls for reviewing the agreement, timetable and renegotiation requirements.
Do not automatically use an old ‘two years / six years’ spreadsheet. Retain the version applicable to each period without erasing documented historical interviews.
References : Légifrance · article L6315-1
Which returns or events require a separate check?
Listed returns trigger an EPP offer where no EPP occurred in the preceding twelve months. Not every absence automatically creates another interview.
A mid-career medical visit is followed by an EPP within two months, without employer access to health data. Other provisions concern an interview in the two years before age sixty; they are not an HR medical assessment.
References : Légifrance · article L6315-1
How should interview and training evidence be organised?
Keep EPP records, the career review and training evidence separately. For each, note what is available and what needs locating.
The interview takes place during working time and produces a document copied to the employee. Medical-visit contents need not become HR evidence to establish interview follow-up.
- Interview
- Date, purpose and supplied written record
- Training
- Action, certificate and mandatory status to examine
- Career review
- Covered period and reconciled records
- Transition
- Agreement and version for the period
References : Légifrance · article L6315-1
Does a performance-appraisal record prove that an EPP took place?
In the fictional file, a training certificate proves something different from an EPP record. The performance document does not establish that the career interview occurred.
A missing item can be requested and compared with other traces. Its absence from a file alone proves neither that the event never occurred nor that a sanction is due.
Fictional file: an EPP invitation, a performance-appraisal record and a training certificate are present. They serve different purposes; the inventory keeps the missing EPP record visible instead of treating appraisal as proof of the statutory interview.
References : Légifrance · article L6315-1
What belongs in the eight-year career review?
The career review examines interview follow-up and statutory development factors, including training, certification and progression. It differs from a routine annual meeting.
Reconcile evidence over the relevant period and retain unresolved items. An additional meeting does not automatically replace the documented review.
References : Légifrance · article L6315-1
Which conditions precede a corrective CPF contribution?
A corrective CPF contribution requires examining company size and statutory interview/non-mandatory-training conditions. The mechanism concerns companies with at least fifty employees under the text’s conditions.
Do not turn a missing written record into an automatically payable amount. First reconstruct the period, interviews actually attended, training and applicable rules; consequences need professional confirmation.
References : Légifrance · article L6315-1
When should the record be checked before alleging a sanction?
Have scope, periods and evidence reviewed before concluding a failure. Transition rules, return events and training classification can affect the analysis.
Julie can help organise records and questions. It does not certify an HR compliance audit or award CPF rights from an incomplete spreadsheet.
References : Légifrance · article L6315-1
What else should you check?
Can a performance appraisal replace the EPP?
No. The EPP does not assess work performance. Performance may be reviewed separately; that record alone does not establish the EPP.
References : Légifrance · article L6315-1
Is the first review always eight years after the first interview?
No. The first review can use seven years after the first interview with reference to seniority. Read the complete chronology.
References : Légifrance · article L6315-1
Does every return from absence trigger an EPP?
No. The text lists relevant returns and the preceding-twelve-month interview reference matters. Not every absence triggers the same duty.
References : Légifrance · article L6315-1
Do mid-career medical details belong in the HR file?
No. The employer has no access to the visit’s health data. HR can organise interview follow-up evidence without copying medical contents.
References : Légifrance · article L6315-1
Does one missing record automatically trigger a €3,000 CPF credit?
No. A missing item decides neither corrective-contribution conditions nor an amount due. Company size, period, interviews and training require combined examination.
References : Légifrance · article L6315-1
Which sources support this page?
Official texts remain in French. The explanations above describe French law. A source check records a reading date; it is not qualified legal review.
- Légifrance · article L6315-1Source checked : · Version from 2025-12-31
- Service Public · entretien de parcours professionnelSource checked :