Career review interview in France: obligations and the link with GEPP
Updated
The career review interview (entretien de parcours professionnel), set by article L6315-1 of the French Labour Code, is mandatory for every employee, whatever the size of the company. Since the law of 24 October 2025, it takes place within the first year after hiring, then every four years, with a full review every eight years. It is where GEPP, a collective approach, meets each employee's individual career path.
What it is, and what it is not
The interview covers the employee's skills, their career path in light of changing occupations, training needs, career wishes and use of the personal training account. It can lead to retraining, a skills assessment or validation of prior experience.
It is not a performance review: the law states that it does not assess the employee's work. Mixing the two distorts the exercise and exposes the employer legally.
The legal framework
The interview is organized by the employer and conducted by a line manager or management representative, during working time. A written record is given to the employee. It is also offered on return from certain absences (maternity leave, parental leave, long-term sick leave, union mandate among others) if no interview took place in the previous twelve months, and within two months of the mid-career medical check.
A company or, failing that, industry agreement can set another frequency, of no more than four years. From 1 October 2026, the new rule also applies to existing agreements that set a different frequency.
The eight-year review
Every eight years, the interview includes a full review. It checks that the employee had the required interviews and assesses whether they took at least one training course, gained certification elements, or progressed in pay or position. A written record is given to the employee.
Consequences of a failure
In companies with 50 or more employees, if over eight years the employee did not have the required interviews and at least one training course other than a mandatory one, the employer must top up their personal training account, under conditions and for an amount set by law and decree. Both failures are cumulative in the text. Beyond the penalty, missing interviews leaves the employer without proof of its duty to adapt employees to their jobs and maintain their employability (article L6321-1).
The link with GEPP
GEPP is collective: it thinks in jobs, occupational families and aggregated skills. The interview is individual: it deals with one person, their plans and their needs.
Without interviews, GEPP floats above reality. Without GEPP, interviews spin in a vacuum: the manager has no framework to tell the employee where the company is heading and which skills will get them there. The interview is the individual sensor of a collective approach, feeding real needs into the skills development plan.
What separates a useful interview from a formality
A useful interview starts from information: the employee knows where their occupation is heading, because the company told them. It leads to something: a training action, a mobility option, a commitment. It is recorded, and what comes out of it feeds the training plan.
A formal interview ticks a box. It leads nowhere, and the employee rightly feels an hour was wasted. It is the surest way to discredit GEPP as a whole.
Frequently asked questions
How is it different from the annual performance review? The career review interview covers career and qualification prospects, not the assessment of the employee's work.
How often? Within the first year after hiring, then every four years, with a full review every eight years.
Is it mandatory in small companies? Yes, whatever the size of the company, unlike GEPP negotiation, which applies from 300 employees.
What is the risk of not holding it? From 50 employees, a top-up of the personal training account if, over eight years, the employee had neither the required interviews nor at least one non-mandatory training course.
Must it be in writing? Yes, a written record is given to the employee.
Key takeaways
- Career review interview within the first year after hiring, then every four years.
- Full review every eight years.
- An agreement can set another frequency, of no more than four years.
- From 1 October 2026, the new rule also applies to existing agreements.
- From 50 employees, no interviews and no training over eight years triggers a CPF top-up.
Sources
Check your obligations and funding with the training diagnostic: 10 minutes, an action plan based on the French Labour Code.