If the employment contract cannot be established immediately, the employer can formalise his will to hire the person concerned by drawing up:
- either an offer of recruitment by which he unilaterally manifests his will to recruit the candidate.
The offer of recruitment mentions, specifically:
- the employee’s recruitment conditions;
- the maximum time within which the candidate must accept the offer.
The employer may in any case withdraw the offer before it is accepted by the candidate.
From the moment the candidate agrees, the offer of recruitment constitutes an employment contract on the condition, however, that the essential elements (see: promise of recruitment) of the contract, in particular the arrangements for the task to be performed, the recruitment date and the remuneration are determined therein with sufficient precision.
- or a promise of recruitment or a letter of engagement by which the employer undertakes to establish an employment contract with the candidate if the latter accepts it.
For there to be a promise accompanied by the formation of a contract as soon as it is accepted by the beneficiary, the essential elements of the contract to be entered into must be determined with sufficient precision.
The promise of recruitment must mention specifically:
- the conditions of employment of the employee;
- the nature of the work to be performed;
- the date of recruitment;
- the duration of the employment;
- the remuneration paid.
It is recommended that this promise should indicate a period of validity.
For there to be a unilateral promise of a contract binding the beneficiary definitively, the expression of the employer’s will must evidence a firm commitment, so that the contract will be concluded solely by virtue of a declaration of the beneficiary's will.
This unilateral promise of recruitment creates a firm obligation on the employer to conclude an employment contract within a certain period of time in the event of acceptance by the beneficiary.
The retraction of a unilateral promise by the employer after acceptance by the employee must, so far as concerns penalties, be considered as a termination of an employment relationship (a relationship which is not subject to Article L.121-4 of the Labour Code, relating to the mandatory information in the employment contract) and must be considered as unfair dismissal.
It should also be noted that the employee may request that the employer be ordered to pay damages calculated on the basis of the harm he has suffered. However, the employee will have to prove such harm (for example, the fact that he refused another position, etc.).