For ten years, French HR departments organised an “entretien professionnel” (professional review) every two years, with a summary review after six years. That calendar has changed. Since the law of 24 October 2025, the professional review has become the entretien de parcours professionnel (career path review): it takes place during the first year after hiring, then every four years, with a summary review every eight years. Many internal materials, templates and even job ads still use the old vocabulary. This article takes stock from HR’s side: the difference with the annual review, what the Labour Code now provides, the eight-year summary review, organising a campaign and how to showcase this work on your CV.
Career path review and annual review: the difference
Two reviews, two purposes
The annual performance review is not a general legal obligation. It is used to review the past year, assess the employee’s work and set objectives. It is a matter of company policy.
The career path review, on the other hand, is mandatory. The Labour Code states that it does not cover the assessment of the employee’s work. It is devoted to skills, qualifications, career prospects, training needs and the employee’s wishes.
Mixing them up, a common mistake
Many companies hold both on the same day, with a single form. This is possible, on one condition: the two parts must remain distinct, with separate documents or clearly identified sections. A review that mixes assessment and career plans without distinction risks not being recognised as a valid career path review.
Why the distinction matters
During the summary review, it is the record of the career path reviews that is checked. If these reviews do not exist as such, the company cannot prove that it has met its obligation.
What the Labour Code provides
Frequency
Article L6315-1 of the Labour Code 🔗, as worded following the law of 24 October 2025, provides that:
- the employee is informed when hired that they will have a career path review during the first year;
- every employee who stays in the company then has this review every four years;
- a company agreement or, failing that, an industry agreement may set a different frequency, not exceeding four years.
Content
The review covers five topics:
- the skills and qualifications used in the current job, and how they might evolve;
- the employee’s professional situation and path, in light of changing jobs and employment prospects in the company;
- their training needs, linked to their role, to changes in their job or to a personal project;
- their career wishes, which may open the way to a reskilling, a career transition project, a skills assessment or a VAE (accreditation of prior experience);
- activating their CPF personal training account, possible employer top-ups and career development advice.
Arrangements
The review is organised by the employer, conducted by a line manager or a representative of management, and takes place during working hours. It results in a written document, a copy of which is given to the employee.
Reviews on return from certain leaves
The review is also systematically offered to employees returning to work after maternity or adoption leave, parental leave, carer’s leave, a sabbatical, long-term sick leave or at the end of a union mandate, among others, if they have not had a career path review in the previous twelve months. The employee may ask to have it before returning.
Link with the mid-career medical check
The text also provides for a career path review organised within two months of the mid-career medical check, without the employer having access to the employee’s health data.
The eight-year summary review
What it checks
Every eight years, the career path review includes a summary review of the employee’s path, assessed in relation to their length of service in the company. It checks that the employee has had the required reviews and assesses whether they have:
- taken at least one training course;
- acquired certification elements, through training or VAE;
- had a pay or career progression.
A document is drawn up and a copy given to the employee.
The sanction in companies with at least fifty employees
In these companies, if over those eight years the employee has not had the required reviews and at least one training course other than mandatory training, the employer must top up their personal training account, under conditions set by the Labour Code. Collective agreements may provide other ways of assessing the career path.
The transition
Companies that had an agreement on the frequency of the former professional reviews were given time to adapt it. For an employee hired before the reform, calculating due dates therefore requires a case-by-case check, using the hiring date and the date of the last review. This is a point to have validated by the legal department or by the industry’s skills operator (OPCO).
Organising a review campaign
Building the calendar
The first step is to extract from the HRIS, for each employee, the hiring date, the date of the last career path or professional review, and any long leave. A simple table is enough to spot the year’s due dates, the reviews to catch up on and the eight-year summary reviews.
Preparing managers
Managers conduct most of the reviews. They need a clear form, an explanation of the difference with the annual review and a few pointers on the schemes to mention: CPF, skills assessment, VAE, career transition project, career development advice. A short preparation session markedly improves the quality of the conversations.
Providing a suitable form
The form follows the Labour Code’s five topics, leaves room for the employee’s wishes and ends with a conclusion: planned actions, training requests, follow-up. It must be signed or approved by both parties, then given to the employee.
Following up and using the results
A useful campaign does not stop at signature. HR consolidates the training needs expressed, mobility wishes and assessment requests, then feeds them into the skills development plan. It is also the opportunity to identify employees who have not had any training for a long time.
Archiving
Keep the documents so that you can prove, at the summary review, that the reviews took place. Archiving in the HRIS, with the date and signature, avoids last-minute searches.
What this work says about you on a CV
An HR development skill
Organising a career path review campaign means running a regulated process, training managers, consolidating needs and feeding a training plan. It is a skill sought in HR officers, training officers and HR development managers.
Writing it precisely
Before
Managed professional reviews.
After
Organised the career path review campaign for a site: calendar of due dates, preparing managers, consolidating training needs into the skills development plan.
Use the new vocabulary if the campaign took place after the reform: it shows that you follow developments in employment law.
Using models
The training manager CV example and the HR officer CV example show where to place this work. Our article on the training and learning & development CV details the rest of the profile, and the one on the skills to put on your HR CV helps you prioritise them. Finally, create your CV for free: the tool formats your sections, and the PDF stays readable by screening software, which will easily find terms such as “career path review” or “skills development plan”.
Sources
- Code du travail numérique, Article L6315-1 of the Labour Code 🔗: career path review, eight-year summary review, top-up.
- Légifrance, Article L6315-1 of the Labour Code 🔗, current version.
Frequently asked questions
Does the professional review still exist?
It was replaced by the career path review by the law of 24 October 2025. The purpose remains similar (career path, skills, training), but the frequency has moved from two to four years and the summary review from six to eight years.
Can the employee refuse the review?
The employer has an obligation to offer and organise the review. If the employee refuses, keep a record of the offer, so that you can prove the obligation was met.
Must the review be conducted by the direct manager?
It is conducted by a line manager or a representative of management. In practice, it is often the direct manager, sometimes with HR support for particular situations.
Can the review be held by video call?
The text does not impose a location, but the review must allow a genuine conversation and result in a document given to the employee. A video call can work, provided these requirements are met.