Can an employer impose electronic voting in social elections?

No. Electronic voting must be decided by the Works Council or the CPPW, or by the employer in agreement with the union delegation. The employer cannot impose it alone: it takes an agreement, taken under the body's internal rules.

Is unanimity required to decide on electronic voting?

Since 2020, the law no longer systematically requires unanimity. The decision is taken according to the internal rules of the WC or CPPW. If those rules set no majority, the general rule of unanimity applies by default.

What guarantees must the electronic voting system offer?

Ballot secrecy, no influence on the voter, a secure environment, and conformity with the legal and regulatory provisions governing the election. The manufacturer must also deposit a copy of the system with the FPS Employment.

Is remote electronic voting allowed?

Yes, since 2020. The WC, the CPPW or the employer in agreement with the union delegation can decide that voters vote from their usual workstation. The technical conditions have been relaxed: the software no longer has to be installed on the company's secured network.

What has to be put in writing, and when?

The agreement on the principle of electronic voting, the scope (who votes online, on site or remotely), and the guarantees required of the system. This agreement is taken upstream, before the procedure runs, and recorded in the body's decisions.

The legal requirements for electronic voting in social elections

You are considering electronic voting for your 2028 social elections. Before you even compare vendors, you need to know what the law requires: who decides, by what majority, what guarantees the system must offer, and what has to be written down. These conditions are not optional, and they are settled upstream. Here is the framework, in the order you will need it.

1. Electronic voting is not imposed: it is agreed

First principle, often misunderstood: the employer cannot impose electronic voting alone. The decision belongs to the Works Council (WC) or the Committee for Prevention and Protection at Work (CPPW), or, where those bodies do not exist, to the employer in agreement with the union delegation.

In other words, online voting is the result of an agreement between the employer and the worker representatives. That makes sense: the voting channel bears directly on how workers exercise their right, so it cannot be decided one-sidedly.

2. The majority: no longer always unanimity since 2020

For a long time, the decision had to be taken unanimously within the WC or the CPPW. That is no longer systematically the case since the 2020 elections.

The decision is now taken according to the internal rules of the body. Two cases:

the internal rules set a majority: that rule applies;
the internal rules are silent: the general rule of unanimity applies by default.

In practice, check first what your internal rules say. Well-drafted rules can avoid the deadlock that strict unanimity imposed. Failing that, you will have to convince everyone.

3. What the system must guarantee

The law approves no product and ranks no vendor. It does, however, set requirements the system must meet:

ballot secrecy: it is impossible to link a ballot to a voter;
no influence on the voter at the moment of voting;
a secure environment against manipulation and unauthorised access;
conformity with the legal and regulatory provisions governing the election of worker representatives.

To this is added a formality on the manufacturer's side: depositing a copy of the system with the FPS Employment (Labour Law directorate). Do not over-read this deposit: the FPS receives it, but does not vouch for the content or conformity of the deposited system. The deposit is a condition of eligibility, not a quality label.

4. On site or remote: four possible modes

Depending on the agreement reached in the company, voting can happen in several ways:

on paper, on the company's premises;
electronically, on the premises (kiosks, dedicated stations);
remotely on paper, by post;
remotely by electronic means, from the usual workstation.

Remote electronic voting has been allowed since 2020, and its technical conditions have been relaxed: the voting software no longer has to be installed on the company's secured network. That is what made online voting genuinely workable for remote workers or those with no fixed station.

Nothing forces you to pick a single mode: a hybrid setup (online for some, paper or kiosk for others) is possible, as long as the agreement provides for it.

5. What to write down, and when

Electronic voting rests on an agreement, and an agreement is recorded. To be put in writing, in the decisions of the WC or the CPPW:

the principle: yes to electronic voting;
the scope: who votes online, who votes on site, who votes remotely;
the guarantees required of the system: secrecy, security, conformity, auditability;
the practical arrangements: convening voters, delivering credentials, oversight by witnesses.

Timing matters as much as content. This agreement is taken upstream, before the legal procedure runs. Deciding it late, under the pressure of the calendar, risks a deadlock at the worst moment. Deciding it early, in 2027, leaves time to compare systems and draft a solid agreement.

In short

Electronic voting in social elections is not a one-sided decision by the employer: it is decided within the WC or the CPPW, according to the internal rules (strict unanimity is no longer always required since 2020). The system must guarantee secrecy, no influence and a secure environment, and be deposited with the FPS Employment, without that deposit amounting to approval. Four modes are possible, on site or remote, and all of it is recorded in writing, upstream. This is the page to read just before contacting vendors.

To place this decision in the full timeline, read Social elections 2028: the countdown starts. And if you are preparing the WC/CPPW agreement on electronic voting and want a system that ticks all these requirements, let's talk.