Electronic signature for HR and personnel services
Digitise employment contracts, amendments, job offers, resignation agreements and company accords. Certyneo integrates with your HRIS (Lucca, PayFit, Workday, Cegid, etc.) via Zapier, Make or webhooks and ensures compliance with Article L1221-1 of the French Labour Code, the eIDAS regulation and GDPR. 10-year archival included, automatic audit trail.
HR use cases
Every signature throughout the employee lifecycle, from job offer to termination agreement, can be digitised with Certyneo. Here are the seven most common use cases amongst our HR customers.
Employment contract (permanent, fixed-term)
Permanent, fixed-term, apprenticeship or professional development contracts: send the contract signed by the employer to the candidate, who signs in 2 minutes from their phone. Compliant with Article L1221-1 of the French Labour Code.
Contract amendment
Change of position, pay rise, shift to part-time, remote work: digitise the entire amendment cycle with signatures from both employee and employer in sequence.
Job offer
Legally secure the job offer (unilateral or bilateral) before contract signature. Advanced electronic signature (AES) allows you to formally identify the candidate.
Termination by mutual agreement
Termination agreement signed remotely by both parties, with the 15-day cooling-off period respected and automatic audit trail for submission to the labour authority.
Company agreement
Collective agreements signed by representative trade unions: send, collect signatures in parallel or sequence and archive for 10 years.
NDA & confidentiality agreement
Non-disclosure agreement for new hires, interns, contractors. Free template available in our library.
Internship agreement
Tripartite agreement (employer, educational institution, intern): configurable signature order, automatic reminders, internship end report integrated at the end of the cycle.
Why Certyneo for HR
Six concrete reasons why HR departments choose Certyneo for their electronic signatures.
Onboarding in 24 hours
Between job offer and contract signature, expect a few hours rather than several days of postal back-and-forth. The candidate signs from their phone, no printer needed.
Labour Code compliance
Electronic signature of an employment contract has been recognised since the Court of Cassation ruling of 7 October 2015. Our advanced signatures (AES) comply with eIDAS and article 1367 of the Civil Code.
10-year archival included
All HR contracts are archived for 10 years with timestamped audit trail embedded in the PDF. The duration matches legal record retention requirements for employment documentation (DSN, occupational injury/disease).
Multi-signer workflows
Employer, HR, manager, employee: configure signing order in sequence or in parallel. Automatic reminders at day+1, day+3, day+7, customisable per submission.
Reusable templates
Create your contract templates (permanent, fixed-term, internship) with dynamic fields (name, salary, date) and generate documents in bulk from your HR system export.
Polished candidate experience
Signing journey in French, WCAG AA accessible, clean emails without invasive tracking. Your employer brand image is respected.
HR system integrations
Certyneo connects to your HR system via REST API, webhooks and Zapier/Make connectors. No native connectors are yet certified — all scenarios below work via Zapier, Make or our webhooks. A native connector on your HR system? Contact us to explore a partnership.
Lucca
Common French HR systems in the SME market: link Certyneo to your HR system via Zapier or Make (triggers for "envelope signed" and "document sent"), or via our REST API for a custom pipeline. No native connector published to date.
PayFit
Enterprise HR systems: integration via Make or Zapier for complex onboarding workflows (multiple signatures, hierarchical approvals). For a native connector, our integrations team can explore a partnership based on your volume.
Other HR systems & tools
HRIS tools, ATS and payroll (BambooHR, HubSpot, Personio, etc.): use our real-time webhooks and Zapier/Make connectors, which cover most third-party applications. REST API documented on /docs.
Need a custom integration? Contact our team — the Certyneo API is publicly documented on our API documentation.
Labour Code, eIDAS and GDPR compliance
Dematerialisation of HR documents is governed by several legal frameworks. Certyneo covers the entire French and European legal landscape.
Labour Code — Article L1221-1
An employment contract is concluded in the form agreed by the parties. Electronic signature is therefore perfectly admissible, provided it guarantees the identification of the signer and the integrity of the document — which advanced signature (AES) ensures.
Civil Code — Article 1367
General recognition of electronic signature as equivalent to handwritten signature provided it uses a reliable identification process guaranteeing its link to the document.
eIDAS Regulation (EU) No 910/2014
Certyneo HR signatures are based on the advanced level (AES): unique link with the signatory, identification via dual-channel OTP (email + SMS), detection of any subsequent document modification.
GDPR & social retention
Retention periods aligned with social obligations: 5 years (contract) or 10 years (staff register, work accident/occupational disease records, personnel registers). Standard DPA available at signup, processing register kept up to date.
Frequently asked questions from HR teams
Is electronic signature of an employment contract legal in France?
Yes, without restriction. Article L1221-1 of the Labour Code leaves parties free to choose the form of the contract. The Court of Cassation has confirmed the validity of electronic signature for employment contracts (Cass. soc., 7 October 2015). Advanced signature (AES) is recommended to guarantee strong identification of the employee.
Which signature level should I choose for an employment contract?
Advanced signature (AES) is the recommended standard. It includes signer identification (OTP SMS + email), a unique link to the signed document, and detection of any subsequent modification. Simple signature is sufficient for internal documents without contractual stakes (memo, receipt of acknowledgement).
How do I manage the withdrawal period for a severance agreement?
Certyneo precisely timestamps the signature date of the agreement by both parties. The 15-calendar-day withdrawal period runs from this date and you can export the timestamped proof for filing with the Dreets. No manual manipulation is necessary.
Can I integrate Certyneo with our HR system (Lucca, PayFit, Workday, Cegid…)?
Yes, via Zapier, Make or our webhooks — there is no native Certyneo connector published on these HR systems yet. Certyneo exposes a complete REST API, a webhook for each event (envelope signed, refused, expired) and Zapier and Make connectors that cover over 4000 third-party applications, including most HR systems on the market. A native connector on your HR system? Contact our integrations team to explore a partnership.
How long are signed contracts retained?
Our plans include 10-year archiving by default, which meets the strictest social retention periods (personnel registers, work accident/occupational disease documents). Contracts remain downloadable at any time from your dashboard, with audit trail embedded in the PDF.
Do candidates need to create a Certyneo account to sign?
No. The signatory receives a secure link by email and signs directly from their browser, with no installation or account creation required. For advanced signatures, they enter an OTP code received by SMS to confirm their identity.
Is electronic signature enforceable in case of employment tribunal dispute?
Yes. The probative value of advanced signature is recognised by French and European case law. In case of dispute, you produce the signed PDF along with the audit trail (timestamp, IP, approximate geolocation, OTP validation), which constitutes solid evidence for the employment tribunal.
Can I sign multiple contracts in bulk from an HR system export?
Yes. The "templates" feature lets you create a contract template with dynamic fields (name, salary, position, start date). You then import a CSV from your HR system and Certyneo generates and sends all envelopes in bulk in seconds.