Entreprise
Electronic signature for HR: the guide
Contracts, amendments, employment promises, company agreements: how HR is industrializing electronic signatures.
7 min
Human Resources
Electronic signature for HR and personnel departments
Digitise employment contracts, amendments, job offers, mutual termination agreements and collective bargaining agreements. Certyneo integrates with your HRIS (Lucca, PayFit, Workday) and ensures compliance with Article L1221-1 of the French Labour Code, the eIDAS regulation and the GDPR. Ten-year archiving included, automatic audit trail.
HR use cases
Every signature across the employee lifecycle, from the initial job offer to a mutual termination agreement, can be digitised with Certyneo. Here are the seven most common cases among our HR customers.
Employment contract (CDI, CDD)
Permanent contracts, fixed-term contracts, apprenticeship or professionalisation contracts: send the contract signed by the employer to the candidate, who signs in two minutes from their phone. Compliant with Article L1221-1 of the French Labour Code.
Contract amendment
Role change, pay rise, switch to part-time, remote work: digitise the entire amendment cycle with the employee and employer signing in sequence.
Job offer letter
Legally secure the job offer (unilateral or bilateral) before the contract itself is signed. Advanced electronic signatures (AES) formally identify the candidate.
Mutual termination agreement
Termination agreement signed remotely by both parties, with the 15-day withdrawal period honoured and an automatic audit trail ready for filing with the Dreets.
Collective bargaining agreement
Collective agreements signed by representative trade unions: send, collect signatures in parallel or in sequence and archive for ten years.
NDAs & confidentiality commitments
Non-disclosure agreements for new hires, interns and contractors. A free template is available in our library.
Internship agreement
Tripartite agreement (company, school, intern): configurable signing order, automatic reminders and DUE registration at the end of the cycle.
Why HR teams choose Certyneo
Six concrete reasons why HR departments choose Certyneo for their electronic signatures.
Onboarding in 24 hours
Between the job offer and the signed contract, expect a few hours rather than several days of postal back-and-forth. The candidate signs on their phone, with no printer required.
Labour Code compliance
Electronic signatures on employment contracts have been recognised since the French Court of Cassation ruling of 7 October 2015. Our advanced signatures (AES) comply with eIDAS and Article 1367 of the French Civil Code.
Ten-year archiving included
All HR contracts are archived for ten years with a timestamped audit trail embedded in the PDF. This matches the retention obligations for social documents (DSN, workplace accident records).
Multi-signer workflows
Employer, HR, manager, employee: set the signing order in sequence or in parallel. Automatic reminders at D+1, D+3 and D+7, configurable per envelope.
Reusable templates
Create your contract templates (permanent, fixed-term, internship) with dynamic fields (name, salary, date) and generate documents in bulk from your HRIS export.
Polished candidate experience
Signer journey available in multiple languages, WCAG AA accessible, understated emails with no invasive tracking. Your employer brand is preserved.
HRIS integrations
Certyneo connects to your HRIS through a REST API, webhooks and Zapier/Make connectors. The three integrations most requested by our HR customers are listed below — others are available on request.
Lucca
Leading French HRIS for SMBs: export your contracts through the Lucca API then trigger the send from Certyneo, or use our Zapier connector.
PayFit
Payroll and onboarding: synchronisation through our REST API to push signed contracts straight into the employee record.
Workday
Enterprise HRIS: integration through Make or Zapier for complex onboarding workflows (multiple signatures, hierarchical approvals).
Need a custom integration? Contact our team — the Certyneo API is publicly documented at our API documentation.
Labour Code, eIDAS and GDPR compliance
Digitising HR documents is governed by several statutes. Certyneo covers the full legal framework, both French and European.
Labour Code — Article L1221-1
The employment contract is concluded in whatever form the parties choose. Electronic signatures are therefore fully admissible, provided they guarantee signer identification and document integrity — which advanced signatures (AES) deliver.
Civil Code — Article 1367
General recognition of electronic signatures as equivalent to handwritten signatures, provided they rely on a reliable identification process guaranteeing the link with the act.
eIDAS Regulation (EU) 910/2014
Certyneo HR signatures rely on the advanced level (AES): a unique link with the signer, identification through dual-channel OTP (email + SMS) and detection of any subsequent modification of the document.
GDPR & social retention
Retention periods aligned with social obligations: five years (contract) or ten years (DUE, workplace accidents, personnel registers). A standard DPA is available at signup and the processing register is kept up to date.
Frequently asked questions from HR teams
Is an electronically signed employment contract legal in France?
Yes, with no restriction. Article L1221-1 of the French Labour Code leaves the parties free to choose the form of the contract. The Court of Cassation confirmed the validity of electronic signatures on employment contracts (Cass. soc., 7 October 2015). Advanced signatures (AES) are recommended to guarantee strong identification of the employee.
Which signature level should I use for an employment contract?
The advanced signature (AES) is the recommended standard. It includes signer identification (SMS + email OTP), a unique link with the signed document and detection of any subsequent modification. A simple signature is enough for internal documents with no contractual stake (internal memos, acknowledgements of receipt).
How do we handle the withdrawal period for a mutual termination agreement?
Certyneo timestamps precisely the date on which the agreement is signed by both parties. The 15 calendar-day withdrawal period starts from that date and you can export the timestamped proof for filing with the Dreets. No manual handling is required.
Can we integrate Certyneo with our HRIS (Lucca, PayFit, Workday)?
Yes. Certyneo exposes a full REST API, a webhook for each event (envelope signed, declined, expired) and Zapier and Make connectors covering more than 4,000 third-party applications, including the main HRIS platforms. The integrations team can also support a bespoke rollout.
How long are signed contracts retained?
Our plans include ten-year archiving by default, which matches the strictest social retention periods (personnel registers, workplace accident files). Contracts remain downloadable at any time from your dashboard, with an audit trail embedded in the PDF.
Do candidates need to create a Certyneo account to sign?
No. The signer receives a secure link by email and signs directly from their browser, with no install and no account creation. For advanced signatures, they enter an OTP code received by SMS to confirm their identity.
Is the electronic signature enforceable in an employment tribunal dispute?
Yes. The probative value of an advanced signature is recognised by French and European case law. In the event of a dispute, you provide the signed PDF together with the audit trail (timestamp, IP, approximate geolocation, OTP validation), which forms solid corroborating evidence for the industrial tribunal.
Can we sign multiple contracts in bulk from an HRIS export?
Yes. The "templates" feature lets you create a contract template with dynamic fields (name, salary, role, start date). You then import a CSV from your HRIS and Certyneo generates and sends every envelope in bulk within seconds.