The principle: any contract modification must be formalized in a written amendment
The collective agreement sets a simple rule in its common framework: the employment contract is concluded in writing, and any subsequent modification must be formalized in a written amendment. Verbal agreements, text messages, or simple emails are not sufficient to validly modify the contract terms.
Concretely, a written amendment is required as soon as a key element of the contract changes:
- change in working hours or weekly schedule,
- new usual work location,
- addition or modification of tasks assigned to the employee,
- any salary adjustment linked to a change in working conditions.
Like the initial contract, the amendment must be drawn up in two copies, dated, signed, and initialed by both parties, each keeping one copy.
The exception: voluntary salary increase without changes to working conditions
There is a useful nuance, often overlooked: a voluntary salary increase that does not come with any change to working conditions (same hours, same location, same tasks) does not necessarily require a formal amendment. This is an important difference from the common belief that any contract change, including a simple salary adjustment, would always require an amendment.
However, as soon as another contract element changes alongside the salary, or the change concerns something other than an increase, the written amendment becomes the rule again.
Why this formalism matters in practice
The absence of a written amendment does not make the employment relationship illegal, but it deprives both parties of a document that can be used as evidence in case of disagreement. This is particularly sensitive in cases involving:
- hours due, when the employee disputes (or claims) a change in schedule that was never formalized;
- an employee's refusal to perform a task or work at a new location not included in the initial contract, a refusal that cannot then be held against them;
- informal changes that one party may have considered temporary while the other saw them as permanent.
A dated and signed amendment clearly establishes, at a given moment, what was agreed between the household and the employee.
What Kiwisio brings in practice
- An amendment workflow linked to the original contract, with clear traceability of the history of modifications (hours, location, tasks) rather than scattered exchanges via text messages or emails.
- The assistant, integrated into Kiwisio, to check whether a given modification requires a written amendment before implementing it.
- Digital signature of the amendment, just like the initial contract, with the household and the caregiver signing directly via Kiwisio, eliminating the need for paper exchanges.
The goal is not to multiply unnecessary formalities, but to secure changes that truly matter, without leaving the employment relationship dependent on oral agreements that are difficult to prove.