Your manager sends a document to the entire team to remind them of the office opening hours. The following month, senior management issues a text explaining how to implement a new regulation on remote work. Both resemble internal memos, but they do not serve the same purpose at all. Knowing how to distinguish between a memo and a circular helps avoid many misunderstandings in the daily management of a company.
The power of the department head: legal basis of the memo
Before comparing the two documents, a detour through their legal origin helps to understand why they do not have the same scope. The memo derives its legitimacy from the internal organizational power recognized to every department head.
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This power is based on an old case law from the Council of State, the Jamart ruling of 1936, which is still applied today. A manager can organize the operation of their department without a legal text expressly authorizing them to do so. In practical terms, this means that a branch director can write a memo to set rules for lunch breaks or fire safety instructions without seeking approval from a higher authority.
The circular, on the other hand, creates nothing. It comes after a text (law, decree, regulation) to explain its meaning to the agents or employees responsible for implementing it. Its author is generally a higher-ranking authority: a minister, a general director, a president of a local authority. To understand the difference between a memo and a circular, this criterion of the origin of power is the most reliable.
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Memo in the company: a tool for daily work organization
You may have noticed that after a move or a software change, a document circulates to explain the new practical rules? This is a memo. Its scope is strictly internal, and its recipients are the employees or agents of a specific department.
What the memo can contain
- Organizational instructions: modified hours, office assignments, leave approval process. The goal is to regulate the concrete functioning of work.
- Reminders of internal rules: wearing protective equipment, visitor reception procedures, use of computer equipment.
- Timely information: exceptional closure, scheduled technical intervention, arrival of a new colleague.
The memo must never create rights or obligations for individuals outside the company or the department. If a manager tries to impose rules on users or clients through a simple memo, the document has no regulatory value. It would require an act from another level (order, internal regulation submitted to employee representative bodies).
The writing remains direct. The sender identifies themselves, indicates the date, specifies the recipients, and formulates clear instructions. There is no need to reference a legal article or to justify the legal basis at length.
Company circular: interpreting a text to harmonize practices
The circular operates in a different context. For example: a new collective agreement modifies the rules for calculating overtime. The human resources department then drafts a circular to explain to managers how to apply this change uniformly across all establishments.
The circular interprets a superior text without altering its content. It clarifies, details, and provides application examples. Its objective is to harmonize practices among several departments or sites, where each could interpret the source text differently.
Mandatory or indicative circular: a distinction that changes everything
In administrative law, a circular that merely recalls or explains the existing rule is termed “interpretative.” It cannot be challenged before a judge. In contrast, a circular that adds new obligations becomes mandatory and may be subject to appeal.
In a company, the logic is comparable. If the HR circular merely explains how to calculate overtime according to the new agreement, it remains within its role. If it adds a condition not provided for by the original text, it exceeds its scope. Employees or their representatives could contest it.
Choosing between a memo and a circular: practical criteria for internal communication
Why does this choice matter? Because using the wrong medium muddles the message and can undermine its validity. Here are the criteria that guide the decision.
- Origin of the content: does the document organize work internally without reference to an external text? Memo. Does it explain how to apply a law, decree, or agreement? Circular.
- Scope of the recipients: the memo targets a department, a site, or a specific group of employees. The circular addresses all individuals concerned by the text it interprets, sometimes across multiple establishments.
- Duration of validity: the memo is often temporary (an event, a reorganization). The circular remains valid as long as the text it comments on is not modified.
- Hierarchical level of the sender: a department head or manager can sign a memo. The circular generally comes from a central management or an authority authorized to interpret the reference text.
In case of doubt, the question to ask is simple: does this document create a local operating rule, or does it explain a rule that already exists in a superior text? The answer indicates the correct medium.
A poorly qualified document can be requalified by a judge or contested by employee representatives. Correctly naming the medium protects both the sender and the recipients. Rigor in choosing the format for internal communication is not an administrative detail; it is a guarantee of clarity for all staff.