France's emergency employment law to face the COVID-19 epidemic

We are facing an unprecedented health situation in France and exceptional measures announced by the government are evolving every day.

A draft emergency law to face the COVID-19 epidemic has been adopted by the French parliament over the weekend. The aim of the law is to deal with the economic, financial and social consequences of this epidemic and the related measures taken to limit its propagation.

This project will authorise the government to decide the state of health emergency and to take numerous measures in the areas impacted by the epidemic and namely employment law.

The law gives a framework and its provisions are therefore quite general and set the areas where the government will be able to take ordinances giving for each area the applicable concrete measures.

The government is therefore authorised to take by ordinances within three months from the publication of this law, any measure that will enter into force, if necessary with a retroactive effect from 12 March 2010, in the following areas:

Partial Activity: Facilitating and reinforcing the use of the partial activity for all businesses regardless of their size in order to limit terminations of employment contracts and reduce the effects of the decrease in activity namely by:

• Adapting, on a temporary basis, the social security regime to the compensation paid in this context,
• Extending this system to new categories of beneficiaries,
• Reducing, for employees, the amount borne by the employer,
• Adapting the modalities of its implementation,
• Fostering a better articulation with professional training and taking better account of part time employees.

Currently, and despite strong rumours circulating, no prohibition of dismissal is provided. The system is an incentive to continue employment and activity in facilitating the use of partial activity.

• Sick leave: adapting the conditions and modalities of granting of the complementary indemnity ( maintaining of salary) provided in case of sick leave;
• Annual leave/Paid holidays : allowing by company or industry-wide/branch agreement to authorise the employer to impose or change the dates of taking of part of the holidays within the limit of six working days;

In practice, negotiating with unions will be difficult if not impossible during the confinement period.

• "RTT days": allowing any employer to impose or unilaterally change the dates of RTT days, of rest days for employees under a “forfait” and rest days saved on the time saving scheme (“compte épargne temps);

This modality would therefore be available immediately and could be implemented unilaterally.

• Working time (only for businesses within sectors that are particularly necessary to national security or to the continuation of economic and social life) : derogating to rules relating to working time, weekly rest and Sunday rest;
• Voluntary and Mandatory profit sharing schemes "Intéressement et participation" : changing the deadlines and modalities of payment of the sums paid in relation to Voluntary and Mandatory profit sharing schemes;
• Buying-power bonus (Prime exceptionnelle de pouvoir d’achat): changing the deadline and conditions of payment of this bonus;
• Occupational Health Services: adapting the modalities of performance of the missions of occupational health services and namely the monitoring of health of employees; and
• Employee Representatives: changing the modalities of information and consultation of employee representatives bodies and namely the Works Council (CSE) so that they can provide their opinions within the required timeframes and suspending ongoing CSE election processes.

The entry into force of these measures is conditioned by the publication of ordinances giving more details on these measures.

These ordinances should be presented during the Council of Ministers this Wednesday. We will of course keep you updated as soon as we have more details on the concrete measures taken in the above-mentioned areas.

We wish to renew our solidarity and to assure you of our availability to assist you during this crisis period.

We remain at your disposal should you have any questions.

See our Coronavirus (COVID-19) feature for more information generally on the possible legal implications of COVID-19.