Covid-19 25 ministerial orders promulgated

25 ministerial orders promulgated


Within the framework of the French Health Emergency Act of 23 March 2020 (No. 2020-290) promulgated in the Official Gazette yesterday, 25 ministerial orders were passed today in the Council of Ministers. Three of them concern employment law measures.

You will find our comments about them below. For the sake of clarity, the sections in italics relate to clarifications made by the government to the Act of 23 March 2020.

 

  1. Days of paid leave and rest days, working hours
  • Paid leave

The employer will be allowed, within the framework of an industry-wide or company agreement, to impose the dates of paid leaves, up to 6 working days, by observing a notice period of one clear day.

Days of leave already taken must be taken on the dates defined, but the employer may change the date, again up to 6 working days, subject to a notice period of one clear day.

The collective or industry-wide agreement that will be entered into may also provide for the possibility for the employer to split paid leave without the consent of the employees, and to define different holiday dates for married employees or those living under a civil union working in the same company.

The period of imposed or modified paid leave may not extend beyond 31 December 2020.

  • TOIL days/compensatory time off and rest days

It is also possible to impose or modify, without a collective agreement, the TOIL/compensatory time off days, rest days provided for in package agreements and rest days assigned to a Time Savings Account, subject to one clear day’s notice.

The applicable period for rest days imposed or modified may not extend beyond 31 December 2020 and the number of rest days imposed in accordance with this provision may not exceed 10.

  • Derogation provisions for working hours

Firms in sectors “particularly necessary for national security or continuity of economic and social life”, sectors which will be determined by decree, may, after informing the CSE (company employment and economic committee) and the Direccte (Regional Directorate for companies, competition, consumer affairs, labour and employment):

  • Set the daily working time at 12 hours (editor’s note: versus 10 hours currently);
  • Increase the length of night work to 12 hours a day (editor’s note: versus 8 hours currently)
  • Reduce the daily rest period to 9 consecutive hours (editor’s note: versus 11 hours currently)
  • Increase the working week to 60 hours (editor’s note: versus 48 hours currently) and to 48 hours per week on average over a period of 12 consecutive weeks (editor’s note: versus 44 hours currently);
  • Increase the length of night work, calculated over a period of 12 consecutive weeks, to 44 hours (editor’s note: versus 40 hours currently);

These derogation measures will cease to have effect on 31 December 2020.

 

  1. Replacement income

Job seekers whose rights to compensation under an unemployment insurance scheme have been exhausted since 12 March 2020 or whose rights will be exhausted by 31 July 2020 will benefit from an extension of coverage for a period to be determined by decree.

 

  1. Payment of amounts under profit-sharing and incentive agreements for 2019

Amounts due under these agreements, which must in principle be paid “before the first day of the sixth month following the end” of the financial year to which they relate, may be paid not before 1 June 2020, but 31 December 2020 at the latest. This provision applies to companies with an accounting year based on the calendar year.

 

Further ministerial orders or decrees are to be issued in the following days.

 

Thierry Cheymol 

Employment law team

Lmt Avocats