The pace is accelerating and it is not about to slow down ... After a count of 400 companies on Thursday, then 900 on Sunday, it is now 3600 companies which have carried out a partial activity request approach with the decentralized services of the Ministry of Labor, announced Thursday morning Muriel Pénicaud on LCI. “Wednesday evening, this represented 60,000 employees. This means that without this partial activity arrangement, 60,000 employees would have received a dismissal letter, ”she revealed. And to admit: "we already know that it will be much more" in the coming weeks.
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“We will make a massive job support plan, we want to protect workers during this period and preserve jobs. Clearly, I have no budget limit, we will do what is necessary, ”said Muriel Pénicaud. For the time being, the potential cost of this partial start-up - which allows companies to maintain employment - is already around 180 million euros. From the start of the coronavirus crisis, Muriel Pénicaud asked his services to manage the requests that reach them as quickly as possible. Concretely, it is enough for the companies concerned to carry out an online process on the ministry's websites. Previously, requests were studied within 15 days, they are now studied within 48 hours. "This is true for a company from an employee to the largest French groups," said the minister.
Consequently, employees placed on technical unemployment receive from their employer an hourly allowance equal to 70% of their gross salary per hour worked, or approximately 84% of the net salary. To finance this wage maintenance, employers have so far received an allowance paid by the State and the body managing the unemployment insurance scheme, Unédic, ranging from 7.23 euros to 7.74 euros per hour depending on the size of the business. In view of the impact of the coronavirus, this hourly "bonus" was increased, Monday after a meeting with economic players in Bercy, to 8.03 euros for companies with less than 250 employees. We reimburse up to the minimum wage, we are looking at whether this reimbursement package can go beyond the minimum wage, ”said Muriel Pénicaud.
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The Minister also recalled that "any business can request by a simple email the postponement of its payments of social and tax charges" and the appointment of a mediator on credit between banks and small businesses. After the emergency measures, "there will have to be a recovery plan" for the economy to "rebuild capacity," she also said.
