New impact of the Covid-19 crisis. The government is preparing to touch on a certain number of taboo subjects for employees: vacations, days of rest, 35 hours ... Article 7 of the health emergency bill to deal with the epidemic of Covid-19 - examined in the Parliament this Saturday and probably until Sunday evening - indeed includes measures which, in normal times, would raise the anger of the employees. It is planned to put in brackets a section of labor law, collective agreements and conventions to give control to employers on several rules relating to the organization of employees' time.
Thus, by ordinances, the executive could allow companies to unilaterally set part of the paid vacation dates during the confinement period. According to the Labor Code, currently, without a collective agreement, the employer cannot "change the order and departure dates less than a month before the scheduled date".
Tomorrow, it will be possible for the employer to question the week you have asked, to force you to shift it or, on the contrary, to ask you to take additional days off during the crisis. "Our intention in the law is to reduce this delay, so that we can adapt to the current situation," said government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye on BFMTV and RMC.
On the evening of March 20 in committee, the deputies validated an amendment drawn up by the senators and which, "in the interests of proportionality", limits to six working days "the duration of paid holidays which may be imposed by the employer without observing notice periods ”.
No deadline
Another flexibility brought by the government, the authorization also makes it possible “to modify the conditions of acquisition of paid vacation”. The possibility of reducing the number of paid holidays acquired per month down to 2.5 today could thus be considered. Beyond holidays, article 7 of this bill also empowers "any employer to impose or modify unilaterally days of reduction in working hours and days of rest allocated to the employee's time savings account". The public service will be equally affected.
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It is “a reasonable effort” asked of the employees, estimates the entourage of Muriel Pénicaud. Because seen from the Ministry of Labor it is a question of putting in place "an exceptional plan to save jobs and avoid layoffs". In companies impacted by the crisis, the measure relating to leave "would be financially favorable to employees, who do not suffer loss of remuneration when they are on leave, unlike partial activity", comments Alain Milon, Chairman (LR) of the Senate Social Affairs Committee.
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But, he adds, "these derogations should not allow companies to unilaterally reclassify as paid leave a period during which employees are forced to stay at home, if necessary to babysit their children, which cannot be assimilated to holidays ".
The risk is there, however: what will be the framework for these measures which may constitute windfall effects for certain employers and for how long will this exceptional regime be effective? The unions - also affected by confinement - are already alarmed by the decline in these social gains which has, for the time being, no deadline. The Government explained orally that none of the provisions of Article 7 "are intended to be lasting". A vagueness that is sure to be controversial.
