"Many employees were scandalized," says Amanda (the first name has been changed), 29. A wind of revolt has been brewing since the start of confinement in this start-up of around thirty employees who work in the field of logistics and delivery. It's not just the Covid-19 epidemic that is crystallizing the emotion of employees, all of whom have been teleworking at home since March 16. But also the attitude of their boss who, having declared to the State all the employees to 85% in partial unemployment, will touch state aid and Pôle emploi ... while asking everyone to continue working fulltime!
"They clearly threatened us if we did not accept," says Amanda. In addition, with the epidemic, all French people order on the Internet and our delivery activity is more sustained than usual. We don't count our hours these days, ”continues the young woman, a salesperson in this small business,“ in economic difficulty ”, according to her, who also employs computer developers.
Since the start of the crisis, the partial unemployment scheme has been widened and facilitated. In the event of partial activity, the employer, who must inform the State of the decline in his economic activity, makes a request to his Direccte ( Editor's note: Regional Directorate for Business, Competition, Consumption, of work and employment) supposed to respond within 48 hours. He must then remunerate his employees at least up to 70% of their gross monthly salary. Finally, he is fully reimbursed by the State.
"To say that this money could have been used for hospitals, carers"
However. It would seem that since the start of the Covid-19 crisis, some employers have been trying to take advantage of this more extensive and more automatic government assistance. This is not without causing anger and emotion in the employees concerned. "And to think that this money that the company will receive could have been used for the community, hospitals, caregivers! "Is alarmed Amanda, who intends, with other colleagues, to denounce soon the illegal practices of her company to the Direccte.
Project manager for two years in a small Parisian architecture firm, Solange (the first name has been changed), a young thirties, also finds himself in this situation. She has been working for about six hours a day for ten days after being placed on short-time work by her employer. “The site that I was following, as an architect, was stopped. There is an incompressible job that I have to carry out to secure the premises and that the construction site stops in good conditions ", she maintains, not really revolted but especially worried about the economic situation of her company, which is" already a lot impacted by the crisis, ”she laments.
Controls announced once the epidemic has been contained
Journalist in a general public magazine, Carine, she has been evolving for more than ten days in "the most total blur", she says. “My employer warned me by email last week that I will be laid off. But the coffee machine for talking and confiding in colleagues no longer exists and I have no precise information as to how my writing works. All I know is that I continue to work every day more than usual, and even on weekends if I don't limit myself, when my employer is supposed to receive help! ", She reports, aware, she says, that" teleworking maintains a form of opacity ".
Note that on the employer side, this type of practice which increases the bill for short-time working, which we now know will exceed the 8.5 billion euros mentioned by the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Mayor, is legally prohibited. The Minister of Labor, Muriel Pénicaud, has already announced that labor inspection controls will take place retrospectively once the epidemic is contained. "At a minimum, employers will have to reimburse the sums they have improperly received," said one of his entourage.
Partial unemployment, instructions for use
Some 220,000 companies and 2.2 million employees are already affected by the partial unemployment scheme put in place by the government until December 31, 2020. To benefit from it, an employer must apply for the partial unemployment of employees with its Direccte (regional directorate for business, competition, consumption, work and employment). Request that it must be justified by a drop in activity and / or supply difficulties. He can make this request for all - or part - of his employees, all - or part - of his sites - and can also only reduce the number of weekly hours worked, thus continuing his activity to a minimum.
Granted for a maximum of six months, possibly renewable, “files are processed within 48 hours. The absence of a response from the Direccte implies automatic acceptance ”, assures the Ministry of Labor. In companies with more than 50 employees, the employer must obtain the prior agreement of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE). At the end of the month, the employer compensates the non-working hours up to 70% of the gross salary of his employee (and 84% of his net, up to 4.5 times the minimum wage). Exempt from payroll taxes, the amount of non-working hours will then be reimbursed by the State.
