5 million employees now benefit from partial unemployment in 470,000 companies. “Five million employees, that's one employee in four, in companies and associations. This device will save millions of jobs, "assured Muriel Pénicaud, the Minister of Labor on Saturday on BFMTV.
"It is a powerful, massive and unprecedented device," she added about the number of companies that have implemented short-time working since the start of the coronavirus crisis.
The Minister of Labor compared the situation of French workers with that of American workers: “In the United States, ten million people registered as unemployed in 15 days. This is not the case in France. This system will allow employees to keep their jobs and companies will bounce back while retaining their skills. "
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According to the Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire, this device which provides 84% of the net salary (which can be supplemented by the company) within the limit of 4.5 times the minimum wage, will moreover be "replenished" as much as necessary.
If the government had initially planned an envelope of 8.5 billion euros before revaluing it to 11 billion euros, the bill risks seriously increasing. "I prefer that we go into debt today, avoiding a shipwreck, rather than let whole sections of our economy be destroyed," he said in an interview with the JDD.
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However, companies have no interest in taking advantage of the situation. "About fifty companies were refused to set up this device, mainly those whose activity had not been impacted and who did not need it," explained Muriel Pénicaud.
In addition, the Minister of Labor recalled that companies that force their employees to work despite the establishment of short-time working, a "completely illegal" practice, would be penalized by the Labor Code and that there would be "control a posteriori ". "We have some alerts," she added. In any system, there are fraudsters… ”
According to the Ministry of Labor, it is above all it is above all small businesses that carry out the procedures for partial unemployment. 450,000 small businesses have also asked for help from the solidarity fund, making it possible to receive 1,500 euros.
42% of employees affected by partial unemployment work in establishments with less than 20 employees. Next come firms with between 50 and 249 employees (25%). In contrast, employees of large groups (more than 1,000 employees) represent only a tiny minority (5%) of the total number of requests. The sectors concerned are mainly businesses in trade, accommodation and construction.