The fear around the spread of the coronavirus is growing and the corporate world is trying to adapt as well as possible. While the epidemic exceeded Wednesday the bar of 257 cases on French territory, and caused 4 deaths, the government presented on Friday a set of measures intended to inform workers. The Minister of Labor, Muriel Pénicaud, called on companies to " adapt working conditions, by telework or on work stoppage ", particularly in the affected areas of France. Employers can now set up teleworking without the employee's consent. A measure in particular included in the Labor Code: " In exceptional circumstances, in particular the threat of an epidemic, or in the event of force majeure, the implementation of telework can be considered as a workstation arrangement made necessary for to allow the continuity of the activity of the company and to guarantee the protection of the employees ”, details article L1222-11.
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Nearly 600 employees of the Merck group in Molsheim (Bas-Rhin) currently practice teleworking at least until the end of the week, following the contamination of an employee by Covid-19, announced the pharmaceutical group . " As a precaution, " the management of the Molsheim site " asked all employees whose position allows, to work from their home until further notice, " said a statement. This measure affects around a third of the workforce and concerns people working in administrative and support functions and " already used to working in telework ". On the other hand, employees in the production activities of different microbiology devices, water filtration systems or control equipment for the pharmaceutical and food industries continue to work on the site.
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More preventively, companies that do not have contaminated people on their teams, however, take precautionary measures. This is the case with Crédit Lyonnais. “ We ask our employees who return from a risk area to respect a quarantine period of fourteen days and to practice teleworking. If this is not possible, a work stoppage is requested. In addition, we asked to postpone all the gatherings of more than 100 employees and to give priority to remote working tools as much as possible, like Skype for meeting, for example, ”details Le Figaro. banking establishment. The use of telework in companies in France does not seem massive at the moment.
" In view of the health situation, there should be some openness on the part of companies "
If the employer can impose telework on its employees, the reverse is not verified. “ The Labor Code stipulates that the employer can decide whether or not to introduce telework. For its part, the employee can offer to telecommute but there is no article to automatically accept such a request. However, in view of the health situation, there should be some openness on the part of companies , ”explains to Le Figaro Maître David Jonin, lawyer associated with the firm Gide Loyrette Nouel and specialist in labor law. However, the ordinances of 2017 following the reform of the Labor Code have strengthened the place of the employee. “ Before, someone who wanted to telecommute asked his employer who could refuse without reason. Today the law provides that telework is a right: someone can therefore request telework and if the employer refuses he must justify his refusal. This is a game-changer , ”explains Figaro Benoit Serre, vice-president of the National Association of HRDs.
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With the strikes provoked by the movement against pension reform, companies have already experienced a first round of massive deployment of telework. " The strike prepared the companies and allowed them to organize, " decrypts Benoit Serre. " If phase three of the Coronavirus is triggered, there is a good chance that telework will become widespread in the weeks to come. And the last strikes have had the effect of preparing a good number of companies, ”analyzes David Jonin.
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Beyond France, the tech giants Twitter and Google have asked their employees to telecommute in order to limit the spread of the coronavirus, the epidemic of which has already infected more than 92,000 people around the world. " We strongly encourage all of our employees around the world to work from home if they can, " said Twitter human resources manager Jennifer Christie in a statement posted on the company's blog. For its part, Google asked Tuesday as a precaution to employees of its European headquarters in Dublin to work from home because one of them had flu symptoms. However, they are expected to return to their offices on Wednesday.
