News

2 November 2020

Reconfiguration of France on 31 October 2020 : Employers, what you need to know to manage your employees well

Following the reconfiguration and closure of non-essential shops and public buildings, it is appropriate to take stock again at this unprecedented time. 
 
A National Protocol to ensure the health and safety of employees in the workplace in the face of the covid-19 epidemic of 31 August 2020 has been updated to 29 October 2020.
 
In accordance with the provisions of the Labour Code on the protection of employee health, the employer is responsible for the safety and health of his employees. 
 
Also, the Protocol contains rules that are valid for all sectors, such as the management of flows within the company, teleworking, personal protective equipment (wearing a mask is mandatory), screening, and cleaning and disinfection of premises.
 
As part of the occupational risk prevention weighing on the employer, the Protocol gives priority to social dialogue.
 
The association of staff and trade union representatives is intended to facilitate the implementation of these measures, taking into account the reality of its activity, its geographical situation and the epidemiological situation, and the tasks entrusted to each. It also makes it possible to anticipate the concrete difficulties associated with their implementation. 
 
Employees are well informed through the transmission of circulars or memos to the economic and social committee or the inclusion of adopted measures in the internal regulations. 
 
In addition, in order to ensure sound and transparent communication between the head of the company and his or her employees, a Covid-19 referent is appointed. In small companies, this person may be the manager. He or she ensures that the measures defined are implemented and that employees are informed. 
 
Very important: in order to cope with these new measures changing the working environment and the way of working, companies can rely on the occupational health services, as part of their role in advising and supporting employers and employees and their representatives.
 
Some essential points
 

• Teleworking : 

 
In all companies, employees and self-employed persons whose activities can be carried out at a distance must telework.
Indeed, telework is widespread and should be favoured by employers whenever possible. However, working on the company's premises remains possible, under certain conditions. 
 

•  1^er case: a worker who can do all his tasks at home must do so 5 days out of 5,
•  2^ème case: workers who cannot perform all their tasks remotely can travel part of the time to their workplace, but the employer must consolidate their activity to avoid travel flows,
• 3^ème In some cases, certain jobs cannot be carried out remotely (employees of businesses that remain open, site managers and construction workers, farmers, home workers, etc.). The activity must continue and presence on site is authorised, in strict compliance with health regulations.

 
Employers are required to arrange arrival and departure times to limit the number of people arriving and leaving at peak times.
 

• Other measure on telework :

 
Workers at risk of severe forms and home-sharers of persons at risk of severe forms who cannot telework or be adequately protected in the course of their work, may consult their GP or occupational physician to obtain a declaration of absence from work and a certificate of isolation.
 

• What to do if an employee is positive or has symptoms of COVID19 :

  
In order to combat the spread of the pandemic more effectively, the rapid identification and isolation of at-risk contact cases is a key issue.
 
Any employee who tests positive or shows symptoms of COVID19 should consult their doctor and isolate themselves. They should also notify their employer, who should ask their employees to isolate themselves if they have had close contact with the employee in question.
 
For employees contacted by the Assurance Maladie as part of the "contact tracing" carried out to stop the chains of transmission of the virus and halt the epidemic, a specific work stoppage may be necessary. 
 
Also, in order to allow people identified as contact cases at risk to isolate themselves for the necessary time, particularly when they cannot telework, the Assurance Maladie has opened a new teleservice since Saturday 3 October: this service is accessible on the website declare.ameli.fr allows them to request a work stoppage online.
 
After applying on declare.ameli.frIf the insured person has been in contact with a person who has tested positive for the coronavirus, he or she will be able to benefit from a 7-day break starting from the date on which the Health Insurance contacted him or her to isolate himself or herself and to carry out a test.
 For insured persons who have already spontaneously isolated themselves before this date, the cessation may be retroactive up to a maximum of 4 days.
 
If the results of the test are not known at the end of the initial break, the insured person may request an extension of the break for up to 7 additional days.
 
In the event of a positive test and taking into account the employee's state of health, the employee should contact his or her doctor.
 
Before paying daily allowances, the Assurance Maladie will check that the insured person is known as a contact case at risk. If this is the case, a certificate of isolation, which can be presented to the employer, will be sent to the insured person as a derogatory work stoppage.