Now is the time for resourcefulness and the D system. But if the confinement linked to the spread of the Coronavirus changes the habits and behaviors of French people in their daily life, the rules concerning employees are not flexible at will. Labor law regulates industrial relations and derogations remain authorized, insofar as they do not contravene the rights of employees. Obviously, some employers – through ignorance or bad faith – seem to want to circumvent the law, in the name of the current health crisis. Not everything is allowed!
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Decree the dates of paid holidays
The employer cannot compel an employee to take paid leave in an emergency. On the other hand, if the dates have already been set, taking into account "exceptional circumstances", the employer can modify and move them according to his convenience and the workload. The Ministry of Labor specifies that this modification can be done unilaterally – without the employee's approval -, without being obliged to respect the one-month deadline to warn him of the change.
Working during partial unemployment
If teleworking is the rule fixed by the Ministry of Labor – as soon as employment is eligible, that the employee can connect to the Internet – there are however two bans, obvious, certainly, but better to remember them. In no case may an employee placed on partial unemployment by his employer or on a work stoppage to babysit the children can be forced to work, at his usual place or at a distance. "It is completely illegal and it will be heavily punished," warns the Minister of Labor.
Deny telework to eligible employees
If the employee expressly requests to telework, as soon as his function and his equipment allow him to exercise his trade from his home, the employer does not have the right to refuse him. Muriel Pénicaud, the Minister of Labor, said it was an "automatic right" for the employee.
Oppose employees' right of withdrawal
Because they fear for their health or that the conditions for exercising their profession in complete safety are not respected, employees can exercise their right of withdrawal. Several employees working in banks, warehouses, construction sites, delivery companies in particular report pressure. At Amazon in particular, employees explain having been pressured with the threat of not being paid if they activated their right of withdrawal. A delicate situation as much the appreciation of this right is carried out on a case by case specifies the ministry for the economy. As for the CFDT, it recalls that the employee is exposed to deduction from wages, disciplinary sanction or even dismissal if the right is exercised without valid legal reasons (health and safety). The employer, for his part, faces criminal sanctions. In the event of disputes, the courts would have to decide.
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