Mother of two young children, her company refuses her partial unemployment and advises her to work at night

It is a revolting testimony devoid of humanity that we share The Parisian. While schools and nurseries are closed for three weeks, parents with young children must find ways to juggle work and childcare. According to the measures put in place by the government, the company or the employer of the said parent can grant him a partial activity in order to allow him to look after his children. A measure which is not compulsory, but which qualifies as a recommendation. It is obvious that mixing full-time teleworking and young children is not necessarily possible.

However, Flavie (the first names of the parents have been changed and replaced by The Parisian) faced a wall. Her employer refuses her partial activity, and advises her to be “creative” to find a solution.

Working at night or unpaid leave?

Flavie and Louis are parents of two children under two years old, Anis and Nour. Flavie is not entitled to partial activity, and Louis cannot telework. “When I asked to benefit from the partial activity, they refused, says the mother of about thirty years. They replied that no text allowed this possibility”, Says the mother. The company and human resources having decided not to help Flavie and to forget all kind of leniency, offer her almost absurd solutions.

“They advised me to be creative, to make an appointment with my general practitioner to ask him for a fictitious work stoppage. They also offered to take a leave of absence without pay, while indicating that they would condone the fact that I am teleworking flexibly, she adds. In short, that I could work at night, when my children are sleeping”, Testifies Flavie. A decision that the latter does not understand, since her boss agreed, and that she is the only one in her department to ask for it.

When the mother explains the organization she has planned, it is truly unthinkable. “That means eight meals a day, diaper changes, and things to do to keep them from getting on you when you’re in a meeting. […] I’ll take a nanny three hours in the morning to work, she says. I will resume during their nap which, in general, lasts an hour. Then, between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., when they are asleep. I will be testing this organization this week. If it is too chaotic, I will take unpaid leave ”.

A total lack of consideration

Indeed, it would seem that partial unemployment is not an obligation, but rather a recommendation. However, the Ministry of Labor considers that this solution must be optimized in order to allow employees not to find themselves in situations like that of Flavie.

“I am preparing for three cataclysmic weeks. I’m angry with my employers, Storm Flavie. It is not understanding anything in our lives to imagine that it is possible to work with infants. The government must bang its fist on the table, that it enact a text so that partial unemployment is granted by right to employees who have young children. We are hundreds of thousands in this situation”, She confides.