Coronavirus: what repercussions for employees in companies?

1 – Do I have to inform my employer if I return from a country or a risk zone? YES

It is not a formal obligation but the press release from the Ministry of Labor “recommends” informing your employer if you return from an area in which contamination is proven or at risk. This recommendation specifies the action to be taken: regular temperature measurement, monitoring of symptoms, compliance with hygiene rules, avoid close contact, particularly with fragile people.

On the other hand, no information for the employer is deemed necessary if one of the employee’s relatives returns from one of these areas and if he has followed the health recommendations.

2 – Can my employer impose measures on employees returning from a risk area? YES

The employer, recalls the Ministry of Labour, has a health and safety obligation vis-à-vis its employees and can therefore, in this context, ask its employee not to report to his place of work, impose teleworking or adapting the employee’s workstation in order to limit the risk of contagion.

He also has the possibility of modifying the dates of leave already set to cover an imposed period of isolation but cannot force the employee to take leave that he has not yet taken.

3 – Can I ask to benefit from teleworking? YES

The request to benefit from teleworking on an ad hoc or long-term basis is possible for the employee. It must be followed by the agreement of his employer who, in the event of refusal, must give reasons.

4 – Is my remuneration guaranteed in the event of work stoppage to look after my children subject to isolation measures? YES

A work stoppage linked to child isolation measures – if there are no other childcare solutions – can be issued by the Regional Health Agency (ARS) and its duration will correspond to that of the recommended isolation of the child. In this case, the employee benefits from a work stoppage without a waiting day (a decree is due to lift the waiting period very soon) and benefits from daily social security allowances. The additional compensation, conventional or legal, must apply.

5 – Can a placement in quarantine have consequences on my employment contract? NO

It is the doctor from the Regional Health Agency who must prescribe isolation for 14 days for employees coming from risk areas. The employee’s rights during this 14-day period are identical to those provided for in the event of work stoppage, again without application of the waiting period.

6 – Can I exercise my right of withdrawal if one of my colleagues returns from a risk area? No but…

An employee can only withdraw from his work situation if he has a reasonable reason to believe that it presents a serious and imminent danger to his health or life. This could only be the case, regarding the coronavirus epidemic, if the company did not follow health recommendations.

If these recommendations are followed, specifies the ministry, the risk for other employees is limited since, according to the epidemiological data currently available, only close and prolonged contact with people showing symptoms of coronavirus attack would allow contamination.

7 – Can I refuse a business trip to a risk area? If yes…

As in the previous case, the refusal of this trip within the framework of a right of withdrawal is only possible if the employer does not follow the recommendations which advise against, subject to changes in the situation, trips to the China, the regions of Lombardy and Veneto in Italy, South Korea, Iran and Singapore.

8 – Can the reduction in activity of my company linked to the crisis have repercussions on my remuneration? YES

A partial activity scheme may be requested by a company in the context of exceptional circumstances. The employees’ employment contract is then suspended (but not terminated) and they receive a compensatory indemnity paid by their employer which must be at least 70% of their usual gross remuneration, the employer however having the possibility of increasing the amount. of this allowance.