The bill on gender equality should definitely bring real innovations if the proposals are accepted. In addition to the elimination of the distress situation and more broadly of the strengthening of the right to Voluntary Termination of pregnancy (IVG), the review of access to sick leave will be the subject of discussions.
If the wish of the Minister of Women’s Rights is accepted, employees working part-time will also be able to benefit from compensation in the event of sick leave, which is not the case today. “We are working very actively on access to sick leave for short part-timers who are now excluded. This does not fall under the law, but the decree. A measure is being studied which will be announced very soon, “Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem told AFP at the opening of the debate on the gender equality bill in the Assembly on Monday, January 20.
Currently, an employee must have worked at least 200 hours (equivalent to half-time) the previous three months if he is to be entitled to daily allowances during his sick leave. These allowances amount on average to 50% of the salary paid at the time of sick leave.
If it is passed, this measure should not improve the accounts of the Social Security. Indeed, a report from the mission to assess and control social security financing laws submitted in May 2013 showed that the explosion in the number of sick leaves the last few years have seriously strained the health insurance budget. To get an idea, over the period 2000-2011, sick leave compensation expenses increased by 47%, from 4.3 billion euros to 6.3 billion euros.
