1. Teleworking action plan
Companies must draw up an action plan to reduce the time employees spend on site as much as possible, taking into account activities that can be teleworked within the company.
This action plan must be discussed with the Works Council, where one exists.
In this context, an instruction issued on March 25 called on the Labour Inspectorate to step up its checks on the effectiveness of teleworking, so that the actions contained in these plans can be presented to it at any time.
2. Carpooling restrictions
The protocol recommends limiting carpooling.
If this is not possible, employees must observe the wearing of masks, hand hygiene and the implementation of a vehicle cleaning procedure.
3. Effective isolation of symptomatic employees or contact cases
People presenting symptoms of COVID 19 should isolate themselves at home as soon as they appear, and undergo a screening test as soon as possible. If they are unable to continue working from home, they should register on theedeclare.ameli.fra website, in order tobenefit from daily allowances with no waiting period as soon as symptoms are reported, provided they carry out a PCR test within 48 hours.
The Ministry of Labor also warns that “contact case” employees should also stay at home.
The employer must ask them not to go to work, and these people can also request a sick leave to isolate themselves without a waiting period.
As a reminder, with regard to the binding force of the health protocol, the Conseil d’Etat considers that it constitutes a set of recommendations for the material implementation of the employer’s safety obligation in the context of the COVID 19 epidemic, without being mandatory (CE. October 19, 2020, n°444809). However, employers must remain cautious and ensure that they comply with their safety obligation by putting in place sufficient and appropriate measures to deal with the COVID 19 epidemic, and the protocol – while not mandatory in the strict sense – will most likely remain a reference that judges will use to verify compliance with this obligation.
This alert is written in partnership with Anne Lemarchand, partner at 140VH Avocats.