The “National Protocol to ensure the health and safety of employees in respect of the Covid-19 epidemic”, has been updated on October 29, 2020, to reflect the latest Governmental decisions and to prepare for another lockdown.
In summary, this project includes the following measures:
- Teleworking: all companies are encouraged to adopt a 100% teleworking protocol, where possible;
- Activities that cannot be carried out by teleworking:
- It is recommended that a staggered approach to the arrival and departure times of employees is adopted
- In-company group social interactions should be suspended, with necessary face-to-face meetings conducted in a socially-distanced way
- The ”TousAntiCover” app should be communicated to all employees, stressing the importance of ensuring it’s activation during working hours.
- Voluntary screening actions – employees are encouraged to embrace screening efforts made available to them, which must be funded by the employer. Such screening will be deemed as voluntary, under conditions determined by Health Agencies and complying with the strict preservation of medical confidentiality.
EXEMPTION CERTIFICATES DURING LOCKDOWN
- The Ministry of the Interior has published 3 templates of exemption certificates, applicable as of October 30, 2020, and available in various formats:
- An exemption certificate during lockdown: This can be written on paper or generated digitally; for ease of accessibility, this certificate is now available in English;
- An exemption certificate for business trips and associated matters
- An exemption certificate for taking and collecting children to and from school
- Sanctions are specified, since non-essential travel is no longer allowed. Failure to comply with these measures may result in:
- First penalty: a fine of €135, increased to €375 (in case of non-payment or non-contestation within the time limit indicated on the ticket);
- In the event of a repeated offence within 15 days: a fine of €200, increased to €450 (in the event of non-payment or non-contestation within the time limit indicated on the ticket);
- After 3 penalties within 30 days: a fine of up to €3,750 and a prison sentence up to 6 months.
DECREE PRESCRIBING THE GENERAL MEASURES NECESSARY TO FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19 EPIDEMIC WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE HEALTH STATE OF EMERGENCY, NO.2020-1310, DATED OCTOBER 29, 2020
The Decree has been published during the night of October 30 in the French State Official Journal. It takes effect from October 31, 2020 and is translated as follows:
- It specifically determines the list of establishments in which it is prohibited to receive public, the list of establishments that may receive public and it also determines the various exemptions for the exercise of the activities of delivery and withdrawal of orders (articles 27 to 47);
- Concerning the legal procedures and judicial activity of the coming weeks, the decree authorizes: “travel to be present after receiving a judicial or administrative summons or to go to a public service or to a legal professional’s or a law office, for an act or procedure that cannot be carried out remotely” (article 4. 1° c) 7°). The courtrooms of the jurisdictions are kept opened (Article 45, I, 1°).
If you have any specific questions or queries concerning this topic, please feel free to reach out to IRIS HR Consulting team.