Legal Insights

On March 16, 2020, French President Emmanuel Macron decided to take exceptional measures to deal with the global Covid-19 pandemic that is spreading across France.

In this exceptional health context, what are the measures taken by the Government? What is the legal framework for such measures? What penalties for those who do not comply with the new rules?

Partial activity (also referred to as short-time work) allows the employer to reduce the working time of his employees or to temporarily close his establishment or part of it in order to maintain employment, and to compensate in part for the loss of remuneration suffered by employees as a result of the unworked hours. Because of the economic consequences associated with the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, a draft Decree encourages and facilitates the use of the partial activity scheme.

Soulier Avocats provides an update on the latest measures in the form of a Q/A.

While French households are beginning to organize themselves, French companies are seeking to protect themselves against the devastating financial effects of Covid-19. Partial unemployment mechanism, deferment of the payment of social security contributions and taxes, temporary easing of the burdens on companies, injection of external liquidity, etc. A growing number of measures are being taken to protect and support companies during this highly critical period.

To take into account the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on economic activity, the URSSAF network introduced on March 16, 2020 a measure allowing employers to defer the payment of their social security contributions for a period of up to three months.

Tout opérateur économique se pose légitimement la question : la pandémie de coronavirus COVID-19, permet-elle de suspendre ou de mettre fin à ses obligations prévues par un contrat commercial devant s’exécuter en France en invoquant l’existence d’un cas de force majeure ?

Partial activity: A press release from the Ministry of Labor specifies that companies have 30 days to submit their application to get a 100% compensation coverage, up to a maximum of 4.5 the value of the minimum wage.