Labor & Employment

The Health Crisis Management Law No. 2021-1040 of August 5, 2021 entered into force on August 6, 2021.

Some of its provisions make working as an employee conditional on the presentation of a vaccination certificate or a certificate of negative test result for COVID-19.

The lack of certificate is likely to entail the suspension of the employment contract.

In two decisions issued on June 23, 2021, the Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court) recalled that “the employer having knowledge of an employee’s wrongdoings” means not only the holder of the disciplinary power but also the employee’s immediate superior, even if the latter does not hold this power himself/herself.

In a ruling issued on November 25, 2020, the Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court) reaffirmed the exceptional nature of co-employment by giving a new definition of its constituent elements.

This more restrictive definition, which reinforces the exceptional nature of the situation of co-employment, should have a deterrent effect on employees wishing to rely on this concept in court.

In order to deal with the economic impact of the “second wave” health crisis, two Decrees amending the standard short-time work scheme on the one hand and the long-term short-time work scheme on the other hand were published on October 30, 2020.

What are the new measures laid down by these Decrees?

In a Q&A posted on its website and updated on November 17, 2020, the French Ministry of Labor provides details on teleworking in the context of the “second wave” of the COVID 19 pandemic.
While in the previous versions of the health protocol telework was “recommended”, it must, since October 29, 2020, be generalized for all activities that allow it.

The Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court) recently ruled that an employer can produce in court elements extracted from an employee’s private Facebook account, to which it was not authorized to access, as long as (i) this production is indispensable to the exercise of its right to evidence, and (ii) the violation of the employee’s privacy is proportionate to the goal pursued.