Telework may be implemented unilaterally by the employer when the adaptation of the workstation is made necessary to allow the continuity of the company’s activity and to guarantee the protection of employees (Article L. 1222-11 of the Labour Code). The threat of an epidemic is an exceptional circumstance justifying the use of telework without the employee’s agreement. The Labour Code does not provide for any particular formalism for its implementation. The provisions of the Labour Code relating to health and safety apply to all employees, including temporary employees, apprentices and trainees. The CSE must be consulted in the event of major changes in the organisation of work (Article L. 2312-8 of the Labour Code). The government specifies that the decision of the employer to refuse to grant telework on a one-off or permanent basis must be motivated (Questions/Answers for companies and employees, Coronavirus – Covid-19, 9 March 2020). In the absence of telework, parents who are unable to work due to the closure of their child(ren)’s care facility may obtain a work stoppage.

Muriel Pénicaud, Minister of Labour, specifies that this “stop is automatic”, and that the employer cannot refuse it. Employees must inform their employer of the impossibility of coming to work in order to keep their child(ren). They can then benefit from this work stoppage, which is not subject to a waiting period. It is not necessary for them to consult a doctor. The employer must declare the work stoppage from the day the stoppage begins – for a period corresponding to the closure of the childcare facility – by filling out a declaration online at the following site / https://www.declare.ameli.fr

Only one parent per child can benefit from this judgment. Consequently, the employee must provide his employer with a certificate in which he undertakes to be the only parent requesting the benefit of the work stoppage to keep the child at home.