French businesses will now follow a defined protocol to safeguard employees from Covid

From today, Wednesday, June 24, businesses in France can follow a new ‘national deconfinement protocol,’ in order to guarantee ‘the health and safety of employees.’ Distributed by the Ministry of Labour, this 19-page document is less strict than the previous protocol published on May 3.

THE main development is that the ratio of four square metres per employee is no longer set in stone. The priority now is to offer “each employee… a space allowing him to respect the physical distance of at least one metre from any other person.” If the distance of one metre cannot be respected “the wearing of a mask is compulsory.”
Employers “must pay particular attention” to temporary workers to ensure that these employees are as well informed as to the “other employees” on the guidelines to be followed.
For those who are in a high-risk category or who live with a person who fits that profile telework should be allowed by the employer. More generally, this form of remote activity “is no longer the norm but remains a preferred solution. The facts show that more and more employees are now returning to their jobs, since the gradual lifting of confinement on May 11.”
Finally, in terms of changes, a designated person in charge of all Covid guidelines and information is appointed in companies with more than 10 employees – the boss can fulfil this function in smaller companies. The appointee must ensure the “implementation of the defined measures and the information for employees.”