Against the backdrop of the current health crisis, the French government has decided to allow companies affected by the pandemic to make use of the short-time working scheme. Banks, which are considered to be operators of vital importance (OIV), had undertaken not to apply for this aid. However, the conversion of sick leave into short-time working could change the situation.
Employees off work to look after their children switch to short-time working
In April, the government announced a measure designed to simplify relations between companies and insurers, and above all to lighten the bill for certain work stoppages linked to confinement. Since May 1, private-sector employees who are off work to look after their children have been placed on short-time working. This announcement also applies to pregnant women and people with chronic illnesses. This is good news both for the employees concerned, who will be better compensated, and for insurers, who had indicated that they were not prepared to cover childcare-related sick leave.
Right from the start of the crisis, French banks had given assurances that they would not apply for the aid proposed by the French government. In addition to not making use of the short-time working mechanism, the senior executives of some banks, notably Crédit Agricole, have decided to forego half of their variable compensation due for 2019.
However, this new measure potentially concerns a large number of employees. Frédéric Guyonnet, president of the profession's main union, SNB/CFE-CGC, points out that almost 50,000 employees have already taken sick leave for "childcare or vulnerable situations". As a result, disparities remain for the time being between establishments that compensate their employees at 100% and those that indicate "partial unemployment".
French banks opt for teleworking
To ensure the continuity of their services, banks are making massive use of teleworking. Société Générale, for example, has arranged for 50,000 employees based in Western Europe to access their workstations remotely. This decision has obviously been accompanied by a strengthening of IT security procedures. Its SOC (Security Operations Center) and CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) are redoubling their vigilance to identify potential attacks.
For their part, Crédit Agricole's teams have also had to make a rapid transition to teleworking, creating 1,500 mobile workstations. Almost 35% of the bank's employees are now teleworking. Most services are offered remotely, including the signing of loan and insurance offers.
For many banks, it's clear that teleworking will remain the order of the day over the coming months, in order to limit the spread of the virus.