Élisabeth Borne, France's Minister of Employment, has called on companies to make working from home more widespread in order to protect employees' health. The "Objectif télétravail" offer was created to respond to the difficulties encountered by those forced to resort to this practice. Find out more about this free service for small and medium-sized businesses.
A free service to help SMEs maintain teleworking
Telecommuting is recommended to limit social interaction in the workplace. However, teleworking is not a simple matter to improvise. The Objectif télétravail scheme was launched by the government to enable companies with fewer than 250 employees to benefit from expert advice and support.
More specifically, this device addresses the following points:
- Identification of activities that can be carried out remotely by employees ;
- Improved teleworking practices ;
- Linking remote and on-site work ;
- Maintaining internal cohesion ;
- Drawing up a charter or agreement.
Companies with fewer than 250 employees encountering difficulties in setting up or maintaining remote working can ask to be contacted by an expert by visiting the website of ANACT, the French national agency for the improvement of working conditions.
Among the other tools created by the government to help you make the most of teleworking, a series of advice sheets adapted to each situation is also available on the Ministry of Labor website.
Teleworking is now an "obligation
Telecommuting is being touted as a way of curbing the epidemic in France. While it seemed to be left to the discretion of individual employers, the French Minister of Labor, Elisabeth Borne, insisted on Europe 1 that it is now compulsory.
According to a recent study, nearly a third of workers who had the opportunity to work from home did not do so in March. Although there is no legal obligation to telework, the Minister points out that "the concrete translation of the Labor Code on employee protection is the health protocol, which asks employees to telework as soon as possible". The government points out that, in the majority of cases, formal notices are followed by action. However, since the beginning of the year, only 34 formal notices have been issued out of a total of 24,000 inspections.
A new national protocol to ensure the health and safety of employees in companies was published at the end of March, requiring them to put in place an action plan on remote working. In particular, it sets out how protective measures are to be implemented within the company as part of a social dialogue, the measures and devices for protecting employees, and the recommended screening tests.