The End Of The French COVID State Of Emergency: What You Need To Know

• Published date: 15 June 2021
• Subject Matter: Food, Drugs, Healthcare, Life Sciences, Coronavirus (COVID-19), Employment and Workforce Wellbeing
• Law Firm: lus Laboris
• Author: Capstan Avocats

The state of health emergency ended on 1 June 2021. This regime had no direct impact on labour law, as many exceptional measures had an end date outside this date.

However, Law No. 2021-689 of 31 May 2021 on the management of the end of the health crisis, which introduces an intermediate regime between the state of health emergency and ordinary law in many areas, extends the arrangements that should have ended, for the most part, on 30 June 2021. The new text sets their end date at 30 September 2021.

This applies in particular to:

• the adaptation of the rules for meetings and deliberations of assemblies and governing bodies;
• derogations from the rules on the use of fixed-term contracts and temporary work;
• exceptional rules on the temporary transfer of employees;
• holidays, with the employer now able to require employees to take eight days instead of six;
• the rules for remote meetings of staff representatives;
• the role of the occupational physician and its right to prescribe sick leave.

Finally, with regard to professional appraisal interviews, the law extends the following until 30 September 2021:

• the employer's option to demonstrate compliance with the obligations regarding professional interviews (compliance with either the conditions provided for by Act No. 2014-288 of 5 March 2014 or Act No. 2018-771 of 5 September 2018);
• the suspension of the provisions imposing the payment of a corrective contribution of EUR 3,000 in the event of non-compliance with these obligations.

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