Background information

A decree of 30 December organises the payment of exceptional aid to cover a maximum of ten days of paid leave for employees on short-time working (activité partielle) in the companies most severely affected by the COVID-19 health crisis. This aid aims to reduce the number of days of paid leave accumulated by employees due to their placement in short-time working, particularly in the hotel and restaurant industry. It should be remembered that an employee who takes paid leave during a period of short-time working is not entitled to compensation for short-time working. Moreover, the paid leave allowance, which is paid in accordance with ordinary law, is not covered by the short-time working benefit.

Content of measure

Conditions of eligibility for aid

Companies whose main activity involves receiving the public are eligible for exceptional aid. This aid is granted only when the regulatory or individual measures taken to deal with the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic have resulted in:

• either a ban on receiving the public for a total period of at least 140 days between 1 January and 31 December 2020;
• or a reduction in turnover during the periods in which the state of health emergency was declared, of at least 90% compared to that achieved during the same periods in 2019.

Another condition is that the maximum ten days of leave covered must be taken between 1 and 20 January 2021. The decree specifies that this aid does not apply to employees whose paid leave compensation is guaranteed by a paid leave fund.

Amount of the exceptional aid

The amount of the exceptional aid is determined for each employee and within the limit of ten days of leave taken. Its hourly rate is calculated on the basis of an amount corresponding to 70% of the paid leave allowance, reduced to an hourly rate. It is limited by a ceiling of 4.5 times the hourly rate of the SMIC and a floor set at €8.11 (net hourly SMIC as of 1 January 2021). To calculate the amount of aid, this hourly rate is multiplied by the number of hours normally worked during the paid leave period. Each day of paid leave is therefore converted into a number of hours corresponding to the usual daily working time for the employee or, if this time cannot be determined, seven hours of work.

As a result of this calculation, the amount of aid is equivalent to that of the short-time activity allowance normally granted to employers. On the other hand, the leave allowance is paid in full to employees on holiday. However, the amount is higher than that of the short-time working allowance, which means that the employer has to pay the difference between the short-time activity allowance (70% of the salary) and the paid leave allowance (100% of the salary).

It applies to private sector employers particularly affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

Use of measure

No assessment available.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Other businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Consulted	Consulted
Form	Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies	Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: Company level

Involvement

The works council has to informed when the employer want to use this measure.

Views and reactions

Not available.

Sources

• 30 December 2020: Décret n° 2020-1787 du 30 décembre 2020 relatif à l'aide exceptionnelle accordée aux entreprises accueillant du public au titre des congés payés pris par leurs salariés entre le 1er et le 20 janvier 2021 (www.legifrance.gouv.fr)
• 20 January 2021: Décret n° 2021-44 du 20 janvier 2021 relatif à l'aide exceptionnelle accordée aux entreprises accueillant du public au titre des congés payés pris par leurs salariés (www.legifrance.gouv.fr)