“Maintaining the status quo was a risk of paralysis for the economy and blocking the functioning of all activities that were not teleworkable”, reacted Sunday, January 2 on franceinfo Bernard Cohen Haddad, president of the CPME Paris Ile-de-France, after the announcements by the government of a relaxation of the rules of isolation for the positive people and cases contacts. “We avoided the worst.” Businesses do not hear “control” employee tests, “we are not doctors, we are not police officers”, believes Bernard Cohen. He also specifies that a positive employee cannot telework. “When you’re on sick leave, you don’t work. It’s the labor code.”
franceinfo: Is the relaxation of isolation rules a good thing to avoid blocking the economy?
Bernard Cohen Haddad: Maintaining the status quo was a risk of paralysis for the economy and a blockage of the functioning of all activities that were not teleworkable, which were face-to-face, and which risked being closed for lack of employees. The announcements are going in the right direction. I don’t dare say it’s good news because the virus is still there, but we avoided the worst. And that is a positive point in a context which remains a context of surveillance. Incidence rates in the capital region exceed 2,500. For us, this is a real concern.
How will companies be able to verify employee tests?
It is not for the company to control. There is still a duty of care in matters of health in the company. On the other hand, for us, the risk is in the criminal risk. It is not nothing at all. Our employees really need to integrate the measures. We are going to send messages. We are going to modify the continuity plans and that is extremely important since we had planned continuity plans which were much harsher in terms of presence in the company and especially isolation of contacts. Today is the positive side of this measure. It is not up to us, especially in the capital region, but also in the rest of France to verify. We are not doctors. We are not police officers. We are not gendarmes. So it is not for us to do it. What we want is to protect the life of the company, protect the lives of our employees, their health and protect the ability of entrepreneurs not to find themselves in court with measures that are threatening and that can risk endanger the economic health of the company.
An isolation of five to seven days becomes mandatory for positive cases which are vaccinated. In these cases, even without symptoms, does the employee have to stop completely or can he still telework?
I think we have to say it. When you’re on sick leave, you don’t work. It is the labor code. So, when you are on sick leave, if you are positive, you are not working. It is a labor-related risk. It is a serious risk. We do not do just anything in the company. We tend to mix genres. When you are sick in the company, you are not allowed to work. This is a risk for the employee and it is an even greater risk, including criminal and labor matters, for the business manager. So we’re not kidding about it. And here we are extremely vigilant. Our collaborators and our employees are informed of this type of situation.
Could the health pass, which will become a vaccination pass, be requested to go to work?
The CPME and its president François Asselin, as well as the social partners, have always announced that they were opposed to this type of measure in the company. I believe that today is what we are staying on. It is also important not to mix genres. The company must not be a place of contestation vis-à-vis the virus, must not be a place of mistrust. For over a year and a half, we have put in place a number of protocols. We ventilated the premises. We respected continuity plans. We make sure to have small teams. Today, we remain in our position which is a position of responsibility. The corporate world should not be a world where discord is brought by the virus and discord comes because the virus is there. We are on a desire for pedagogy, support. And this is what is also expected of the State services, including in terms of control on this subject.