“It takes a thorn out of my side! Wallid, 28, had been “worried for several days” at the idea that the partial activity scheme, which he has benefited from since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, will end on January 31 as planned. This “partial activity which makes it possible to take care of a vulnerable employee presenting a risk of developing a serious form of Covid infection” had been extended several times. And this will once again be the case, “for at least one month”, specifies the Ministry of Health and Prevention.
Several categories of employees, listed in a decree of October 27, 2022, can benefit from it. This particularly concerns those with a risk factor of serious form (at least 65 years old, obesity, cardiovascular history, etc.), who risk being very exposed to the virus in their workplace even if adjustments are made, and who cannot telecommute. Concretely, these employees no longer work but they are still paid up to 70% of their original salary. The term “partial activity” is therefore misleading, since, in fact, it looks more like “partial unemployment”.
Wallid, a computer technician in Île-de-France, suffers from a chronic respiratory disease and his immune system is weakened. His job is to visit customers, which could expose him to too high a risk of contamination. “My pulmonologist told me that it was absolutely necessary that I benefit from reinforced prevention measures in the event of a return to work. But my employer no longer has any measures, since the reduction of the health protocol in the company, ”worries the young man.
Many rules lightened on February 1
The Ministry of Health observes that these vulnerable employees, “who today represent a few hundred people in France, must be able to be offered lasting solutions if their difficulties persist”. The additional month should make it possible to “implement this individualized support”.
The Ministry of Transformation and Public Service tells us for its part that the similar device of “special authorization of absence” is also extended until February 28 for civil servants who meet the vulnerability criteria.
“We would have liked the device to be extended for longer than a month. There will inevitably be a new epidemic wave, and immunocompromised people will, as usual, be the most vulnerable, ”reacts Yvanie Caillée, founder of the Renaloo association.
Partial activity for childcare with Covid already ended on July 31. Since then, the usual rules are again in force and parents can benefit from sick child leave on presentation to their employer of a medical certificate. In addition, this February 1 will mark the end of several symbolic measures, such as compulsory isolation in the event of a positive test or screening if one is a contact case.