France - Droit du travail - French labour law: Coronavirus / COVID-19 and Telework (télétravail) : employees, what are your rights and obligations?

4) Must my employer provide me with equipment and / or cover my equipment costs?

In principle, it is up to the employer, who is responsible for paying the professional costs incurred by his employees, to bear the costs induced by teleworking.

Thus, the rule is that the employer will bear part of the costs of heating, electricity, internet, telephone, etc. as well as the acquisition of the material necessary for the performance of the work, if it is not provided by the company.

This can be done by paying a flat-rate allowance covering all of the telecommuting costs or by reimbursing the invoice.

However, it remains to be seen whether this rule will be maintained in the context of the telework imposed for the fight against the spread of the Covid-19 virus or whether it will be adapted to take account of the particularity of this situation.

5) Do I have the right to compensation for occupying my home?

In principle, the employee who works at his home must be compensated for this particular hardship as soon as no professional premises are made available to him by the company (Cass. Soc., 4 Dec. 2013, n ° 12- 19.667, n ° 2092 FS - P + B Cass. Soc., Sep 21, 2016, n ° 15-11.144 Cass. Soc., March 27, 2019, n ° 17-21.014, n ° 534 FS - P + B).

This so-called "occupancy" allowance (indemnité d'occupation) is in addition to the reimbursement of costs incurred by the professional occupation of the home (electricity, heating, internet, etc.).

In our opinion, it is not due to the employees placed in teleworking within the framework of the rules against Covid-19.
Indeed, according to case law, the right to this occupancy allowance depends on whether the occupation of the employee's private home in the context of teleworking is imposed by the absence of work premises made available by the employer.

6) What happens if I have an accident at my home while I was teleworking?

When the employee is the victim of an accident while he is teleworking, this accident must in principle be considered as an accident at work as soon as it occurred occasionally or as a result of work. (Article 411-1 of the Social Security Code)

The accident must, as such, be the subject of a declaration by the employee to his employer by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt within 48 hours of its occurrence.

However, proof of professional character (accident du travail) is much more difficult.

The presumption of the professional nature of the accident applies according to the rules of ordinary law to the teleworker as soon as it has occurred at the place and time of work. (Article L.1222-9 of the Labor Code)

The whole difficulty therefore lies in proving the occurrence of the accident during working time.

Failing to demonstrate that the accident occurred at the home of the teleworker during his working time, he will be deprived of the benefit of the presumption and will have to prove the causal link between the accident and his work. (Circular letter DSS-SDFATH / B4 n ° 98-161 R, 7 July 1998: BJ Uncanss 41-98).

To read the full Article, please click on the link below
https://www.village-justice.com/articles/teletravail-covid-salaries-quels-sont-vos-droits-obligations,34481.html

Frédéric CHHUM avocat et membre du conseil de l’ordre des avocats de Paris (mandat 2019-2021)
Marilou OLLIVIER avocat
CHHUM AVOCATS (Paris, Nantes, Lille)
e-mail: chhum@chhum-avocats.com
www.chhum-avocats.fr
https://www.instagram.com/fredericchhum/?hl=fr
.Paris: 4 rue Bayard 75008 Paris tel: 0142560300
.Nantes: 41, Quai de la Fosse 44000 Nantes tel: 0228442644
.Lille: 25, rue Gounod 59000 Lille tel: 0320135083