COMPANY HEALTH PROTOCOL. Businesses are among the many places that are no longer subject to the strict health protocol since March 14. The mask is thus no longer compulsory, and teleworking is only recommended.
[Mise à jour du mardi 15 mars 2022 à 12h25] It’s time to rediscover the face of his colleagues. After a year and a half spent with a mask in the office, the French can go to business without worrying about having it on them. On March 14, companies joined the list of closed places where it is no longer necessary to wear the mask, such as schools, shops and public services. The end of the obligation to wear a mask is not the only relaxation: the previous entire health protocol has been lifted, the health pass no longer being necessary to go to work and teleworking being no more than a recommendation. that everyone has the choice to follow or not. Note, however, that employees who wish to do so can continue to wear the mask.
The Minister of Labor, Elisabeth Borne, promised during her appearance on LCI on March 8 the return of normal rules to the offices. To make the transition, the Ministry of Labor must publish a “guide to measures to prevent the risk of contamination with Covid-19 outside an epidemic situation” supposed to replace the health protocol deployed since spring 2020. Barrier gestures such as hand washing , the ventilation of the premises or the cleaning are still strongly recommended, just as the rules in the event of contamination with Covid-19 remain unchanged, the best being to isolate oneself even in the event of simple case-contact, to avoid put colleagues at risk.
Since March 14, 2022, wearing a mask is no longer compulsory in the workplace, which does not prevent employees who wish to continue to wear it. This easing of health restrictions represents a major change in business life, which has been subject to health measures for a year and a half. The national protocol, updated on October 29, 2020, indicated that “in areas in a state of health emergency, following the updating of scientific knowledge on the transmission of the virus by aerosols and taking into account the recommendations of the HCSP in dated August 28, 2020, the wearing of a mask for the general public is systematic within companies in closed collective places. The Ministry of Labor, at the origin of this protocol, had specified that the masks “general public, preferably reusable, [couvrent] both the nose, the mouth and the chin”. Many spaces were thus affected by the wearing of the compulsory mask, such as shared offices, open spaces, meeting rooms, etc.
Is teleworking subject to new standards?
Telework remains recommended for companies, but it is no longer mandatory, as of February 2, 2022. It is now up to the employer to set the terms and conditions for using telework, bearing in mind that it is responsible for to ensure that links are maintained within the work collective to meet the requirements of the prevention of risks linked to the isolation of employees. It is a reference framework that applies to all employers: it was determined by the national interprofessional agreement of November 26, 2020.
Teleworking can be a good solution for vulnerable employees or employees living with a vulnerable person in the event that the employer cannot respect the reinforced protection measures which remain valid beyond March 14. Indeed, if he fails to ensure that the employee can respect the permanently reinforced barrier gestures or to arrange working hours for him if necessary, teleworking remains the simplest.
The health protocol, if it ended in the company on March 14, contains provisions relating to the cleaning of the premises which remain strongly recommended as long as the pandemic is not behind us. The most important are the regular airing of enclosed places: not necessarily 10 minutes every hour as previously imposed, but at least once a day if possible, but also the frequent cleaning of surfaces and objects regularly touched in the air. using a product active on the virus SARS-CoV-2 to ensure disinfection.