French Labour Code
In forceI.-Employees are placed in a partial activity position, after express or implicit authorisation by the administrative authority, if they suffer a loss of pay attributable to :
-the temporary closure of their establishment or part of an establishment ;
-the reduction of the working hours in the establishment or part of the establishment below the legal working hours.
In the event of a collective reduction in working hours, employees may be placed in a partial activity position individually and alternately.
II - Employees receive an hourly allowance, paid by their employer, corresponding to a percentage of their previous remuneration set by decree by the Conseil d'Etat. The employer receives an allowance financed jointly by the State and the body managing the unemployment insurance scheme. An agreement between the State and this body sets out the terms and conditions for financing this allowance.
The employment contract of employees placed on partial activity is suspended during periods when they are not working.
III - The administrative authority may define specific commitments made by the employer in return for the allowance paid to him, taking into account the stipulations of the collective company agreement relating to partial activity, where such an agreement exists. A Conseil d'Etat decree sets out the terms and conditions under which these commitments are made.
IV - Claims for the allowance mentioned in II for which the employer has not submitted a request for payment to the administrative authority within a period of six months from the end of the period covered by the authorisation to use partial activity are time-barred in favour of the State and the unemployment insurance management body.
Employers who have put in place a system for organising working time over a reference period longer than the period mentioned in the first paragraph of this IV may regularise the claims for compensation corresponding to the period covered by the authorisation to use partial activity within a period of six months from the expiry of the period mentioned in the same first paragraph.
V.-The employers mentioned in Article L. 5424-1 may place their private-sector employees in a partial activity position, under the conditions laid down in this chapter, for whom they have joined the unemployment insurance scheme in application of Article L. 5424-2, provided that they are primarily engaged in an industrial or commercial activity, the income from which constitutes the majority of their resources.
These employers benefit from a partial activity allowance in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in this chapter.
VI - The employees mentioned in article L. 243-1-2 of the Social Security Code who are employed by a company which does not have an establishment in France may be placed in a partial activity position when the employer is subject, for these employees, to social contributions and contributions of legal or contractual origin and to insurance obligations against the risk of unemployment under French legislation.
These employers benefit from a partial activity allowance in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in this chapter.
