Looking Forward: Audits on the use of Short Term Work (Activité Partielle)

Published on : 26/05/2020 26 May May 05 2020

A look at what’s to come in labor and business law

The administration has clarified how it will audit the companies that received the “short term work” (activité partielle) indemnity that has allowed millions of workers to have their salary paid by the state during the period while they were unable to work due to the health crisis.

As part of the audits that will soon begin, the Direccte (Labour Inspectorate) will be able to revoke the partial activity authorization if two conditions are met:

- the authorization decision is illegal (for example, authorization granted to a structure not eligible for the partial activity);
- the withdrawal is executed within four months from the date that the authorization was granted.

The business may submit its comments before withdrawal.

The consequence of the withdrawal is the nullity of all claims for compensation made pursuant to the withdrawn decision and thus the reimbursement by the employer of the sums already received on the basis of the withdrawn authorization.

Withdrawal of the partial activity permit may be accompanied by withdrawal of the compensation decision. Indeed, "the administration may at any time withdraw a decision awarding a grant where the conditions laid down for its award have not been complied with'.

However, the authors of the Ministry document consider that the withdrawal of the application compensation is unlikely to be the most appropriate measure "in the majority of cases encountered, which will be constituted by errors by businesses, leading more to a modification of the compensation decision than to its outright withdrawal.

In this case, the control will lead either to the recovery of an undue payment or to the payment of compensation,  if the error is to the company's disadvantage.

If the company refuses to correct its situation, the Direccte will have to send a letter to the company concerning the order to recover, which can be appealed against within two months.
 

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