The so-called Comité de conjuncture, a committee including the government but also labour unions and employer organisations, granted 4,362 requests for partial unemployment.

This means the state will pay 80% of salaries for employees who currently cannot work because their company doesn’t have enough business. The amount is capped at 2.5 times the minimum wage for unskilled workers. Staff on minimum wage receive their salary in full.

The measure aims to reduce costs for companies while staving off redundancies.

In February, the state contributed to salaries of 34,117 people under the partial unemployment programme, a key pillar of its coronavirus rescue package.

Between April and the end of June, companies will be able to benefit from the subsidies provided they fulfil one of four conditions:

• Industrial companies can apply for partial unemployment support for economic reasons but can then not proceed to lay off staff as a cost-cutting measure.
• Businesses in gastronomy, tourism and events can receive support equivalent to 50% of regular monthly hours worked within the company. Working hours for staff cannot exceed 40 hours per week and employers cannot lay off workers for reasons “not inherent to the person,” a statement said.
• Other companies impacted by the pandemic but active in other sectors can also benefit from partial unemployment, provided they don’t fire any staff and the hours cut amount to less than 10% of the normal hours worked in the company. Employees may not work more than 40 hours per week.
• Companies that are forced to reduce headcount despite the financial support must present a restructuring or job retention plan.