[Special Feature: The Japanese Way of "Resting"] The French Way of Resting and the "Right to Disconnect"

2019/04/05

I have an unforgettable memory from the first time I went to France over 30 years ago. It happened while I was absorbed in looking at books at a law bookstore. A clerk standing behind me started shouting something with a frantic look on her face. I realized she was saying, "Five minutes left!" When I looked at the clock, it was five minutes before closing time. Since her working hours only had five minutes left, she couldn't have a customer leisurely browsing books. So, she shouted "Five minutes left!" to tell me to hurry to the register.

What would it be like in Japan? There probably aren't many clerks who would shout "Five minutes left!" at a customer right before closing. At most, they might play the song "Hotaru no Hikari" (Auld Lang Syne) to indirectly encourage customers to leave.

As those who have been to France know, it is an inconvenient society. Many shops are closed on Sundays, making shopping difficult. Also, you don't see 24-hour convenience stores. In August, you'll be disappointed to find signs posted on shops saying they are closed for vacations. Being in France, you feel that the rights of workers are stronger than the convenience of consumers.

Speaking of France, it's all about vacations. If you ask why they work, it's for vacations; vacations are at the center of life.

So, have vacations always existed? Looking historically, vacations to the seaside and other places were for the upper class in the first half of the 19th century, but spread to the middle class in the second half of the 19th century. However, vacations were out of reach for workers. In 1936, the "Popular Front" cabinet, a socialist government, legalized two weeks of annual paid leave (hereinafter referred to as "annual leave"). Annual leave is the leave that makes vacations possible, but in reality, workers did not have the financial leeway to take annual leave and enjoy a vacation.

It was after the late 1960s that vacations became accessible to workers due to rising income levels and the spread of automobiles. Now, on weekends in July every year, massive traffic jams known as the "Great Departure" occur on highways leading to Southern France, and Paris becomes deserted.

Vacations are long-term annual leave. Let's look at how this long-term annual leave is made possible by labor law.

Workers have the right to annual leave regardless of their contract period, working hours, or length of service. Before the 2018 legal reform, working for the same employer for 10 days was a requirement for obtaining annual leave, but that requirement has been removed.

Statutory annual leave, whether full-time or part-time, can be taken at a rate of 2.5 working days per month under the same employer, totaling 30 working days (5 weeks) per year. In France, Saturday is considered a working day, so you can take 25 days of annual leave on weekdays. The calculation period for annual leave is, in principle, from June 1st to May 31st of the following year, except for certain professions.

Through labor-management agreements, it is possible to calculate annual leave more favorably than the statutory minimum. Through corporate agreements, the number of annual leave days can be increased based on age, length of service, or disability. Additionally, if a worker has children, annual leave is added. According to a 2015 survey, the average number of days for annual leave and leave associated with reduced working hours is 33 days.

The period during which annual leave can be taken is determined by corporate agreements or, in their absence, by the employer, but it must include the period from May 1st to October 31st. In other words, it is mandatory to include the vacation season. If the number of annual leave days is 12 working days or less, it cannot be split. If it exceeds 12 working days, it can be split with the worker's consent, but at least 12 consecutive working days must be taken.

There are provisions that consider the family when taking annual leave. When taking annual leave all at once, the upper limit is 24 working days, but for households with children, persons with disabilities, or elderly people requiring care, the employer can grant longer annual leave. Furthermore, regarding the start of annual leave, employers are also obligated to consider the worker's "family circumstances." "Family circumstances" refers to the possibility of annual leave for a spouse or a partner in a Civil Solidarity Pact (a partnership equivalent to marriage), or the presence of children, persons with disabilities, or elderly people requiring care. If a worker's spouse or Civil Solidarity Pact partner works for the same company, the worker has the right to take annual leave at the same time.

Also noteworthy is that school holidays are staggered across three national zones (with a special schedule for Corsica).

It is clear that the French annual leave system allows for long periods of leave and is designed to allow families to go on vacation together. And above all, almost 100% of annual leave is utilized.

It is not just the annual leave system that makes vacations possible. There is a movement called social tourism. This is a movement to help people with low incomes enjoy travel. Through the "Tourism Modernization Plan" that began in 1948, France developed low-cost facilities so that citizens could enjoy vacations at an affordable price. Campgrounds, family holiday homes, and rural guesthouses were established.

There is also a system called "Vacation Checks." This is a system where workers purchase checks that can be used for leisure or vacations at less than their face value. The difference is paid by the worker's employer or the Works Council (which is mandatory for companies with 50 or more employees and is composed of labor and management; it is consulted on corporate management and manages funds provided by the employer for welfare and cultural activities).

The percentage of the cost borne by the worker is determined according to their income. The burden for low-income earners is lower. If they have children, the burden is further reduced. Currently, vacation checks can be used at 200,000 locations not only in France but also within the EU.

A research organization called CRÉDOC conducted a survey on the reality of vacations in France in 2014, interviewing 2,019 people (VACANCES: 2014). According to the survey, some interesting facts come to light.

In the past 12 months, 60% of people went on vacation. However, while 86% of high-income earners went on vacation, only 40% of low-income earners did. Only 43% of people who do not own a car went on vacation. Although various measures are taken, "inequality" exists in vacations.

Regarding what they value in a vacation, 49% of people answered "local life." This has been the most common reason for the past 10 years, but it has decreased by 10% compared to 10 years ago. In contrast, the percentage of people who answer "festivals and cultural vibrancy" has increased from 11% ten years ago to 20%. The third most common answer was "accommodation" at 19%.

So, where do they stay during vacations? According to another survey by the same research organization, 71% stay in non-commercial facilities, and only 29% stay in commercial facilities (2012). Among non-commercial facilities, second homes of family or friends account for 59.2% (percentage of the total; same below), and 48% are family second homes, meaning about half spend their vacations at a family second home. They try not to spend too much money.

Stays in commercial facilities account for 29%, and hotels account for only 10%. The percentage of stays in commercial facilities has decreased over the last 10 years (33.7% → 29%).

Furthermore, although these are slightly older figures, according to a 2004 survey, only 19% of French people spend their vacations abroad. This trend remains unchanged today. French people spend their vacations domestically rather than abroad.

On days off, you want to get away from work and relax. But what do you do if a work email comes from your boss? If you know an email has arrived, you'll probably open and read it. And then your vacation mood vanishes. Digital tools are convenient, but they can also be tools that allow work to encroach on private time.

In France as well, the blurring of the boundary between private and professional life due to digitalization became an issue, and numerous reports on the "right to disconnect" were issued. Among them, a 2015 report titled "Digitalization and Working Life" (commissioned by the former Minister of Labor Relations) had a major impact on the 2016 Labor Code reform.

The report states that some companies have already concluded labor-management agreements regarding the "right to disconnect," and that 72% of executives are not subject to any regulation of communication via digital tools, with more than one-third feeling that their "right to disconnect" is not guaranteed. It strongly recommended creating a professional "right to disconnect" and, above all, spreading that right through company-level labor-management negotiations to protect the framework of workers' lives.

Through the 2016 legal reform, the French Labor Code mandated company-level collective bargaining regarding the "right to disconnect" for employers with 50 or more workers (effective from January 1, 2017). In annual company-level collective bargaining, employers must negotiate matters to maintain the "quality of working life." One of those matters is the "right to disconnect."

Employers were mandated to discuss "methods for workers to fully exercise the right to disconnect and measures by the company to regulate the use of digital tools in order to protect personal and family life and respect rest and vacation time." If collective bargaining does not lead to the conclusion of a labor-management agreement, the employer must draw up a charter defining the methods for exercising the "right to disconnect."

There is no definition of the "right to disconnect" in the Labor Code. The French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT), one of the representative labor unions, has created a "Negotiation Guide for the Right to Disconnect" for union officials. The CFDT already recognized the need to negotiate the "right to be alone and the right to interruption" in 1995. The guide defines the "right to disconnect" as "the ability for workers not to be connected to digital tools at all times, especially during worker rest and vacations." It also states that as an employer's responsibility, a framework for the fulfillment of the right and duty to disconnect must be established to protect the health and safety of workers. As an example of a labor-management agreement, it must clarify the time periods during which workers can be connected and ensure that minimum rest periods are respected.

Will French vacations be protected by the "right to disconnect"? I would like to keep an eye on this.

Atsushi Omura, "French Socializing and Law," Yuhikaku, 2002

Hiromasa Suzuki, "French Vacations and Annual Paid Leave," Japan Journal of Labour Studies No. 625, 2012

Akio Ishii, "A Brief History of French Tourism Policy," Hospitality Management Vol. 3 No. 1, 2012