.png)
.png)
As a result of the confinement in France and most European countries, all hairdressing salons are getting ready to experience a crisis in their activity and most of the employees have been placed on short-time working.
To this end, the French government has promised to help small business owners and self-employed workers who are suffering financially from the closure of their establishments due to the coronavirus.
To avoid 'adding the fear of bankruptcy and unemployment to the health crisis', as President Emmanuel Macron said last week, the government has promised a €45 billion aid package to help businesses and workers in France cope with the coming economic downturn.
In this article, we detail the fiscal, economic and social measures taken by the State :
A major effort to provide detailed information and updates on the evolution of the epidemic is being led by the French government. There is a government FAQ related to coronavirus with a section for employers and another for employees.
The Ministry of the Economy and Finance has also set up a working group on economic continuity to manage the impact of this pandemic on the French economy through a daily decision-making process.
A draft law enabling the implementation of these measures was presented at the meeting of the Council of Ministers on 18 March 2020.
These support measures will be applied on a case-by-case basis according to the situation of each company. They may also be revised as the epidemic evolves in the coming weeks.
We invite you to consult the government's website very regularly for up-to-date information.
Before we get there, it is clear that the impact of the virus is as real as it is polarizing. Crisis management and business continuity plans have been adopted, with constant flexibility to include precautions and exceptional measures.
Hair salons, barber shops and beauty salons may request to defer the payment of social security charges and taxes beyond March, as of right and without prior authorisation.
To defer your social security charges, go to the URSSAF website. To request a delay in the payment of your taxes, here is the form.
In the event of proven difficulties, the French government (via bpifrance) will be able to guarantee up to 90% of the cash credits that hair salons or beauty salons may need. Overall, the French President has announced a state guarantee for bank loans granted to companies, up to a cumulative amount of €300 billion.
In addition, bpifrance has added a dedicated section on its website for questions and requests from companies suffering from the impact of the coronavirus.
The Minister of Economy and Finance also announced the creation of a solidarity fund for "micro-entrepreneurs, the smallest businesses and the self-employed whose turnover is less than 1 million euros and who have lost at least 70% of their turnover between March 2019 and March 2020".
If this is the case for your establishment, you are entitled to €1,500 in financial compensation per month, according to the French Ministry of the Economy. Note that only establishments earning less than €1 million per year will be eligible for this aid programme.
If you meet the above criteria you can benefit from this aid, you will only have to make a 'simple declaration' to receive the funds. This will be available from 31 March on the following link: DGFIP | economie.gouv.fr
Hair salons, beauty salons or barbershops in difficulty may also suspend payments of rent, water, gas and electricity.
The government has not provided enough information on this issue. We will inform you as soon as we know more.
In the context of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, short-timeworking(or technical unemployment) allows companies to benefit fromfinancial aid to compensate for the loss of income due to employees taking time off work.
The Government has decided to increase the compensation paid to employees in a situation of short-time working: the Minister of Labour announced on 13 March that short-time working, normally paid up to the minimum wage, would be fully supported (100%) by the Government, up to 4.5 times the SMIC. It is indeed partial unemployment (hours off work which are paid at least 70%), and not the whole of the employee's pay, which will be 100% supported by the State.
In concrete terms, in the event of the implementation of a partial activity or partial (or technical) unemployment, employees who lose their pay should receive an allowance paid by the employer equal to at least 70% of their previous gross pay.
Of this 70% paid by the company, the State will reimburse the companies 100% of this amount within 5 to 10 days.
The government has provided a calculation tool to estimate the amount of the allowance that employers can obtain: Simulator Partial Activity | Public Employment and Vocational Training Policy Portal.
From a practical point of view, the implementation of a partial activity requires prior information and consultation of the Economic and Social Committee and administrative authorisation. Applications should be submitted to the following portal Partial activity.
Owners and managers of hair salons have 30 days from the business interruption to request the partial activity system with retroactive effect. During this health crisis, the response time is reduced from 15 days to 48 hours.
In fact, a decision is communicated to the employer within 48 days. At that point. And the administration's silence for 48 hours can be considered acceptance. If you don't get an answer within 48 hours, it is accepted', explained precisely the Minister of Labour, Muriel Pénicaud, on short-time working: 'thechecks will be made a posteriori'.
None of us can predict with certainty when this health crisis will be resolved and the state of the global economy. But we do know that wellness is neither a fad nor a luxury. It is an expectation for hundreds of millions of people, and more are joining their ranks every day. For this reason, we are confident that the beauty industry will not only recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, but will come back even stronger than before. Stay home and take care of yourself and your family. Together, we will emerge stronger.
