Even if Social Security must take care of it, the extension of paternity leave could force some companies to put their hand in the portfolio to compensate for a possible drop in remuneration.
The measure also worries small structures about its consequences on their productivity.
The duration of paternity leave will double to 28 days, the Elysee Palace announced on Tuesday.
Among which "7 mandatory days", said Emmanuel Macron on Instagram, after the Council of Ministers.
Long demanded, especially by elected left or environmentalists, but also feminist associations who see it as a measure favorable to gender equality, this extension should be supported by Social Security.
However, some economists are worried about a possible surplus to be borne by companies and the consequences in terms of work organization, especially in small structures.
Social Security pays ... up to a certain limit
"It is not the company that will pay most of the cost of this leave, but Social Security, up to a certain ceiling", tries to reassure Europe 1 Hélène Périvier, member of the Observatory French economic conditions.
"Beyond this ceiling, according to collective agreements, companies pay the additional cost so that there is no loss of salary," she said.
According to her, this expenditure does not represent a threat to the budgetary balances of companies, thanks to certain adjustments.
"There are other rights on which we could come back, for example the three-day marriage leave. We could go back on that to allow companies to finance the extension of parental leave," she argues.
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A difficulty for artisans?
François Asselin, the president of the Confederations of small and medium-sized enterprises, is more worried about the upheaval caused for the smallest structures.
"We are absolutely not opposed to being able to extend parental leave, but beware: for small businesses, there will be concrete organizational problems which will remain unsolved," he assures us.
"When you are an artisan baker, for example, that you have only one employee and he leaves you for 28 days, you will not have a solution, unless you try to compensate yourself for his absence to continue running your business. "
"No one is irreplaceable for a month", objected Hélène Périvier.
"All this can be planned upstream. The arrival of a child can be anticipated several months in advance. In terms of work organization, solutions can be found quite easily", she concludes.