May bridges: is it allowed to telework from a vacation location ?

Est-il possible de télétravailler depuis un lieu de vacances ? Illustration Pixabay

Avec les ponts du mois de mai, de nombreux Français optent pour le télétravail. L’occasion par exemple, de profiter de s’évader tout en concédant une journée de travail, mais depuis un lieu qui n’est pas chez soi. Est-ce possible légalement ?

Teleworking and vacations are in theory not compatible. However, since the Covid crisis and the generalization of teleworking, a neologism has been born: traces or "workation", contraction of work and vacation in English.

In the case where the employee works while he is on vacation, if anything happens to him, he will not be able to claim the professional accident, since ;rsquo;he was not supposed to work that day. So the question of location does not arise.

On the other hand, it arises when an employee wishes to telework, from a location other than their home, for example because they are there for the holidays.

Collective agreement or with the employer

According to the public service website, it is the collective agreement, the charter or the employer which establishes the places in which teleworking can be carried out, such as the home, a telecentre specially designed to accommodate teleworkers or "any other location for employees who travel extensively".

The Ministry of Labor website very explicitly indicates that it is possible to telework outside of your "home,  unless the charter or agreement provides otherwise".

In an article in Challenges devoted to the generalization of teleworking published in 2021, the magazine recalls, however, that the address must be known to the employer, because if something happens, it can be considered a work accident.

A concept in development

However, the practice of teleworking at a vacation spot seems to be developing. In the Occitanie region, for example, last summer, campsites opened coworking spaces for vacationers this year. A Toulouse start-up, Cowoliday, is at the origin of the concept also offered in holiday villages and soon lodges.

Proof that for many, accompanying loved ones on vacation, while continuing to work, remains an increasingly preferred option.