Caregivers at the Drom Nord hospitals, whose work had been suspended for not being vaccinated, decided to go to court. Nine first appeals were submitted to the Grenoble Administrative Court By their attorney, Friday 24 September.
Those caregivers who decide to go to court are on sick leave. However, according to their lawyers, suspending people on sick leave is illegal. “The employer, in this case, the Roman Hospital Center, by suspending and denying those on sick leave pay, judge the merits of the medical reason for the business interruption. It is not possible: Only an accredited medical examiner can serve as a medical judge‘,” explains Maitre Ann Valerie Binet, one of the caregivers’ suspended attorneys.
According to the attorney, sick leave usually protects employees. Under this situation, benefits are paid to them every day. But if they’re stuck while they’re down, then they don’t actually receive anything.
“The duty to vaccinate matters to everyone”
“_Only active workers can take sick leave, which is not the case for caregivers who are automatically stopped because they have not been vaccinated_s‘ answers Vincent Pigott, Director of Hospitals Drum Nord.The duty to vaccinate belongs to everyone, including employees working from home. If those employees on sick leave send us a certificate of vaccination, we will lift the suspension and they can once again receive their benefits.‘ says the director.
In their appeal, the lawyers demanded that the suspension of these nine be lifted and the return of their sickness benefits. Claudia* is one of the caregivers who has decided to go to court. She is the administrative staff at the Roman Hospital: “_I stopped at the thirteenth, I received my comment letter on the sixteenth_. I wasn’t expecting that, because I was on sick leave, and I didn’t expect my membership to be suspended‘, testify.
Claudia says she didn’t go on sick leave just to avoid the Sept. 15 comment. I felt at the end of the line: “The situation is difficult for two months… two months of pressure. This is not a rest stop, I have important family issues that make me exhausted. ”
No leave without obligation to vaccinate
Another point that caregiver lawyers consider illegal: The hospital has been refusing unvaccinated caregivers to take their leave, since Sept. 15. Some unvaccinated caregivers had planned to take their leave at this time, so as not to be stopped immediately and to be paid a little longer. “_These people have taken leave, most of the time during pandemic waves, and have been told they can’t use it if they don’t commit to getting vaccinated._, which is completely ridiculous and for us completely illegalAnthony Florent, another attorney for the caregivers who have decided to go to court, explains.
“They allow us to take 5 days to get in good standing and get vaccinated. I have 13 days to order it. During the pandemic, we were told that we could not be replaced, that there were already a lot of people on sick leave… We have devoted ourselves, it is a job we do not hesitate to return to during our holidays, We come back for colleagues and patients and they played the topMary, a nurse at Roumieh Hospital, testifies.
The Drôme Nord Hospital management emphasizes that caregivers must pledge to be vaccinated to take their days off. According to the director, Vincent Pigot, taking days without a vaccination at the end, it only lengthens the time before suspension.
*First names have changed
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