Posted on

Difference is wealth: The imperative of an inclusive society

At DESRUMAUX AVOCATS, we believe that diversity is the fabric of our society, and inclusion its driving force.

On November 20, 2023, we were honored to welcome the Centre Ressources Régionales Trisomie 21 (CRR Trisomie 21) to our premises, thanks to the Communauté des Entreprises s’engagent Gironde. This flagship association in New Aquitaine symbolizes an unwavering commitment to supporting people with Down’s syndrome, from childhood to adulthood, to enable them to choose and live an integrated life within society in an ordinary environment.

CRR Trisomie 21 works to make access to the mainstream a reality for people with intellectual disabilities.

A questionnaire devised by the Center brought us face to face with an often overlooked truth: individuals with Down’s syndrome have the same rights and duties as everyone else. Integrating these people into the world of work is not just a question of social responsibility; it’s an opportunity for growth and mutual enrichment.

The benefits for companies are manifold, ranging from opening up employees’ minds to adding deep-rooted human values within the company.

reunion equipe cabinet avocat bordeaux

In concrete terms, what are the benefits for a company of hiring people with intellectual disabilities?

Integrating colleagues with Down’s syndrome reveals an unexpected richness. These valuable interactions refocus our perspectives, inviting us to move away from egocentricity and embrace a corporate culture based on empathy and mutual support.

Decentralization of the Employee from Himself :

By sharing their daily lives with colleagues with Down’s syndrome, employees discover a deeper dimension to their work. This experience leads them to consider the perspectives of others, fostering a spirit of collaboration and open-mindedness. They learn to value the unique contributions of each individual and to see beyond their personal concerns, creating a more harmonious, group-centred workspace.

Autonomy and Competence:

With the assistance of CRR Trisomie 21, these employees are not only competent, but also endowed with the ability to become autonomous in their tasks. This autonomy is the result of a workstation carefully prepared and adapted to their needs, enabling them to integrate smoothly and productively into our teams.

Financial benefits for the company :

A commitment to inclusion also offers tangible benefits. Companies that hire people with intellectual disabilities can access financial incentives. These incentives encourage the adoption of best practices in inclusion and reduce the costs associated with adapting workstations.

De-escalating conflicts :

The presence of colleagues with Down’s syndrome has a calming effect on the workplace. Their approach to life and daily challenges, often marked by exemplary resilience, inspires and facilitates conflict resolution. Their interactions tend to reduce tensions and promote constructive dialogue.

Establishing Benevolence:

Caring is not just an abstract concept, but a tangible reality in an inclusive company. Awareness of the challenges and successes of colleagues with Down’s syndrome nurtures a mutually supportive environment. This manifests itself in increased patience, attentive listening and a willingness to help each other.

Add Human Values :

Hiring people with Down’s syndrome is synonymous with introducing a set of human values into the company’s DNA. These values, such as authenticity, commitment and perseverance, become pillars of the corporate culture, influencing day-to-day interactions and decision-making at all levels.

In short, the inclusion of people with Down’s syndrome is not just a socially responsible approach, it’s a lever for cultural transformation that can enrich your company in every way. It reshapes teamwork, strengthens the internal social fabric and propels the company forward as a forerunner of a profoundly inclusive society.

To integrate a person with an intellectual disability into your company, and in particular a person with Down’s Syndrome, you need to take a structured, well-thought-out approach.

Here’s how it works:

Identify appropriate tasks :

Start by determining which tasks within your company would be suitable for an employee with Down’s syndrome, taking into account his or her abilities and level of autonomy. The aim is to strike a balance between the company’s needs and the individual’s skills. The tasks chosen must enable the employee to feel valued and make a significant contribution to the team.

Adapting the Workstation :

Once the tasks have been identified, adapt the workstation to make it accessible. This may involve physical adjustments, such as workspace ergonomics, or process modifications, such as simplifying instructions. The use of visual aids, clear task sequences and cues to help structure time and activities are effective strategies. It may be a good idea to set up a sequencing of tasks to be carried out in the form of photographs or visuals to help this person in his or her work.

Training and support :

Make sure the employee receives adequate training and ongoing coaching. Patience and repetition are key to helping transfer skills and knowledge. It can also be helpful to assign a mentor or support colleague who can act as a regular point of contact for the employee with Down’s syndrome.

Service agreement :

Consider concluding a secondment agreement with CRR Trisomie 21. This allows for a temporary collaboration, giving both the company and the employee time to adapt. The duration of this agreement is a maximum of two years, providing a sufficient trial period before potentially leading to a permanent employment contract.

Long-term outlook :

Keep in mind that the ultimate goal is for the employee to be able to benefit from a normal employment contract in the long term. This means seeing their integration as a long-term commitment, with clear development plans and opportunities for advancement.

Managing Constraints :

Recognizing that each person with Down’s syndrome is unique and may present specific challenges is crucial. Understanding and adapting to these challenges is an integral part of the inclusion process. By anticipating and actively managing these aspects, the company can ensure a positive experience for all employees.

Communication and awareness :

Educate your staff about Down’s Syndrome and intellectual disabilities. This can take the form of training sessions, newsletters or open discussions. Effective communication and increased awareness help prevent misunderstandings and promote an inclusive corporate culture. Remember, too, to adopt FALC “facile à lire et à comprendre” (easy to read and understand) language wherever possible. The pictogram below indicates when an article is written in this language.

By integrating these steps into your employment strategy, you create a work environment that values diversity and inclusion, while benefiting from the unique talents that people with intellectual disabilities can bring to your business.

Posted on

Instructions for employing people with disabilities

As a member of the LES ENTREPRISES S’ENGAGENT community, our firm took part in a morning session on the theme of “LES ENTREPRISES S’ENGAGENT POUR UNE SOCIETE INCLUSIVE ET UN MONDE DURABLE” (COMPANIES COMMITTED TO AN INCLUSIVE SOCIETY AND A SUSTAINABLE WORLD), gaining valuable insights into the hiring process for people with disabilities thanks to our enriching exchanges with the ESAT d’Audenge.

Here’s a concise guide to the subject.

From the MDPH to professional integration :

Each disabled individual is generally registered with the MPDH (Maison départementale des personnes handicapées), which issues them with an RQTH (Reconnaissance de la qualité de Travailleur Handicapé), and the CDAPH (Commission des droits et de l’autonomie des personnes handicapées) then issues them with a notification of ESAT (Etablissement et Service d’Accompagnement par le Travail) orientation.

ESATs play a key role in helping these people enter the world of work. These structures offer a variety of activities, from landscaping and carpentry to cleaning and many other trades, while enabling the people they help to benefit from support, medico-social and psychological accompaniment and work adjustments.

The skills they acquire enable them to integrate into the mainstream workplace

ESAT Audenge: a concrete example:

The ESAT d’Audenge offers its residents personalized support on social issues and access to healthcare, enabling them to acquire autonomy in their daily lives, particularly in terms of transport, housing, access to rights and citizenship, and adapted sports.

The ESAT d’Audenge, for example, has several areas of activity enabling it to offer disabled people a range of different trades and services to its customers, such as landscaping, laundry, carpentry, cleaning of premises, firewood, industrial subcontracting, support towards and/or within employment…

The Integration Pathway :

  • ESAT workshop :

Once integrated into the ESAT, the person discovers a trade that suits him or her. This can be done either within the ESAT or with an external company.

Support at work enables the person to evolve in a professional environment that meets his or her needs, through adaptations and compensations at the workstation. The skills acquired may be cross-disciplinary, making them transferable to other positions. Individuals can gain access to the ordinary working environment through a variety of mechanisms, such as :

– Outsourced team: a team and a mentor go out to the company to carry out production-related tasks.

– Discovery internship: This internship enables the student to discover a profession or a company over a period of up to 2 months.

  • Availability:

After an internship, the person can be placed with a company. The employee remains on the ESAT’s payroll, and the hours worked are billed back to the company. Invoicing is based on an hourly rate indexed to the current minimum wage. This contractual period, which can last up to 2 years (= renewable once with the authorization of the MDPH), is an opportunity for the person and the company to build a relationship of trust.

  • Integration into the mainstream through a common law contract:

A fixed-term or open-ended contract may follow the period of secondment. It will be accompanied by a support agreement.

Importance of the Support Agreement :

  • It reassures both parties: the employer knows he has the support of the ESAT, and the employee feels supported in his integration process.

This is a standby agreement (= 1 year, renewable 2 times).

  • During this period, the employee can exercise his or her right to return to the ESAT if he or she does not feel ready to continue. Similarly, the company can request a breach of contract.

A legal obligation not to be forgotten :

Let’s not forget: all employers with 20 or more employees are required by law to hire 6% of their total workforce for the disabled. In addition to meeting this obligation, this is a great opportunity to diversify your teams and contribute to a more inclusive society.

Posted on

Corporate social responsibility for the benefit of employees: why and how can my company’s employees benefit from this type of policy?

The aim of our monthly newsletter is to help you adopt a CSR approach, if you so wish, and to give you concrete examples of steps you could take. We’ll start with good practices that can be implemented within your company to benefit your employees.

CSR policies that benefit employees are indeed of considerable interest. Indeed, since the health crisis, 63% of French people are more attentive to the commitments made by companies. 84% of French employees believe that corporate social responsibility should be a priority, along with health and safety in the workplace. Quality of life in the workplace and equal opportunities are also high on the list.

So if you want your company to be attractive, and if you want to keep your existing employees, here are a few tips.

Corporate social responsibility for the benefit of employees

What actions can be implemented as part of a CSR policy to benefit employees?

Offer good social conditions within your company

Respect and enforce the basic rules of health and hygiene at work (washing hands, using personal protective equipment (PPE), observing safety signs, avoiding overwork, maintaining cleanliness, having a first-aid kit to provide first aid in the event of an accident at work, respecting the anti-smoking policy, offering your team a day of first-aid training (PSC1), etc.).

Above and beyond any CSR policy, this objective must be the first to be respected within your company to guarantee a good quality of life at work for all your employees.

  • Join the collective bargaining agreement for your industry, which guarantees working conditions adapted to your company’s sector.

Promoting diversity and fighting discrimination in the workplace :

    • Have an inclusive hiring policy (neutral job advertising, structured interviews that are the same for all candidates, implementation of a transparent hiring policy, establishment of clear and objective selection criteria, providing positions for employees with disabilities, etc.).
    • Promote equality between men and women (policy of fair pay for equivalent work, adapting working hours for people with family responsibilities, etc.).
    • Evaluate annually the fairness of salaries for all staff (comparative analysis of salaries in particular).
    • Implement a mentoring policy within the company. In concrete terms, this means creating a structured program…

Be attentive to employees’ personal well-being:

  • Create a healthy and pleasant working environment: make premises welcoming and convivial by installing plants, optimize workplace lighting: good lighting improves productivity and employee well-being, optimizing direct access to sunlight can also have a positive impact on your employees’ well-being, dedicate rooms to employee well-being with a break room for example, reduce noise pollution;
  • Focus on ergonomics to enhance your employees’ well-being at work and improve their productivity (comfortable chairs, adjustable tables, etc.);
  • Encourage the use of telecommuting: telecommuting is an environmentally-friendly alternative that also enables employees to be more rested and productive. It also ensures a better balance between employees’ private and personal lives. For the company, the development of telecommuting reduces the carbon footprint by cutting down on employee travel, as well as reducing energy consumption on company premises. To ensure that telecommuting is effectively implemented within the company, it will be necessary to establish clear rules for organizing telecommuting within the company, by adopting a telecommuting charter for example. Finally, you’ll need to equip your employees to enable them to work properly from home.
  • Annual appraisal interviews: these ensure that the employee is satisfied with his or her working conditions, and also identify any difficulties he or she may be experiencing.
  • Adapting working hours: whenever possible, employees should be able to adapt their working hours to ensure a balance between their professional and personal/family lives, through the introduction of part-time working, flexible working hours or working time modulation. These working time arrangements can be put in place by means of a collective labor agreement.

Ensuring a good atmosphere within the company

  • By organizing solidarity team-buildings (zero waste activity, Run for the Planet, an introduction to permaculture…) and/or by organizing impact challenges within the company. The ma petite planète application offers examples of three-week challenges that can be carried out within companies.
  • Introduce “solidarity” days off, during which employees can help an association.
  • Some companies go so far as to opt for corporate philanthropy: employees contribute their skills to a public-interest organization during their working hours, and are paid for doing so.

For employees, it allows them to become fully and personally involved in their company’s CSR policy, while feeling particularly useful.

For companies, corporate philanthropy entitles them to a tax reduction of 60% of the employee’s salary. In practical terms, corporate philanthropy is implemented through the provision of services or the loan of manpower.

Important:
It is essential to communicate your company’s CSR policy to your employees, so that they can become involved and appreciate the benefits.

To this end, you can set up a CSR roadmap that will be sent to employees or posted within the company to keep them informed of the projects envisaged and their progress.

It is also possible to appoint a CSR manager within the company, or assign responsibilities to various employees in this area.

It may also be worth setting up an open dialogue within your company to find out what your employees expect from a CSR policy.

Posted on

CSR policy: is my company concerned?

CSR concerns all companies, whatever their size.

Implementing such a policy within a company has many advantages, and is in keeping with the times.

The health crisis has largely changed the way people think about work and amplified environmental concerns, accelerating the need for companies to take these issues into account if they are to remain attractive and competitive.

What is CSR?

Corporate social responsibility is defined by the European Commission as “the voluntary integration by companies of social and environmental concerns into their commercial activities and their relations with stakeholders”.

In other words, when a company decides to implement a CSR policy, it wants to develop its business while contributing to the challenges of sustainable development.

A company that implements this type of policy therefore seeks to have a positive impact on society.

To achieve this, our CSR policy is based on three fundamental pillars:

  • The economy
  • Social
  • Environmental

What are the advantages of implementing a CSR policy within my company?

Implementing a CSR policy has many advantages for companies of all sizes.

  • Implementing such a policy within the company helps to create an enhanced brand image and to stand out from the competition.
  • CSR policy is a source of attractiveness for the company: to attract customers who are sensitive to such a policy, or even to win new business, but also in the context of recruitment to attract new talent, sensitive to current societal issues.
  • This policy can also attract new investors, who are increasingly taking this type of policy into account.
  • CSR guarantees a pleasant working environment for employees, thus promoting employee loyalty and reducing the risk of turnover.
  • This type of policy can also be a particular source of motivation for employees, who will identify with the values advocated by the company, which can have an impact on their productivity for the benefit of the company.
  • CSR also enables companies to make significant savings in the short and medium term, by reducing waste, cutting water and electricity consumption and cutting staff turnover.
  • Our CSR policy also enables us to anticipate future regulatory changes, which will be inevitable in environmental matters.

In the light of current considerations, companies wishing to remain competitive and attractive will necessarily have to take environmental and societal issues into account in their policies.

Implementing a CSR policy is part of this trend, and represents a real investment for these companies.

DESRUMAUX AVOCATS is fully committed to the development of these policies, and is proud to be able to support companies in their implementation and development.

Our team is at your disposal to discuss the steps that can be taken within your company to develop your CSR policy, and to support you in implementing this policy.

Posted on

Our partnership with Skema Business School: A symbiosis of legal practice and education

At Desrumaux Avocats, we believe that sharing knowledge is a fundamental pillar of our profession. Not only does it help us keep up to date with legal developments, it also gives us the opportunity to give back to our community.

That’s why we’re particularly proud to announce our new partnership with Skema Business School, an internationally respected institution.

As part of this partnership, our firm offers specialized courses on “Legal Aspects of Management” in the school’s Master’s program.

Taught in English, this course provides students with an in-depth understanding of how the law influences business management, a crucial skill in today’s business world.

But why is this important to you, our customers?

Firstly, this partnership testifies to our expertise and commitment to excellence. The opportunity to teach at such a prestigious institution as Skema Business School is recognition of our skills and experience in the legal field.

Secondly, it underlines our dedication to staying at the forefront of our field. By immersing ourselves in the academic world, we have the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the latest legal research and trends. This translates directly into up-to-date, relevant legal advice for you.

Finally, by contributing to the training of the next generation of legal and management professionals, we strengthen our understanding of the challenges and opportunities they face. This enables us to better understand the changing legal landscape and adapt to your needs.

We are delighted with this new chapter in our history and look forward to seeing the fruits of this partnership. Our commitment to providing a quality legal service remains our top priority, and this partnership with Skema Business School is just another way of achieving that goal.