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Unemployment: 200,000 jobless people in France set to lose benefits

And hundreds of thousands more unemployed people in France will lose some of their benefits, under President Emmanuel Macron's new reforms which come into force today.

Published: 1 November 2019 16:08 CET
Unemployment: 200,000 jobless people in France set to lose benefits
The reforms came into effect on Friday. Photo: Pascal Guyot/AFP

The new rules, which Macron has defended as necessary to get the unemployed back to work, severely curtail access to benefits for some of the country's 3.62 million jobless.

They stipulate that a jobseeker must have worked six out of the last 24 months in order to be able to claim benefits, compared to a previous requirement of four months out of the last 28.

Those aged over 53 require fewer months of contributions.

The measures, which were pushed through by the government this summer by decree, will lead to around 200,000 jobless losing their benefits, according to Unedic, the state agency in charge of providing the aid.

Around 500,000 others will either have to wait several months more on average to be able to claim benefits or will receive smaller payments, the agency added.

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Macron, a centrist former investment banker, came to power in 2017 vowing to get France's legions of unemployed – the unemployment rate stood at 8.5 percent in the second quarter – off benefits and back into the workforce.

He is also on a drive to cut spending, famously complaining last year that France was spending “a crazy amount of dough” on social security.

The regulations that took effect on Friday are part of a battery of reforms to be implemented in two phases, with sweeping changes to the way benefits are calculated – the government believes the current system is too generous – planned for April.

Apart from requiring benefits applicants to have worked for longer the new system also makes it harder for those who find work but later find themselves out of a job again to access assistance.

The reforms also cut the aid available to those who earned over €4,500 a month, who will have their benefits cut by 30 percent after seven months.

Benefits 'not a profession'

The government says it aims to cut the debt of the benefits regime and pressure those who take short contracts just to keep up their benefits to try find long-term employment.

“Being on benefits is not a life goal, it's not a profession,” Labour Minister Muriel Penicaud said recently, adding that “when the market is dynamic, you must return to work”.

But trade unions are up in arm over the changes, including the moderate CFDT trade union, whose leader Laurent Berger has described the reforms as a “slaughter”.

“It's one of the toughest social reforms that have been carried out in the past 25 years,” Berger told Le Figaro newspaper.

Anti-unemployment charity Agir Ensemble Contre Le Chomage warned that those already struggling to get by on benefits now faced a battle “for their very survival”.

Those who stand to benefit from the reforms are people who quit their jobs or who work for themselves.

Until now, employees who resign have been ineligible for unemployment benefits.

Starting on Friday, they will have rights to benefits on condition that they can sketch out a career plan.

The self-employed will also be entitled to claim limited unemployment assistance.

Article by AFP's Déborah Claude and Clare Byrne

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WORKING IN FRANCE

The rules on working from home in France

Working from home is increasingly common in France and Paris residents are being urged to consider it during the Olympics - so what rules and protections are in place for employees and employers?

Published: 26 April 2024 13:03 CEST
The rules on working from home in France

The pros and cons of homeworking were thrown into sharp relief during the Covid-19 pandemic – and it seems there are more pros than cons for many employees, who avoid having to commute to work one or more times per week.

For employers, the advantages are sometimes less clear, if articles about the benefits of going into the office are accurate. However, the fashion in France seems to be for a form of hybrid working, with those workers able to do so spending part of the week in the office and the rest working remotely.

Meanwhile some people just do it as needed – for example to avoid transport disruption during a strike or during the Paris Olympics for people who work in areas close to Games venues.

If you do want to work remotely in France – or if your employer has asked you to – are as follows:

Negotiate

Private sector employees can negotiate an agreement to work remotely full- or part-time. If you ask to work from home for any number of days per week on a long-term basis, your boss has the right to refuse, but must give a reason. 

Your boss can also ask you to work from home. In normal circumstances, you can refuse and don’t have to provide a reason. However, in the event of exceptional circumstances (such as, for example, a pandemic), remote working may be imposed on employees without their agreement.

Either way, it’s considered sensible to have the agreement down in writing so that everyone knows where they stand. It also means that no one will get shouted at during any health and safety inspection.

It’s a good idea to check any conventions collectifs – collective agreements – that exist in your profession or workplace. They may well have covered remote working already, so it is well worth checking out what this covers before beginning negotiations – as well as working time, the agreements may also cover things like whether your company will buy you a special chair and whether you can put in an expenses claim for extra electricity used on your work-from-home days.

The remote-working rules for public sector workers are different and slightly more complex.

Contract conditions

Assuming you are not a self-employed contractor, you remain an employee of the company with the same rights and responsibilities you have when working in the office. But if you switch to home-working permanently, your employers must provide written conditions of your working practices.

Among these must be a protocol for working hours and workflow regulation.

Employer and employee must also agree – before you start remote working – times when your boss can contact you at home, in order to preserve your right to a private life. This will usually be during office hours, obviously. But it also means your boss can’t assume you’ll be tied to your desk permanently just because you don’t have a commute.

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In all other aspects, the employee is under the same obligations as if they worked in the office full-time. You must respect your employer’s instructions, working hours and rules on using office equipment or systems.

Work equipment

Speaking of which… when an employee is working from home, the employer must provide, install and maintain any necessary equipment.

If the employed remote worker uses their own equipment, the employer has to ensure it is appropriate for the job and is maintained. Be aware, self-employed contractors, such as remote-working freelances, will often be expected to have and use their own equipment.

For employees who work from home, however, setting up home-working should not entail any personal additional costs. Employers must supply and maintain equipment that you reasonably need. How that equipment is supplied – whether it’s direct from the employer, or by reimbursement of the cost of setting up a work-station at home, can be decided on a case-by-case basis.

Rules on the use of company equipment at home – including, for example, limits on personal use – will likely remain the same as those in the office, but you should get this in writing before you start any shifts at home.

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Allowances and expenses

Working from home will mean that personal electricity bills rise as workers use their own electricity for lights, coffee machines/kettles and computers.

Any fixed expenses – such as stationary, phone calls, printer cartridges, for example – can be claimed back from your employer on the production of receipts.

You are also entitled to ask your employer to share some of the cost of utilities like electricity, internet and heating.

If you work in a job where you receive restaurant vouchers, these cannot be withdrawn if you switch to home-working.

Data protection

The employer has an obligation to protect any customer and company data used and processed by its employees, including remote workers, whether the worker uses the employer’s equipment or their own.

Health and safety

If you are working at home, your residence becomes your workplace for that day, with all that implies legally. For example, if you fall down your own stairs on a day you are working from home, that could count as a workplace accident and your employer could be liable.

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