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How France is changing its unemployment benefits system

The French government began implementing reforms to unemployment benefits in July, but certain measures were delayed until October because of the pandemic. Here's what has already changed, and what will change in the future.

Published: 24 August 2021 11:16 CEST
How France is changing its unemployment benefits system
Seasonal workers such as ski instructors could be impacted by the new rules. Photo: Olivier CHASSIGNOLE / AFP.

“In France, you must earn a better living by working than by staying at home, which is currently not always the case,” President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised address on July 12th, during which he laid out his post-Covid economic recovery plan.

During his speech, he announced that changes to unemployment benefits would be “fully implemented” from October 1st. Elements of the reform had already come into effect on July 1st, but France’s Council of State had suspended additional changes to the way benefits are calculated.

READ ALSO Seven key things to know about French unemployment benefits

What has already changed

Two main elements of the reform were implemented in July.

The first is a bonus system for businesses in industries which use an excessive number of short-term contracts. Businesses will be monitored over the course of 12 months; at the end of that period, those which resorted to short-term contracts more than the industry average will see unemployment insurance contributions rise by up to 1 percent of their payroll, while those offering more long-term contracts will have to contribute less.

READ ALSO The perks and benefits that employees in France enjoy

This will apply to 21,000 businesses of 11 or more employees. However, companies such as hotels, cafés and restaurants, which have been hard hit by the health crisis, will not be included until next year.

The second measure affects those under the age of 57 who were earning more than €4,500 gross per month before they became unemployed. 

Unemployment benefits in France are paid as a percentage of your previous salary, not a flat rate, so people who were previously high earners get more.

Now those in the under 57 and €4,500 per month category will see their benefits fall by up to 30 percent after eight months of claiming unemployment allowance.

An employment office in Marseille, southern France. Photo: NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP.

What changes in October

The measure which the Council of State objected to in the short term, and which could be introduced on October 1st, concerns the way in which job-seekers’ allowances are calculated.

The payments will still be calculated as a percentage of previous earnings, but the formula used for that calculation will change.

Under the new system, it is the average monthly salary – meaning the monthly salary divided by the total number of days in the month – that will be used. Previously, calculations took only the number of days worked into consideration. The change is likely to result in lower benefits for people who have not been in constant employment.

The idea is to “fight against excessive recourse to short-term contracts,” labour minister Élisabeth Borne said in July. She said such contracts “have exploded by 250 percent in 15 years”.

READ ALSO ‘So many barriers since Brexit’: The French ski businesses no longer willing to hire Brits

But the Council of State, France’s highest administrative authority, ruled earlier this year that: “Uncertainties around the economic situation do not allow for implementing, at this moment, these new rules which are meant to support job stability by making benefits less attractive for workers alternating between short contracts and inactivity.”

In April, Unédic, an association with a key role in managing unemployment benefits, estimated that 1.15 million claimants would receive a reduced daily allowance, and that their income would fall by 17 percent on average. On the other hand, they said the average claimant would be entitled to 14 months of benefits instead of 11.

An artist sings above a banner reading “Withdrawal of the unemployment insurance reform” during a gathering of culture sector workers outside the National Choreographic Centre of Montpellier in April. Photo: Pascal GUYOT / AFP.

The change is particularly likely to impact seasonal workers, such as ski resort employees, seasonal agricultural workers and tourism staff. The amount of benefits they receive will now take into account their average income, including the periods when they were not working.

However, to limit the negative impact, the rules stipulate that claimants’ entitlements should not fall by more than 43 percent compared to the previous system.

France’s largest workers’ unions came together earlier this year to bring the case before the Council of State. The CFDT at the time called the plans “a disgrace in the middle of an employment crisis” and the proposals sparked strikes in ski resorts in February 2020.

Future changes

The government is also hoping to modify who is eligible for unemployment benefits.

Under current rules, you need to have worked during four of the previous 24 months. This is set to be increased to a minimum of six months, meaning recent graduates who have only had access to temporary contracts could lose out – as well as recent arrivals in France – but that will not happen until the jobs market shows signs of long-term recovery.

Once those conditions are met, the fall in job-seekers’ allowance for those previously earning over €4,500 per month, as detailed above, will also take effect after six months of unemployment instead of eight.

It remains to be seen whether the economic situation will meet the criteria – including a long-term fall in unemployment rates – necessary for these measures to be introduced in October.

Once all of the measures have been fully implemented, Unédic estimates they will save the state €2.3 billion per year.

Unions and bosses will be invited to the Prime Minister’s Matignon residence on September 1st and 2nd for “a full examination” of upcoming social questions, including unemployment benefits.

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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.

READ ALSO URSSAF: What is it, how it works, and how it affects you

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.

READ ALSO Micro-entrepreneur: How to set up as a small business in France

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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