Since the labor code was rewritten at the start of Emmanuel Macron’s five-year term, the courts have paid less compensation to employees who are victims of unfair dismissal. This is shown by a study by two academics whose results were revealed in the journal Social right from February. If we reason on average, the decrease observed is not spectacular, but some working people lose more than others, in particular those who are employed in companies of at least eleven people.
The investigation in question looks at one of the most criticized innovations of the “Macron orders” of September 2017: the framework for damages awarded by industrial tribunals in the event of dismissal “without real and serious cause “. Since the entry into force of these texts, the sums paid follow a scale, with floors and ceilings depending on the seniority of the employee – the minimum amounts may, moreover, be lower for those who work in companies with fewer than eleven people.
Campaign promise of the candidate of En Marche!, this measure was intended to give visibility to the bosses on the cost of a conflictual “separation” with one of their collaborators. It was thus a question of removing uncertainties likely to feed a “fear of hiring”.
The impact of the scale was the subject of a “first assessment” by Raphaël Dalmasso, lecturer in law at the University of Lorraine, and Camille Signoretto, lecturer in economics at the University of Paris. Their research had been mentioned in a few lines in the last report of the evaluation committee of “Macron orders”, published in December 2021. It is presented, in much more detail, in Social right.
6.6 months of salary compared to 7.9 months previously
To assess the impact of the reform, Mr. Dalmasso and Mr.me Signoretto relied on judgments rendered by courts of appeal, following the dispute was examined at first instance by the labor court judge. Two samples were compiled: one contains 192 decisions issued under the rules prior to September 2017; in the other there are 94, for which “the new law (…) prevails”. Thus, comparisons might be made.
Prior to the introduction of the scale, workers who were wrongfully dismissed received compensation representing 7.9 months of wages, on average. Today, it’s a little less: 6.6 months of salary. The maximum sum granted by the judge is also down: 20 months of salary since September 2017, compared to 37.8 months of salary when the old provisions applied. On the other hand, the minimum damages are a little higher with the new device (0.6 months, once morest 0.2 months in the old one). The « distribution » compensation is therefore “tighter”now, since the difference “between the maximum and the minimum” is less important than before the reform.
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