2023-11-13 17:01:00
C’is a compromise found at the last minute. The social partners reached an agreement on unemployment insurance on Friday, November 10. Discussions to define the new rules for compensating job seekers began on September 22, with the current agreement expiring on December 31. The government had placed itself in the background.
Within a few days, the negotiations came up against the deadline of November 15 set by Élisabeth Borne. If this deadline was not respected, the Prime Minister threatened that her government would set the terms of compensation itself.
In the framework letter she sent on 1is Last August, to the social partners, she gave her demands on the new unemployment insurance system, calling for “significantly reducing its debt”. This should be established at 55 billion euros at the end of 2023. The agreement provides for 815 million euros in additional spending and 1.5 billion less revenue.
The negotiators met the deadline. Employers – Medef, CPME and U2P – and unions – CFDT, CFTC and FO – now have until November 17 to have the text approved by their bodies. The CGT and CFE-CGC have already announced that they will not sign it. If the process is successful, these new rules will take effect from 1is January 2024. Here are the key points.
- Less strict conditions for receiving compensation
New arrivals on the labor market must, to register for unemployment insurance, have worked at least six months in the last twenty-four months. This minimum was until now six months. The minimum period during which these new arrivals will be compensated is set at five months, compared to six currently. As for new arrivals, seasonal workers must have worked five months to be compensated and their minimum duration of compensation will also be five months.
- A more advantageous calculation of the daily allowance
The formula for the daily allowance amount will be more generous. As a reminder, the amount of compensation is calculated on the basis of the daily reference wage (SJR). However, since the 1is October 2021, this SJR is defined according to the average monthly income received by the unemployed person over the last twenty-four or thirty-six months. Which means that days not worked reduce the SJR, and therefore the amount of compensation.
The agreement provides that these non-worked days are not taken into account beyond a certain ceiling in the calculation of the SJR. From now on, for 100 days worked in the reference period, only a maximum of 75 additional days not worked can be retained.
- The reduction in compensation will affect fewer unemployed people
Came into force on 1is July 2021, the mechanism of degression reduced the compensation by 30% from the seventh month for certain unemployed people: those under the age of 57 and whose daily reference salary exceeds 156.68 euros per day (or 4,857.81 euros per month). In all cases, the compensation cannot be less than 91.02 euros gross per day. According to the agreement, you will now have to be under 55 years old to be affected by the degression: people aged 55 and 56 are now exempt.
- The monthly payment of compensation passes on a thirty-day basis
The compensation paid will be identical each month on the basis of thirty days, regardless of the actual number of days that month includes. Thus, beneficiaries will lose one day of compensation each thirty-one day month but will gain one day in February, and even two if it is a leap year. Over a full year, therefore, the unemployed will lose five days of compensation, and six in the event of a leap year. According to employers’ calculations, the measure would bring in 950 million over four years for Unédic.
- New rules for seniors discussed later
The agreement refers the provisions concerning compensation for seniors to the dedicated negotiation which should open soon. But it already specifies the volume of savings to be made: 440 million euros over the period 2024-2027.
- Fewer short contracts subject to bonus-malus
The objective of bonus-malus is to avoid excessive recourse by companies to short-term employment contracts. An employer whose company uses these contracts a lot compared to the average for its sector will have to pay a higher contribution to unemployment insurance. Until now, all terminations of contracts were affected: permanent contract, fixed-term contract, temporary assignment. According to the agreement, only the end of a contract lasting less than one month will be affected. This was a measure demanded by employers.
- Lowered employer contributions
The employer contribution for unemployment insurance will fall from 4.05% to 4% of gross salary via the elimination of a temporary exceptional contribution put in place in 2017. This will lead to a drop in revenue of 1.5 billion euros. over four years for the unemployment insurance system.
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