Unemployment: Rules changing on November 1, 2019

Main novelties planned for 1^er November 2019:

• Minimum working time
  To be eligible for unemployment, one will have to have worked 130 days (910 hours or 6 months) in the last 24 months (compared to 4 months in the last 28 months so far).
• Reloading of entitlements
  The minimum threshold will be raised to 6 months (from 1 month to date). You will have to have worked 6 months to benefit from the reloading of your rights.
• Reduction of compensation based on income
  Employees with incomes above €4,500 gross per month will be reduced by 30% from 7^e month with a floor fixed at €2,261 net per month.
• Resignation
  Employees with at least 5 years' seniority in their company will be able to benefit from unemployment insurance in the event of resignation to carry out a professional project.
• Self-Employed
  Self-employed workers will be able to receive, under certain conditions (including at least previous earnings) €10,000 per year over the previous two years), compensation of €800 per month for 6 months.

Other measures concerning the reform of unemployment insurance will come into force later. Examples include:

• from implementation to 1^er January 2020 of specific support for new entrants to Pôle emploi but also for precarious workers (alternating or overlapping between short-term contracts and unemployment);
• the new method of calculating unemployment benefits calculated from 1^er April 2020, no longer on days worked alone, but on monthly labor income.

For more information, you can also visit questions and answers on unemployment insurance reform posted online by Unédic.