Unemployment insurance: what changes for new job seekers on February 1, 2023

The Law of 21 December 2022 on Emergency Measures for the Functioning of the Labor Market for Full Employment allows the government to extend the current unemployment insurance rules until 31 December 2023 and to prescribe new rules for the compensation of unemployed based on the labor market situation. The implementing decree of 26 January 2023 on the unemployment insurance scheme specifies the new rules on compensation for jobseekers.

New jobseekers: duration of compensation that can be adjusted according to the labor market situation

For new jobseekers whose employment contract ended on or after 1^er February 2023 (except when dismissal proceedings were initiated before that date), the duration of unemployment benefits depends on the labor market. If it is favorable, the duration of compensation will be shortened by 25%. A coefficient of 0,75 shall be applied to the initial compensation period. Should the economic situation deteriorate, the current compensation period will be maintained.

New rules on the duration of unemployment benefits depending on the labor market situation:

• If the overall unemployment rate is below 9% and it has not increased by + 0.8 points in a quarter, the duration of the benefit will be reduced by 25% with a minimum duration of 6 months (182 days);
• If the unemployment rate is above 9% or has increased by more than 0.8% in a quarter, the current duration rules apply (depending on the activity and age of the jobseeker).

This new regime does not apply to:

• certain professions: temporary workers, fishermen, casual dockworkers;
• job seekers under a job security contract;
• some expatriates;
• jobseekers residing in La Réunion, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Saint-Barthélémy, Saint-Martin on the date of examination of the conditions for entitlement to the return-to-work allowance (ARE).

Extension of the duration of the compensation

The period of compensation may be extended in such situations:

• Ongoing training: if you reach the end of your benefit entitlement, your compensation period can be completed provided that you follow a qualifying training of at least 6 months and are registered in the personalized project for access to employment (PPAE) developed with your advisor.
• In the event of deterioration in employment established by an order of the Ministry of Labor, an end-of-entitlements supplement may be allocated.

• In the event of removal to an overseas territory: this supplement can also be paid if you have moved and at the end of your rights you reside in Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique, Reunion, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin.

In these cases, this supplement extends your compensation period:

• the additional period is calculated in relation to your initial period of compensation,
• the amount of the supplement shall be the same as the last amount of the allowance paid,
• the supplement is paid automatically at the end of your current entitlements,
• you are informed before the end of your rights of this additional period.

Abandonment of post and refusal of DTA

The Act of 21 December 2022 on emergency measures for the functioning of the labor market with a view to full employment provides for the abolition of access to unemployment benefits in the event of:

• abandonment of post without legitimate grounds (medical reasons, right to strike, etc.). An employee who does not return to work after the expiry of the period laid down in his employer's formal notice shall be considered to have resigned. Dismissal for abandonment of employment will no longer qualify for unemployment benefits;
• refusal of permanent contracts (CDIs) for employees on short contracts. An employee at the end of a fixed-term contract (CDD) or temporary employment contract which refuses a CDI twice in the space of one year, on the same job, the same place of work and with a salary at least equivalent, will no longer receive unemployment benefit.

These measures do not apply to 1^er February 2023, as the implementing decrees have not yet been published in the Official Journal.

What does not change as of February 1, 2023

At 1^er in february 2023, there are no changes to the current rules on:

• eligibility conditions: you will always have to have worked at least 6 months in a 24-month period (or 36 months for those over 53) to receive the return-to-work assistance allowance;
• the periods taken into account for the duration of membership;
• minimum duration of compensation (182 calendar days);
• maintenance of rights;
• the calculation of the reference salary;
• application of degressivity (after 182 days’ compensation);
• qualification of top-up remuneration events (EMR.) and time-neutralizing events (SNE);
• the assessment of the revocation period;
• rules of reduced activity;
• the amount of the compensation.

The current unemployment insurance rules are being extended until December 31, 2023.