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Remuneration of an employee on short-time work (partial activity)

Verified 01 May 2023 - Legal and Administrative Information Directorate (Prime Minister), Ministry of Labor

In the case of partial activity, employees who lose wages because of the reduction in their working hours are compensated by the employer. In return, the latter receives a partial activity allowance co-financed by the State and Unédic.

In the event of a reduction or suspension of the activity of the company, some employees may benefit from short-time work.

Affected employees

An employee with an employment contract under French law (DTA: titleContent, CSD: titleContent in particular) shall be entitled to partial unemployment, whether it is:

  • Full or part-time
  • In package agreement in hours or days of the year
  • Traveler, Representative and Placer (VRP)
  • Employee employed in France by a foreign company without establishment in France
  • Paid by the Seal
  • Temporary employee on assignment contract following suspension, cancelation or termination of a signed supply contract
  • Under DTAs under the wage portage
  • Executive in the event of total closure the company or part of it (e.g. closure of a workshop or a company department)
  • Homeworker paid by the job
  • Freelance journalist

Excluded employees

The following employees shall not be subject to short-time work:

  • Employees whose reduction or suspension of activity is caused by a collective labor dispute (e.g. strike)
  • Employees with a contract of employment under French law who work abroad
  • Expatriate employees with a local law contract

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General case

The hours compensated are those not worked within the limit of the legal working time or, if less, than the collective or contractual working time.

Working hours exceeding 35 hours

Duration provided for in the contract of employment (lump-sum agreement)
Contract of employment concluded before 24 April 2020

The hours compensated shall be those not exceeding the duration laid down in the contract of employment (e.g. 39 hours per week or 169 hours per month).

FYI  

the package agreement is provided for in the contract of employment or in a agreeable to this one.

Contract of employment concluded from 24 April 2020

The hours compensated are those not worked within the limit of the legal working time or, if less, than the collective or contractual working time.

FYI  

the package agreement is provided for in the contract of employment or in a agreeable to this one.

Duration provided for in a collective agreement
Collective agreement reached before April 24, 2020

Unemployed hours paid are those which are unemployed within the working hours laid down in thecollective agreement.

For example, in the national collective agreement for hotels, cafes and restaurants, the contractual working time is 39 hours per week.

Collective agreement concluded from 24 April 2020

The hours compensated are those that are unemployed within the limit of the collective working time.

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General case

The employer must pay the employee compensation corresponding to 60%of his gross salary per hour unemployed person, or approximately 72% hourly net salary.

This allowance may not be less than €9.11, or exceed a ceiling of €31.10 per nonworking hour.

The compensation is paid by the employer on the usual date of payment of the salary.

The employer must indicate on the employee's pay slip (or in an appended document) the number of hours paid, the rates applied and the amounts paid.

A collective agreement or arrangement and a unilateral decision by the employer may provide for additional compensation.

In the case of safeguard, recovery or liquidation proceedings, the service and payment agency (ASP) pays the sum directly to the employee on the decision of the prefect.

Vulnerable persons from 1 September 2022 to 31 January 2023

The employer must pay the employee compensation corresponding to 70%of his gross salary per hour unemployed person, or approximately 84% hourly net salary.

This allowance may not be less than €9.11 , or exceed a ceiling of €36.29 per nonworking hour.

The compensation is paid by the employer on the usual date of payment of the salary.

The employer must indicate on the employee's pay slip (or in an appended document) the number of hours paid, the rates applied and the amounts paid.

A collective agreement or arrangement and a unilateral decision by the employer may provide for additional compensation.

Please note

employees on an apprenticeship or professionalization contract whose remuneration is less than Smic: titleContent also receive a partial hourly working allowance. Its amount is equal to the percentage of the Smic: titleContent or the treaty provisions applicable to them.