New clarifications on partial activity
Published on April 24, 2020
The government has just amended, in particular, the calculation of hours eligible for partial activity as well as the social security regime for the allowance paid to employees
To help employers cope with the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, public authorities are gradually strengthening the partial activity scheme. Here is an update on the latest developments in this area.
Placing employees on partial activity
In principle, when an employer resorts to partial activity, all employees of the company or of the same department are affected. Given the current situation, employers are authorized to place only some of the employees of the company, establishment, department, or workshop on partial activity, including those belonging to the same professional category, or to apply a different distribution of non-working and working hours. This is to ensure the maintenance or resumption of business activity.
To do so, employers must have a company agreement (or establishment agreement) or, failing that, a branch-level collective agreement. In the absence of an agreement, they must obtain the favorable opinion of their Social and Economic Committee (CSE).
Clarification: the agreement or document submitted for CSE review must specify, in particular, the list of skills necessary for the maintenance or resumption of the company’s activity, as well as the specific arrangements for balancing the professional, personal, and family lives of the employees concerned.
Counting hours eligible for partial activity
Under normal circumstances, non-working hours giving rise to partial activity are taken into account up to the legal working time limit (151.67 hours per month). Recently, given the coronavirus pandemic, the government agreed that hours exceeding the legal working time in companies applying an equivalence regime (transport, for example) should also be included in partial activity.
Henceforth, when an employee’s working time exceeds the legal duration under an agreement, collective bargaining agreement, or individual flat-rate agreement concluded before April 24, 2020, the hours exceeding this legal duration are eligible for partial activity.
Clarification: however, if the collective conventional working time or the working time specified in the employment contract is less than the legal or equivalent duration, it is the non-working hours below the collective conventional duration or the working time specified in the contract that give rise to compensation.
Paying the partial activity allowance
For each non-working hour, the employer pays employees an allowance equal to at least 70% of their gross hourly remuneration (with a minimum of €8.03 net). This allowance is reimbursed to the employer for the portion not exceeding 70% of 4.5 times the gross hourly minimum wage, i.e., €31.98.
In addition, the employer has the option of paying employees (or may be required to do so by a company agreement or collective bargaining agreement) a supplementary allowance which is not reimbursed by the State.
Normally, the allowance paid to employees (including the supplementary portion) is exempt from social security contributions. It is only subject to CSG-CRDS at a rate of 6.70%, after a professional expenses deduction of 1.75%.
For activity periods beginning on or after May 1, 2020, when the combined legal allowance and supplementary allowance paid to employees exceeds 70% of 4.5 times the gross hourly minimum wage (€31.98), the portion of the supplementary allowance exceeding this amount is subject to social security contributions.
Note: only the supplementary allowance is subject to contributions. Therefore, when the employer pays only the legal allowance, the portion exceeding €31.98 is exempt from contributions.
Ordinance No. 2020-460 of April 22, 2020, Official Journal of April 23
Article published on April 24, 2020 – © Les Echos Publishing – 2020
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