Eurofound's EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the COVID-19 crisis, the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.
Factsheet for measure FR-1974-5/2612 – measures in France
Country | France , applies nationwide |
Time period | Open ended, started on 01 February 1974 |
Context | COVID-19, Restructuring Support Instruments |
Type | Legislations or other statutory regulations |
Category |
Income protection beyond short-time work
– Income support for unemployed |
Author | Frédéric Turlan (IRshare) and Eurofound |
Measure added | 23 June 2022 (updated 23 November 2022) |
The AGS's main mission is to accompany and support companies in insolvency proceedings by advancing the funds needed to pay employee claims.
Wage guarantees are offered in the case that an employer is bankrupt (debt cannot be covered by assets), reorganises the company, or is in temporary financial difficulties.
All employees are eligible irrespective of the duration of the employment contract including part-time and fixed-term workers, workers that temporarily work outside of France as well as foreign workers working in France for an employer located in another European Union Member State.
Founded in 1973, wage guarantees cover everything that is owed to the worker on the day of filling for insolvency, including wages, compensations in case of termination of the employment contract, claims from financial employee participation and social plans.
There is a maximum amount per employee which takes into account the following considerations:
There is no minimum duration of the employment relationship.
The system is financed by contributions from all employers (0.15% of the payroll, since 1 July 2017). Due to the COVID-crisis, the AGS has taken exceptional measures, applicable retroactively from 16 March 2020. From 16 March 2020, the AGS pays the amounts owed to employees within a period of 72 hours following receipt of the statement of wage claims. .
The year 2021 is characterised by a historic drop in all technical indicators for the AGS: 11,000 files opened (compared to 13,492 in 2020), an amount of advances not exceeding the symbolic threshold of €1 billion and a number of beneficiary employees below 100,000. In 2021, the AGS Scheme intervened in 68.4% of cases for companies in judicial liquidation. 30% of its interventions concerned companies in receivership and 1.6% companies in and 1.6% for companies under safeguard.
More information is available in the ERM legal database .
Workers | Businesses | Citizens |
---|---|---|
Employees in standard employment
Workers in non-standard forms of employment |
Applies to all businesses | Does not apply to citizens |
Actors | Funding |
---|---|
National government
Public employment service |
Companies
|
Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:
Trade unions | Employers' organisations | |
---|---|---|
Role | Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative | Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative |
Form | Direct consultation outside a formal body | Direct consultation outside a formal body |
Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
The AGS was created by law and managed by the representative national employers' organisations.
Unknown
Citation
Eurofound (2022), Wage guarantee fund, measure FR-1974-5/2612 (measures in France), EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, https://static.eurofound.europa.eu/covid19db/cases/FR-1974-5_2612.html
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