do you really have to work 15 hours a week to benefit from it?

After having been tested in 49 departments, the conditions for granting active solidarity income (RSA) have evolved throughout France since January 1, 2025. 15 hours of activity may now be necessary to receive your allowance. What is really happening in reality? Explanations.

Since January 1, the rules for awarding active solidarity income (RSA) evolved in France. From now on, each person receiving the RSA is automatically registered with France Travail and must sign an employment contract including an action plan specifying their social and professional integration objectives. This concerns 1.2 million beneficiaries in France. People will be directed to different organizations (France Travail, Departmental Council, local missions, Cap Emploi, etc.) based on their personal situation and different criteria. Contacted by us, France Travail Bourgogne-Franche-Comté clarified the framework of this new application. “These criteria take into account the person's level of qualification, their employment situation, their aspirations and, where applicable, the particular difficulties they encounter, particularly in terms of health, housing, mobility and childcare or relating to their situation as a caregiver.”

Contrary to what some people think, this does not mean that 15 hours of unpaid work must be carried out to obtain your benefit. This includes different things: active job searching, job interviews, training, CV creation, internships, associative actions or even work in a company. All people looking for work will have to prove their activity using an IT tool. Sanctions may be taken in the event of non-compliance with the employment contract as a whole, “taking into account the individual situation of the person. The decision to suspend RSA rights always remains within the responsibility of the departmental council.specifies the France Travail Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regional Directorate.

As a reminder, the RSA guarantees people without resources a minimum level of income which varies according to the composition of the household. For a single person without resources, the amount is 607.75 euros per month.

The reform of the allocation of the RSA, defined in the “Law for full employment”, has caused a lot of ink to flow. It was particularly strongly criticized by associations fighting against precariousness. This is the case of Secours populaire which carried out a joint study with other associations. In this study entitled “First assessment of the RSA experiments: 4 alerts to respond to the concerns of beneficiaries”, Secours Catholique reveals that in one year, “the rate of non-recourse to the RSA increased by 10.8% in the departments which are experiencing the reform, while it decreased by 0.8% in the other departments. This may be a direct consequence of this reform which tightens the conditions of access to the RSA as well as the sanctions”.

In December 2024, the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights also issued an opinion on this measure. She said to herself “concerned about the violation of human rights caused by its implementation.” And to add: “The current reform poses several risks to people's rights, in particular that of the right to “adequate means of existence” […] and that of the right to “freely chosen social and professional integration”.

From the point of view of citizens, the subject is particularly polarizing with on one side the critics of the French social system and on the other the defenders of the very principle of solidarity. For some, this measure is a way of making recipients feel guilty and creating free work. “Guilt among recipients, free work, administrative pressure: what the government calls the war on unemployment is in reality a war on the unemployed”denounces Houria, on the France 3 Franche-Comté Facebook page. Faced with the many strong opinions which treat RSA beneficiaries as “lazy” and “on welfare”, Adeline responds: “There can be various reasons for ending up on RSA, loss of job, cessation of business, health problems… A little empathy wouldn't do you any harm.”

The question of the attribution of active solidarity income is, as you will have understood, divisive. It is sometimes fueled by fantasies and beliefs of all kinds. But what happens in reality when an RSA beneficiary finds a small employment contract as part of their employment contract?

Sébastien Bassen, a professional pastry baker in Burgundy, was able to test this measure in practice. He implemented it within the association he chairs in Louhans Chateaurenaud, a Burgundian town of just over 6,000 inhabitants. “We organized the collection of boxes on horseback in our commune and for a year now, we have opted to hire two people at the RSA.” Sébastien Bassen speaks of “hiring”, because his association has chosen to pay for this activity at the SMIC hourly rate. “It wasn’t obligatory, we were asked the question, but for us it was normal.This made it possible to promote the work in question and all work deserves wages.he explains.

This restores dignity to RSA beneficiaries.

Sébastien Bassen, president of a trade union

For the association, this made it easier to find staff on a small contract. “Today, these two people work 13 hours per month, but this is only the beginning, because we are working on the collection of bio-waste also on the same model. These are therefore evolving contracts.explains the president of the Commercial Union of Traders of Louhans Chateaurenaud. One of the two people working for the commercial union found a job a few months ago. “It also allows you to get your foot back on track”concludes Sébastien Bassen.