France wants to tighten unemployment compensation conditions for cross-border workers

The French government has just presented a draft decree which aims to tighten the compensation rules for cross-border workers, reports Capital.fr. This measure, unveiled last week by the Ministry of Labor, is part of the agreement on unemployment insurance negotiated at the end of the year by the social partners and intended to achieve significant savings.

The major change concerns the definition of reasonable offer of employment (ORE). The draft decree provides that it will now be the salary usually practiced in France which will be one of the constituent elements of the ORE and no longer the salaries practiced abroad.

The other elements are maintained, in particular the fact that job seekers are required by France Travail to accept all OREs. A double refusal without legitimate reason of such an offer could then result in the loss of unemployment benefits, recalls the economic information site.

This modification aims to accelerate the return to employment of cross-border workers who, according to the government, have “a longer time to search for a new job” than other unemployed people and consume their rights more than the average (41% against 37%, in 2023).

A deficit of 800 million

Due to higher wages in neighboring countries, particularly in Switzerland, the compensation system for cross-border workers generates a deficit of nearly 800 million euros for unemployment insurance, recalls the Ministry of Labor.

At issue: the European regulations in force, which stipulate that compensation for cross-border unemployed workers is the sole responsibility of their country of residence, even when their contributions have been paid in another country. The compensation distributed by neighboring countries does not cover all of the services paid by France.

The government is also announcing a strengthening of support systems in the 19 France Travail agencies which welcome the majority of cross-border job seekers. This measure aims to facilitate the transition and more effectively support the job search of these workers.

No stigma

The Minister of Labor and Employment, Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, specifies that this measure is not intended to stigmatize cross-border workers, whom she describes as “an essential component of the vitality of our territories”.

The minister announced that she had initiated diplomatic steps with her European counterparts to revise the European regulation relating to unemployment compensation for cross-border workers (regulation 883) within the framework of the Polish Presidency of the European Union.

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