Incentive, participation, bonuses. What will change the law on the sharing of value?

Those working in small businesses – companies with between 11 and 49 employees – should be the first to take advantage of the Value Sharing Bill. This law will indeed oblige these VSEs to put in place redistribution mechanisms: profit-sharing, participation, or even Macron bonuses on the condition, however, that the company makes profits, that it generates a net profit equal to at least 1% of its turnover for three consecutive years. According to government estimates, from January 2025, more than 1.5 million VSE employees should therefore benefit from these devices from which they are today often excluded since there is no obligation.

>> Incentive, participation, employee savings… What will the bill on the sharing of value in companies look like?

The government makes a gesture in favor of the unions

Today, 90% of those who work in large groups, companies with more than 1,000 employees, are covered by a system of redistribution of profits, against barely 20% in VSEs and SMEs. This bill – which is the transcript of the agreement that unions and employers signed in February – seeks to reduce the differences in pay between small and large companies.

For employees of the largest companies, those with more than 50 employees, they will have additional obligations, but in the event of windfall profits. If the law passes, they will have to redistribute part of it to their employees. However, it remains to define what an exceptional profit is. The bill does not specify this. The initial agreement between the social partners provided that it is the employer, alone, who judges whether his profit is exceptional or not.

But, by transcribing the agreement, the government is making a gesture in favor of the unions: it wants collective bargaining with the employees to define this exceptional benefit. What give rise to discussions in the Assembly where the text must be debated from the end of June.

But there will be no tax on super-profits. However, two months ago, faced with the record results of most CAC 40 groups, Emmanuel Macron assured that he would ask the government to work on an exceptional contribution so that employees can take advantage of this windfall. But this recommendation remained a dead letter. Still, the exchanges in the Assembly are likely to put it back quickly in the debate.