Towards a first adoption of a text in view of the National Assembly in this new parliamentary term. The deputies will vote at first reading, Tuesday, October 11, the reform of unemployment insurance. The bill “on emergency measures” with a view to “full employment” must above all enable the government to modulate unemployment insurance according to the situation on the labor market.
But the deputies amended the text with other measures, in particular on job abandonment. Franceinfo details the main points of this reform, which will then be examined in the Senate from 25 october.
A modulation of the compensation according to the economic situation
Article 1 of the text initially aims to extend the current operation of unemployment insurance, resulting from the previous reform which entered into force on December 1, 2021. Indeed, these rules were initially to end on November 1.
Above all, this article also opens up the possibility of modulating unemployment insurance so that it is “stricter when too many jobs are unfilled, more generous when unemployment is high”, in the words of Emmanuel Macron during the presidential campaign. The text does not fix the form that this modulation will take. It will be decided by the government, by decree, after a consultation phase with the social partners which will begin during the week of 17 October. The executive is aiming for the new rules to come into force in early 2023.
The Minister of Labor has already assured that the government “don’t touch[ait] not the amount of compensation”. “OOn the other hand, one can wonder about the conditions of entry into the scheme – six months worked out of twenty-four today – and about the duration of compensation.estimated Olivier Dussopt in the columns of Sunday newspaper (article reserved for subscribers).
A differentiated application for overseas
MEPs adopted an amendment aimed at ensuring that the specific situation of overseas territories, hardest hit by unemployment, be taken into account in the definition of the new modulation rules. The amendment was supported by the Minister of Labour, who promised in the hemicycle a “very differentiated application for overseas territories”.
Abandonment of post assimilated to a resignation
The National Assembly also voted on amendments from the majority and the Republicans aimed at equating abandonment of post with resignation, and thus tightening access to unemployment insurance for employees in this situation. “The employee who has voluntarily abandoned his position and does not return to work after having been given formal notice for this purpose (…) is presumed to have resigned”provides the text.
Currently, a dismissal motivated by job abandonment does not deprive the employee of his right to benefit from unemployment insurance, although job abandonment is “voluntary”. The government said it was in favor of this amendment, pointing out “a phenomenon in constant increase”. Representatives of the majority have mentioned a mechanism “well known to employers who experience it” and that “disorganizes companies, especially the smallest ones”. The left has pointed to cases “marginal” and pleaded not to “weakening the protection of employees”, suggesting a link between job abandonment and poor working conditions.
For its part, the Confederation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (CPME) considers that it is “a complicated subject”on which there is “no statistics”and which is experienced differently depending on the size of the companies. “In VSEs, it is considered desertion which disrupts the company and must be sanctioned”advance Eric Chevée, vice-president of Social Affairs of the CPME, with AFP. “But in SMEs, it makes it possible to resolve conflict situations (…) because the business manager does not necessarily want to pay for a contractual termination”subject to specific compensation, he argues.
A reform of the system of validation of acquired experience
It is a system that is still little used, due to its complexity. The deputies voted to create a “true public service” validation of acquired experience. The VAE, created in 2002, makes it possible to obtain professional certification thanks to the recognition of experience acquired, including in a voluntary context. But the use of this procedure is still considered too low.
The government’s initial text essentially provided for measures to extend VAE to “caregivers and family caregivers”, so that their experience facilitates their access to old-age professions, which are experiencing recruitment difficulties. But deputies, in particular from the presidential majority, pleaded for a more comprehensive reform, a request which the government took into account in its amendment.
The new device must therefore “extract the VAE from its administrative logic”by lightening and accelerating the procedures, defended thehe Minister Delegate for Vocational Education and Training, Carole Grandjean. A “one-stop VAE window” will be offered via a digital platform.