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Unemployment benefit and return-to-work assistance (ARE) for a private employee
Verified 01 July 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
Additional cases ?
Can you receive the unemployment benefit of return-to-work assistance (ARE) in case of job loss? What are the conditions for receiving the allowance?
The conditions of compensation are not the same according to your age and the date of your termination of the employment contract, before or after 1er February 2023.
We present you with the information you need to know.
What applies to you ?
You're under 53
Unintentional deprivation of employment
In order to receive the UIC, you must be involuntarily deprived of employment.
The termination of your employment contract must result from one of the following situations:
- Dismissal for personal motive or for economic motive or a revocation
- Conventional breakage
- Not Renewing Your CSD: titleContent
- Resignation considered legitimate (for example, to follow the person you live with in a couple)
FYI
if your contract has been exercised for a period of secure voluntary mobility ceases for one of these reasons, you can claim the ARE. However, if you are reinstated by your company or if you refuse your reinstatement, you cannot collect the RCA.
Physical fitness
You must be physically fit for a job.
Location
You must reside in France.
Yes, in order to get the RWA, you have to be registered as a jobseeker or complete a training recorded in your personalized project for access to employment (PPAE).
You must register within 12 months of the end of your employment contract. This period may be extended due to certain circumstances (e.g. sick leave).
In addition, you must perform positive and repeated actions (e.g. daily consultation of job offers) in order to find a job or to start or resume a company.
Minimum period of work
In order to qualify for the EI, you must have worked at least 6 months (either 130 days or 910 hours) within Last 24 months on the date of termination of your employment contract.
This minimum period of work is referred to as period of membership.
Last job taken into account
France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) checks whether you worked a minimum period of time before you registered.
If this is not the case, France Travail can investigate whether the condition is satisfied by a previous employment contract.
This previous employment contract must have ended within 12 months of registering as a job seeker.
You must not have received any allowances in connection with this contract.
Training Periods
Periods of training, except those paid by France Travail, shall be treated as working hours.
Periods of training may also be treated as days of parentage up to a maximum of two thirds of the number of days or hours of membership taken into account.
Periods of suspension of employment contract
Accident at work Periods of suspension of the contract of employment (e.g. occupational disease, maternity or paternity leave) shall be taken into account at the rate of one day's membership per day of suspension.
Periods of suspension of the contract of employment during which you have been self-employed shall not be taken into account. But there are 3 exceptions: leave for company creation, of sabbatical leave and secure voluntary mobility shall be taken into account.
In the event of loss of business, you will be entitled to the resumption of your initial rights until they are exhausted.
This option is only valid if you have returned to work when you have not exhausted your rights.
You then have so-called rights rechargeable.
You must have worked 6 months (either 130 days or 910 hours) within Last 24 months to benefit from new rights with a new period of compensation.
FYI
You will not be entitled to rechargeable rights if you have been on an apprenticeship contract and have been compensated by France Travail for this contract.
You can have the right of option between your old and new rights.
The right of option allows the choice of the benefit resulting from the last period of activity without waiting for the exhaustion of the unused benefits of a previous right to unemployment.
In order to exercise your right of option, you must meet the following 3 conditions:
- Disposing of unpaid unemployment benefits
- Having worked at least 6 months since opening your rights in progress
- Receive a daily allowance less than or equal to €20 or claim an increase of at least 30% in relation to the total amount of your initial entitlements
You have 21 days to inform in writing France Travail. Once you have made your choice, you will not be able to change your decision.
If you exercise your right of option, you receive your allowance from your last periods of employment from the day of your application.
Gross amount
The gross daily amount of the AER includes:
- fixed part equal to €13.11
- and a variable part, equal to 40.4% of the daily reference wage (SJR).
This sum may not be less than 57% and may not be greater than 75% of the SJR.
Minimum amount of the AER
The net amount of the AER may not be less than €31.97.
If you are taking a course prescribed by France Travail, you will training return-to-work allowance (Aref). Its minimum amount shall be €22.88.
Where your working hours were less than the legal or contractual working hours, the minimum allowance shall be reduced proportionately.
You can estimate the amount of your unemployment benefits using this simulator:
Guide to benefit and aid simulators from France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi)
Degressivity of the ARE
If your daily RWA is higher than a previous gross daily wage on average of €159.68 (either €4,857.81 monthly gross), a reduction of 30% shall apply from 7e month of payment.
Your allowance after degressivity may not be less than €92.11 gross per day (approximately €2,763 raw for a month of 30 days).
This provision applies to the Paid ERA from 1er july 2021.
Contributions
A levy equal to 3% of your SJR is made on the gross amount of your daily allowance.
This levy may not have the effect of reducing the amount of the daily allowance below €31.97.
The ARE is also subject to a generalized social contribution (CSG) and a social debt repayment contribution (CRDS).
However, such contributions may be reduced or eliminated in any of the following situations:
- The gross amount of the AER is less than the daily minimum wage, i.e. €59.00
- The levy on CSG and CRDS leads to a reduction in the net amount of the ARE below the daily minimum wage
Timeout
The RCA cannot be paid until the end of a waiting time, set at 7 days.
However, this standstill period shall not apply if it has already been applied within the previous 12 months.
It starts at the end of the deferred compensation (when applicable to you), if the conditions for the award of the AER are fulfilled on that date.
Otherwise, it starts from the date on which these conditions are met.
Deferred Compensation Paid Leave
If you have received a compensatory allowance for paid leave, the AER shall be paid after a period called deferred compensation.
This deferral is determined by dividing the amount of this compensation by your reference daily wage. The result obtained gives the number of days of delay. If the result is not an integer, it is rounded up to the next integer.
Example :
If you have received paid leave compensation from €570, and that your daily reference wage is set at €100, the calculation is as follows: 570/100 = 5,7, reduced to 6 days of deferred compensation.
Specific deferred compensation
When you receive severance pay in addition to the statutory award, a specific deferral of compensation is applied to these amounts. This specific deferral is applicable, for example, in the following cases:
- Share of the agreed severance pay or severance pay that exceeds the amount of the statutory severance pay
- Supplementary severance pay known as termination pay supralegal
- Compensation paid in the event of a non-compete clause
This deferral corresponds to a number of days obtained by dividing the amount of the allowance taken into account by 95.8. The result is rounded up to the next integer (if the result is not a whole number).
FYI
the delay must not exceed 150 calendar days (5 months) or, in the case of dismissal on economic grounds, 75 calendar days.
Example :
If you have received (in addition to the statutory severance pay) a supra-legal severance pay of €10,000 following the termination of your contract, the specific compensation deferral is determined as follows: 10,000/95.8 = 104. In addition to these 104 days, there are 7 waiting days. Your compensation will start after 111 days.
The monthly amount of the allowances shall be equal to the daily amount of the AER multiplied by the number of days of the month concerned.
The allowances are paid by France Travail each month according to updating your situation (for example, early November for the October allocation).
The payment depends on what you declare each month: resumption of activity, entry into training, illness, etc.
You can request, under certain conditions, advances and deposits.
The duration of the EI depends on the end date of your employment contract.
Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement
Your employment contract ended before February 1, 2023
The duration of the Return to Employment Assistance (RWA) depends on how long you have been in the last 24 months.
Duration of employment (24 months prior to your contract) | Duration of compensation |
|---|---|
Less than 6 months | No compensation |
Beyond 6 months | 182 calendar days minimum and maximum 730 calendar days |
If you are employed in the private sector in partial activity (short-time work), you can take advantage of partial activity allowance up to 182 days.
However, if the suspension of the company's activities is due to a disaster or natural disaster, this period may be extended until the resumption of its activities.
Your employment contract ended on or after February 1, 2023
Since 1er february 2023, new rules on the duration of unemployment benefits apply depending on the labor market situation :
- If the overall unemployment rate is less than 9% and that it has not progressed by 0.8% over 1 quarter, your term of compensation is reduced by 25%
- If the overall unemployment rate is less than 9% and has progressed by 0.8%, the previous rules on duration of compensation apply.
The overall unemployment rate is currently below 9% and has not progressed by 0.8% over 1 quarter. Reducing the duration of compensation by 25% applies.
Thus, the maximum duration of payment of your compensation upon opening your rights to the ARE will be 548 calendar days (instead of 730 days).
France Travail informs you of the reduction of the duration of your rights to the ARE or the return of your rights to the initial duration.
Warning
- If you register for France Travail as of 1er February 2023 and if your dismissal occurred before that date, you are not affected by this provision.
- Intermittent performers, beneficiaries of the professional security contract (CSP), fishermen, dockers, expatriates and residents of the Drom: titleContent and Com are also not affected by this provision.
You can benefit from a so-called end-of-entitlement add-on CFD, depending on your situation.
The duration of this add-in is up to 182 days.
If your term of compensation has been calculated according to the rules applicable to 1er february 2023, you can also benefit from an additional end of training dit SBB, depending on your situation. To do this, you must take a qualifying training, registered in your PPAE and for a period of 6 months or more.
FYI
If you are employed in the private sector in partial activity (short-time work), you can take advantage of partial activity allowance up to 182 days. However, if the suspension of the company's activities is due to a disaster or natural disaster, this period may be extended until the resumption of its activities.
If you are working and still claim to be looking for a job, you can combine your Return to Employment Assistance (RWA) with earnings from working.
The conditions for this cumulation vary depending on whether you are employed or self-employed.
Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement
Employed activity
You are returning to paid employment
After resumption of activity, if you declare that you are still looking for a job, your RWA is partially paid. The amount of the PPA paid corresponds to the amount of the daily PPA multiplied by the number of days per month compensable by the PPA.
This number of days is calculated according to the following formula:
(monthly WAGE - 70% of your new activity salary) / daily WAGE
The sum obtained shall be rounded to the nearest integer.
The cumulative amount between the PAID-in Wage Benefit and your income from employment must not exceed your daily reference wage (SJR).
FYI
the days not compensated postpone the end of your compensation.
You must declare your resumption of activity when your situation is updated monthly. If you are unable to provide proof of your income, France Travail will pay you an advance calculated provisionally, then regularize your situation the month after the proof is provided.
When you lose one of your jobs, the calculated WFA is fully accumulated with the income of the job(s) retained.
The SJR, which is used to calculate the AER, is determined on the basis of the remuneration corresponding to the job lost.
You keep an employed activity
When you lose one of your jobs, the calculated WFA is fully accumulated with the income of the job(s) retained.
The daily reference wage (SJR), used to calculate the AER, shall be determined on the basis of the remuneration corresponding to the job lost.
You must declare your resumption of activity when your situation is updated monthly. If you are unable to provide proof of your income, France Travail will pay you an advance calculated provisionally, then regularize your situation the month after the proof is provided.
When you lose one of your jobs, the calculated WFA is fully accumulated with the income of the job(s) retained.
The SJR, which is used to calculate the AER, is determined on the basis of the remuneration corresponding to the job lost.
Self-employment
If you report self-employment income (for example, as a micro-entrepreneur) and you report that you are still looking for a job, your EI is partially paid. The amount of the PPA paid corresponds to the amount of the daily PPA multiplied by the number of days per month that can be compensated for the PPA.
This number of days is calculated according to the following formula:
(monthly WAGE - 70% of declared earnings for social insurance) / daily WAGE
The sum obtained shall be rounded to the nearest integer.
Where the income is not known or the activity begins, the number of days that can be compensated is calculated on the basis of a lump sum. An annual adjustment shall then be made on the basis of the actual earnings subject to social security contributions.
The cumulative amount between the PAID-in RCA and your activity must not exceed your daily reference wage (SJR).
You must declare your resumption of activity during the monthly update of your situation.
If you are unable to provide proof of your income, France Travail will pay you an advance calculated provisionally, then regularize your situation the month after the proof is provided.
Cessation of payment
Payment of the WFA will cease if you are in one of the following situations:
- You take up a professional activity, whether employed or not, in France or abroad, unless authorized by France Work of cumulation of the ARE with an income of activity
- You perceive aid for recovery or company creation
- You're collecting social security daily allowances
- You perceive the shared child-rearing benefit (Prepare)
- You perceive the daily parental attendance allowance (DPA)
- You've concluded a civic service contract
- You meet the conditions for a full-rate or working-age pension
- You no longer reside in France
- You have made a false or misleading statement resulting in the unjustified payment of unemployment benefits
Specific Solidarity Allowance (SSA)
If your rights expire, you may, under certain conditions, be entitled to the specific solidarity allowance (SSA)).
If you are not eligible for the SSA, for reasons other than the means test, you can apply for a lump sum payment equal to 27 times the amount of the fixed part of the RCA, i.e. €354.
You are between 53 and 54 years old
Unintentional deprivation of employment
In order to receive the UIC, you must be involuntarily deprived of employment.
The termination of your employment contract must result from one of the following situations:
- Dismissal for personal motive or for economic motive or a revocation
- Conventional breakage
- Not Renewing Your CSD: titleContent
- Resignation considered legitimate (for example, to follow the person you live with in a couple)
FYI
if your contract has been exercised for a period of secure voluntary mobility ceases for one of these reasons, you can claim the ARE.
However, if you are reinstated by your company or if you refuse your reinstatement, you cannot collect the RCA.
Physical fitness
You must be physically fit for a job.
Location
You must reside in France.
Yes, in order to get the RWA, you have to be registered as a jobseeker or complete a training recorded in your personalized project for access to employment (PPAE).
You must register within 12 months of the end of your employment contract. This period may be extended due to certain circumstances (e.g. sick leave).
In addition, you must perform positive and repeated actions (e.g. daily consultation of job offers) in order to find a job or to start or resume a company.
Minimum period of work
In order to qualify for the EI, you must have worked at least 6 months (either 130 days or 910 hours) within Last 36 months on the date of termination of your employment contract.
This minimum period of work is referred to as period of membership.
Last job taken into account
France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) checks whether you worked a minimum period of time before you registered.
If this is not the case, France Travail can investigate whether the condition is satisfied by a previous employment contract.
This previous employment contract must have ended within 12 months of registering as a job seeker.
You must not have received any allowances in connection with this contract.
Training Periods
Periods of training, except those paid by France Travail, shall be treated as working hours.
Periods of training may also be treated as days of parentage up to a maximum of two thirds of the number of days or hours of membership taken into account.
Periods of suspension of employment contract
Accident at work Periods of suspension of the contract of employment (e.g. occupational disease, maternity or paternity leave) shall be taken into account at the rate of one day's membership per day of suspension.
Periods of suspension of the contract of employment during which you have been self-employed shall not be taken into account. But there are 3 exceptions: leave for company creation, of sabbatical leave and secure voluntary mobility shall be taken into account.
In the event of loss of business, you will be entitled to the resumption of your initial rights until they are exhausted.
This option is only valid if you have returned to work when you have not exhausted your rights.
You then have so-called rights rechargeable.
You must have worked 6 months (either 130 days or 910 hours) within Last 36 months to benefit from new rights with a new period of compensation.
FYI
You will not be entitled to rechargeable rights if you have been on an apprenticeship contract and have been compensated by France Travail for this contract.
You can have the right of option between your old and new rights.
The right of option allows the choice of the benefit resulting from the last period of activity without waiting for the exhaustion of the unused benefits of a previous right to unemployment.
In order to exercise your right of option, you need:
- Disposing of unpaid unemployment benefits
- Having worked at least 6 months since opening your rights in progress
- Receive daily allowance less than or equal to €20 or claim an increase of at least 30% in relation to the total amount of your initial entitlements
You have 21 days to inform in writing France Travail. Once you have made your choice, you will not be able to change your decision.
If you exercise your right of option, you will receive your allowance from your last periods of employment from the day of your application.
Gross amount
The gross daily amount of the AER includes:
- fixed part equal to €13.11
- and a variable part, equal to 40.4% of the daily reference wage (SJR).
This sum may not be less than 57% and greater than 75% of the SJR.
Minimum amount of the AER
The net amount of the AER may not be less than €31.97.
If you are taking a course prescribed by France Travail, you will training return-to-work allowance (Aref). Its minimum amount shall be €22.88.
Where your working hours were less than the legal or contractual working hours, the minimum allowance shall be reduced proportionately.
You can estimate the amount of your unemployment benefits using this simulator:
Guide to benefit and aid simulators from France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi)
Degressivity of the ARE
If your daily RWA is higher than a previous gross daily wage on average of €159.68 (either €4,857.81 monthly gross), a reduction of 30% shall apply from 7e month of payment.
Your allowance after degressivity may not be less than €92.11 gross per day (approximately €2,763 raw for a month of 30 days).
This provision applies to the Paid ERA from 1er july 2021.
Contributions
A levy equal to 3% of your SJR is made on the gross amount of your daily allowance.
This levy may not have the effect of reducing the amount of the daily allowance below €31.97.
The ARE is also subject to a generalized social contribution (CSG) and a social debt repayment contribution (CRDS).
However, such contributions may be reduced or eliminated in any of the following situations:
- The gross amount of the AER is less than the daily minimum wage, i.e. €59.00
- The levy on CSG and CRDS leads to a reduction in the net amount of the ARE below the daily minimum wage
Timeout
The RCA cannot be paid until the end of a waiting time, set at 7 days.
However, this standstill period shall not apply if it has already been applied within the previous 12 months.
It starts at the end of the deferred compensation (when applicable to you), if the conditions for the award of the AER are fulfilled on that date.
Otherwise, it starts from the date on which these conditions are met.
Deferred Compensation Paid Leave
If you have received a compensatory allowance for paid leave, the AER shall be paid after a period called deferred compensation.
This deferral is determined by dividing the amount of this compensation by your reference daily wage. The result obtained gives the number of days of delay. If the result is not an integer, it is rounded up to the next integer.
Example :
If you have received paid leave compensation from €570, and that your daily reference wage is set at €100, the calculation is as follows: 570/100 = 5,7, reduced to 6 days of deferred compensation.
Specific deferred compensation
When you receive severance pay in addition to the statutory award, a specific deferral of compensation is applied to these amounts. This specific deferral is applicable, for example, in the following cases:
- Share of the agreed severance pay or severance pay that exceeds the amount of the statutory severance pay
- Supplementary severance pay known as termination pay supralegal
- Compensation paid in the event of a non-compete clause
This deferral corresponds to a number of days obtained by dividing the amount of the allowance taken into account by 95.8. The result is rounded up to the next integer (if the result is not a whole number).
FYI
the delay must not exceed 150 calendar days (5 months) or, in the case of dismissal on economic grounds, 75 calendar days.
Example :
If you have received (in addition to the statutory severance pay) a supra-legal severance pay of €10,000 following the termination of your contract, the specific compensation deferral is determined as follows: 10,000/95.8 = 104. In addition to these 104 days, there are 7 waiting days. Your compensation will start after 111 days.
The monthly amount of the allowances shall be equal to the daily amount of the AER multiplied by the number of days of the month concerned.
The allowances are paid by France Travail each month according to updating your situation (for example, early November for the October allocation).
The payment depends on what you declare each month: resumption of activity, entry into training, illness, etc.
You can request, under certain conditions, advances and deposits.
The duration of the EI depends on the end date of your employment contract.
Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement
Your employment contract ended before February 1, 2023
The duration of the Return to Employment Assistance (RWA) depends on how long you have been in the last 36 months.
Duration of employment (36 months prior to your contract) | Maximum duration of compensation |
|---|---|
Less than 6 months | No compensation |
Beyond 6 months | 182 calendar days minimum and maximum 913 calendar days |
If you are employed in the private sector in partial activity (short-time work), you can take advantage of partial activity allowance up to 182 days.
However, if the suspension of the company's activities is due to a disaster or natural disaster, this period may be extended until the resumption of its activities.
Your employment contract ended on or after February 1, 2023
Since 1er february 2023, new rules on the duration of unemployment benefits apply depending on the labor market situation :
- If the overall unemployment rate is less than 9% and that it has not progressed by 0.8% over 1 quarter, your term of compensation is reduced by 25%
- If the overall unemployment rate is less than 9% and has progressed by 0.8%, the previous rules on duration of compensation apply.
The overall unemployment rate is currently below 9% and has not progressed by 0.8% over 1 quarter. Reducing the duration of compensation by 25% applies.
Thus, the maximum duration of payment of your compensation upon opening your rights to the ARE will then be 685 calendar days (instead of 913 days).
France Travail informs you of the reduction of the duration of your rights to the ARE or the return of your rights to the initial duration.
Warning
- If you register for France Travail as of 1er February 2023 and if your dismissal occurred before that date, you are not affected by this provision.
- Intermittent performers, beneficiaries of the professional security contract (CSP), fishermen, dockers, expatriates and residents of the Drom: titleContent and Com are also not affected by this provision.
You can benefit from a so-called end-of-entitlement add-on CFD, depending on your situation.
The duration of this add-in is up to 182 days.
If your term of compensation has been calculated according to the rules applicable to 1er february 2023, you can also benefit from an additional end of training dit SBB, depending on your situation. To do this, you must take a qualifying training, registered in your PPAE and for a period of 6 months or more.
FYI
If you are employed in the private sector in partial activity (short-time work), you can take advantage of partial activity allowance up to 182 days. However, if the suspension of the company's activities is due to a disaster or natural disaster, this period may be extended until the resumption of its activities.
If you are working and still claim to be looking for a job, you can combine your Return to Employment Assistance (RWA) with earnings from working.
The conditions for this cumulation vary depending on whether you are employed or self-employed.
Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement
Employed activity
You are returning to paid employment
After resumption of activity, if you declare that you are still looking for a job, your RWA is partially paid. The amount of the PPA paid corresponds to the amount of the daily PPA multiplied by the number of days per month compensable by the PPA.
This number of days is calculated according to the following formula:
(monthly WAGE - 70% of your new activity salary) / daily WAGE
The sum obtained shall be rounded to the nearest integer.
The cumulative amount between the PAID-in Wage Benefit and your income from employment must not exceed your daily reference wage (SJR).
FYI
the days not compensated postpone the end of your compensation.
You must declare your resumption of activity when your situation is updated monthly. If you are unable to provide proof of your income, France Travail will pay you an advance calculated provisionally, then regularize your situation the month after the proof is provided.
When you lose one of your jobs, the calculated WFA is fully accumulated with the income of the job(s) retained.
The SJR, which is used to calculate the AER, is determined on the basis of the remuneration corresponding to the job lost.
You keep an employed activity
When you lose one of your jobs, the calculated WFA is fully accumulated with the income of the job(s) retained.
The daily reference wage (SJR), used to calculate the AER, shall be determined on the basis of the remuneration corresponding to the job lost.
You must declare your resumption of activity when your situation is updated monthly. If you are unable to provide proof of your income, France Travail will pay you an advance calculated provisionally, then regularize your situation the month after the proof is provided.
When you lose one of your jobs, the calculated WFA is fully accumulated with the income of the job(s) retained.
The SJR, which is used to calculate the AER, is determined on the basis of the remuneration corresponding to the job lost.
Self-employment
If you report self-employment income (for example, as a micro-entrepreneur) and you report that you are still looking for a job, your EI is partially paid. The amount of the PPA paid corresponds to the amount of the daily PPA multiplied by the number of days per month that can be compensated for the PPA.
This number of days is calculated according to the following formula:
(monthly WAGE - 70% of declared earnings for social insurance) / daily WAGE
The sum obtained shall be rounded to the nearest integer.
Where the income is not known or the activity begins, the number of days that can be compensated is calculated on the basis of a lump sum. An annual adjustment shall then be made on the basis of the actual earnings subject to social security contributions.
The cumulative amount between the PAID-in RCA and your activity must not exceed your daily reference wage (SJR).
You must declare your resumption of activity during the monthly update of your situation.
If you are unable to provide proof of your income, France Travail will pay you an advance calculated provisionally, then regularize your situation the month after the proof is provided.
Cessation of payment
Payment of the WFA will cease if you are in one of the following situations:
- You take up a professional activity, whether employed or not, in France or abroad, unless authorized by France Work of cumulation of the ARE with an income of activity
- You perceive aid for recovery or company creation
- You're collecting social security daily allowances
- You perceive the shared child-rearing benefit (Prepare)
- You perceive the daily parental attendance allowance (DPA)
- You've concluded a civic service contract
- You meet the conditions for a full-rate or working-age pension
- You no longer reside in France
- You have made a false or misleading statement resulting in the unjustified payment of unemployment benefits
Specific Solidarity Allowance (SSA)
If your rights expire, you may, under certain conditions, be entitled to the specific solidarity allowance (SSA)).
If you are not eligible for the SSA, for reasons other than the means test, you can apply for a lump sum payment equal to 27 times the amount of the fixed part of the RCA, i.e. €354.
You are 55 years of age or older
Unintentional deprivation of employment
In order to receive the RARE, you must be involuntarily deprived of employment.
The termination of your employment contract must result from one of the following situations:
- Dismissal for personal motive or for economic motive or a revocation
- Conventional breakage
- Not Renewing Your CSD: titleContent
- Resignation considered legitimate (for example, to follow the person you live with in a couple)
FYI
if your contract has been exercised for a period of secure voluntary mobility ceases for one of these reasons, you can claim the ARE. However, if you are reinstated by your company or if you refuse your reinstatement, you cannot collect the UIC.
Physical fitness
You must be physically fit for a job.
Location
You must reside in France.
Yes, in order to get the RWA, you have to be registered as a jobseeker or complete a training recorded in your personalized project for access to employment (PPAE).
You must register within 12 months of the end of your employment contract. This period may be extended due to certain circumstances (e.g. sick leave).
In addition, you must perform positive and repeated actions (e.g. daily consultation of job offers) in order to find a job or to start or resume a company.
Minimum period of work
To qualify for the ARE, you must have worked at least 6 months (either 130 days or 910 hours) within Last 36 months on the date of termination of your employment contract.
This minimum period of work is referred to as period of membership.
Last job taken into account
France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) checks whether you worked a minimum period of time before you registered.
If this is not the case, France Travail can investigate whether the condition is satisfied by a previous employment contract.
This previous employment contract must have ended within 12 months of registering as a job seeker.
You must not have received any allowances in connection with this contract.
Training Periods
Periods of training, except those paid by France Travail, shall be treated as working hours.
Periods of training may also be treated as days of parentage up to a maximum of two thirds of the number of days or hours of membership taken into account.
Periods of suspension of employment contract
Accident at work Periods of suspension of the contract of employment (e.g. occupational disease, maternity or paternity leave) shall be taken into account at the rate of one day's membership per day of suspension.
Periods of suspension of the contract of employment during which you have been self-employed shall not be taken into account. But there are 3 exceptions: leave for company creation, of sabbatical leave and secure voluntary mobility shall be taken into account.
In the event of loss of business, you will be entitled to the resumption of your initial rights until they are exhausted.
This option is only valid if you have returned to work when you have not exhausted your rights.
You then have so-called rights rechargeable.
You must have worked 6 months (either 130 days or 910 hours) within Last 36 months to benefit from new rights with a new period of compensation.
FYI
You will not be entitled to rechargeable rights if you have been on an apprenticeship contract and have been compensated by France Travail for this contract.
Choice of rechargeable rights
You can have the right of option between your old and new rights.
The right of option allows the choice of the benefit resulting from the last period of activity without waiting for the exhaustion of the unused benefits of a previous right to unemployment.
In order to exercise your right of option, you need:
- Disposing of unpaid unemployment benefits
- Having worked at least 6 months since opening your rights in progress
- Receive daily allowance less than or equal to €20 or claim an increase of at least 30% in relation to the total amount of your initial entitlements
You have 21 days to inform in writing France Travail. Once you have made your choice, you will not be able to change your decision.
If you exercise your right of option, you will receive your allowance from your last periods of employment from the day of your application.
Gross amount
The gross daily amount of the AER includes:
- fixed part equal to €13.11
- and a variable part, equal to 40.4% of the daily reference wage (SJR).
This sum may not be less than 57% and may not be greater than 75% of the SJR.
Minimum amount of the AER
The net amount of the AER may not be less than €31.97.
If you are taking a course prescribed by France Travail, you will training return-to-work allowance (Aref). Its minimum amount shall be €22.88.
Where your working hours were less than the legal or contractual working hours, the minimum allowance shall be reduced proportionately.
You can estimate the amount of your unemployment benefits using this simulator:
Guide to benefit and aid simulators from France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi)
Degressivity of the ARE
If your daily RWA is higher than a previous gross daily wage on average of €159.68 (either €4,857.81 monthly gross), a reduction of 30% shall apply from 7e month of payment.
Your allowance after degressivity may not be less than €92.11 gross per day (approximately €2,763 raw for a month of 30 days).
This provision applies to the Paid ERA from 1er july 2021.
Contributions
A levy equal to 3% of your SJR is made on the gross amount of your daily allowance.
This levy may not have the effect of reducing the amount of the daily allowance below €31.97.
The ARE is also subject to a generalized social contribution (CSG) and a social debt repayment contribution (CRDS).
However, such contributions may be reduced or eliminated in any of the following situations:
- The gross amount of the AER is less than the daily minimum wage, i.e. €59.00
- The levy on CSG and CRDS leads to a reduction in the net amount of the ARE below the daily minimum wage
Timeout
The RCA cannot be paid until the end of a waiting time, set at 7 days.
However, this standstill period shall not apply if it has already been applied within the previous 12 months.
It starts at the end of the deferred compensation (when applicable to you), if the conditions for the award of the AER are fulfilled on that date.
Otherwise, it starts from the date on which these conditions are met.
Deferred Compensation Paid Leave
If you have received a compensatory allowance for paid leave, the AER shall be paid after a period called deferred compensation.
This deferral is determined by dividing the amount of this compensation by your reference daily wage. The result obtained gives the number of days of delay. If the result is not an integer, it is rounded up to the next integer.
Example :
If you have received paid leave compensation from €570, and that your daily reference wage is set at €100, the calculation is as follows: 570/100 = 5,7, reduced to 6 days of deferred compensation.
Specific deferred compensation
When you receive severance pay in addition to the statutory award, a specific deferral of compensation is applied to these amounts. This specific deferral is applicable, for example, in the following cases:
- Share of the agreed severance pay or severance pay that exceeds the amount of the statutory severance pay
- Supplementary severance pay known as termination pay supralegal
- Compensation paid in the event of a non-compete clause
This deferral corresponds to a number of days obtained by dividing the amount of the allowance taken into account by 95.8. The result is rounded up to the next integer (if the result is not a whole number).
FYI
the delay must not exceed 150 calendar days (5 months) or, in the case of dismissal on economic grounds, 75 calendar days.
Example :
If you have received (in addition to the statutory severance pay) a supra-legal severance pay of €10,000 following the termination of your contract, the specific compensation deferral is determined as follows: 10,000/95.8 = 104. In addition to these 104 days, there are 7 waiting days. Your compensation will start after 111 days.
The monthly amount of the allowances shall be equal to the daily amount of the AER multiplied by the number of days of the month concerned.
The allowances are paid by France Travail each month according to updating your situation (for example, early November for the October allocation).
The payment depends on what you declare each month: resumption of activity, entry into training, illness, etc.
You can request, under certain conditions, advances and deposits.
The duration of the EI depends on the end date of your employment contract.
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Your employment contract ended before February 1, 2023
The duration of the Return to Employment Assistance (RWA) depends on how long you have been in the last 36 months.
Duration of employment (36 months prior to your contract) | Maximum duration of compensation |
|---|---|
Less than 6 months | No compensation |
Beyond 6 months | 182 calendar days minimum and maximum 1,095 calendar days |
If you are employed in the private sector in partial activity (short-time work), you can take advantage of partial activity allowance up to 182 days.
However, if the suspension of the company's activities is due to a disaster or natural disaster, this period may be extended until the resumption of its activities.
Your employment contract ended on or after February 1, 2023
Since 1er february 2023, new rules on the duration of unemployment benefits apply depending on the labor market situation :
- If the overall unemployment rate is less than 9% and that it has not progressed by 0.8% over 1 quarter, your term of compensation is reduced by 25%
- If the overall unemployment rate is less than 9% and has progressed by 0.8%, the previous rules on duration of compensation apply.
The overall unemployment rate is currently below 9% and has not progressed by 0.8% over 1 quarter. Reducing the duration of compensation by 25% applies.
Thus, the maximum duration of payment of your compensation upon opening your rights to the ARE will then be 822 calendar days (instead of 1,095 days).
France Travail informs you of the reduction of the duration of your rights to the ARE or the return of your rights to the initial duration.
Warning
- If you register for France Travail as of 1er February 2023 and if your dismissal occurred before that date, you are not affected by this provision.
- Intermittent performers, beneficiaries of the professional security contract (CSP), fishermen, dockers, expatriates and residents of the Drom: titleContent and Com are also not affected by this provision.
You can benefit from a so-called end-of-entitlement add-on CFD, depending on your situation.
The duration of this add-in is up to 182 days.
If your term of compensation has been calculated according to the rules applicable to 1er february 2023, you can also benefit from an additional end of training dit SBB, depending on your situation. To do this, you must take a qualifying training, registered in your PPAE and for a period of 6 months or more.
FYI
If you are employed in the private sector in partial activity (short-time work), you can take advantage of partial activity allowance up to 182 days. However, if the suspension of the company's activities is due to a disaster or natural disaster, this period may be extended until the resumption of its activities.
If you are working and still claim to be looking for a job, you can combine your Return to Employment Assistance (RWA) with earnings from working.
The conditions for this cumulation vary depending on whether you are employed or self-employed.
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Employed activity
You are returning to paid employment
After resumption of activity, if you declare that you are still looking for a job, your RWA is partially paid. The amount of the PPA paid corresponds to the amount of the daily PPA multiplied by the number of days per month compensable by the PPA.
This number of days is calculated according to the following formula:
(monthly WAGE - 70% of your new activity salary) / daily WAGE
The sum obtained shall be rounded to the nearest integer.
The cumulative amount between the PAID-in Wage Benefit and your income from employment must not exceed your daily reference wage (SJR).
FYI
the days not compensated postpone the end of your compensation.
You must declare your resumption of activity when your situation is updated monthly. If you are unable to provide proof of your income, France Travail will pay you an advance calculated provisionally, then regularize your situation the month after the proof is provided.
When you lose one of your jobs, the calculated WFA is fully accumulated with the income of the job(s) retained.
The SJR, which is used to calculate the AER, is determined on the basis of the remuneration corresponding to the job lost.
You keep an employed activity
When you lose one of your jobs, the calculated WFA is fully accumulated with the income of the job(s) retained.
The daily reference wage (SJR), used to calculate the AER, shall be determined on the basis of the remuneration corresponding to the job lost.
You must declare your resumption of activity when your situation is updated monthly. If you are unable to provide proof of your income, France Travail will pay you an advance calculated provisionally, then regularize your situation the month after the proof is provided.
When you lose one of your jobs, the calculated WFA is fully accumulated with the income of the job(s) retained.
The SJR, which is used to calculate the AER, is determined on the basis of the remuneration corresponding to the job lost.
Self-employment
If you report self-employment income (for example, as a micro-entrepreneur) and you report that you are still looking for a job, your EI is partially paid. The amount of the PPA paid corresponds to the amount of the daily PPA multiplied by the number of days per month that can be compensated for the PPA.
This number of days is calculated according to the following formula:
(monthly WAGE - 70% of declared earnings for social insurance) / daily WAGE
The sum obtained shall be rounded to the nearest integer.
Where the income is not known or the activity begins, the number of days that can be compensated is calculated on the basis of a lump sum. An annual adjustment shall then be made on the basis of the actual earnings subject to social security contributions.
The cumulative amount between the PAID-in RCA and your activity must not exceed your daily reference wage (SJR).
You must declare your resumption of activity during the monthly update of your situation.
If you are unable to provide proof of your income, France Travail will pay you an advance calculated provisionally, then regularize your situation the month after the proof is provided.
Cessation of payment
Payment of the WFA will cease if you are in one of the following situations:
- You take up a professional activity, whether employed or not, in France or abroad, unless authorized by France Work of cumulation of the ARE with an income of activity
- You perceive aid for recovery or company creation
- You're collecting social security daily allowances
- You perceive the shared child-rearing benefit (Prepare)
- You perceive the daily parental attendance allowance (DPA)
- You've concluded a civic service contract
- You meet the conditions for a full-rate or working-age pension
- You no longer reside in France
- You have made a false or misleading statement resulting in the unjustified payment of unemployment benefits
Specific Solidarity Allowance (SSA)
If your rights expire, you may, under certain conditions, be entitled to the specific solidarity allowance (SSA)).
If you are not eligible for the SSA, for reasons other than the means test, you can apply for a lump sum payment equal to 27 times the amount of the fixed part of the RCA, i.e. €354.
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For further information
France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi)
ARE (condition, form, etc.)
Article L5422-2-1: Rechargeable rights
Accumulation of replacement income with other income
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France Labor
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