Unemployment benefits: how is the daily reference wage calculated?
Verified 01 April 2025 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
The daily reference wage (SJR) is used to calculate your unemployment benefits. It is based on your earnings over a period of time and the number of days in that period. We present you with the information you need to know.
The SJR is obtained by dividing the total remuneration received (reference salary) by the number of days between 1er and the last working day in the reference period, depending on your age : 24 months if you have under 55 and 36 months if you have 55 years or older.
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You're under 55
The daily reference wage (SJR) is determined in 2 steps.
The total gross remuneration received during the 2 years before the end of your last employment contract is taken into account.
This sum is divided by the number of calendar days (days worked + days not worked) between 1er the day of the first contract and the last day of the last contract in that period.
Please note
Certain events occurring in the course of the performance of the contract of employment give rise to a lack of remuneration or to partial or unusual remuneration. These are mainly periods of sickness, maternity, paternity, or partial activity. In such cases, France Travail provides for the normal salary to be replenished over these periods in order to incorporate it into the reference salary.
If you are dismissed for incapacity and your dismissal procedure has been initiated as of 1er april 2025, the month corresponding to the reclassification period preceding that dismissal shall be the subject of a salary reconstitution.
The number of non-working days taken into account in the calculation of the duration of compensation may not exceed:
- to 75% the number of days worked if the termination of the contract occurred by March 31, 2025,
- to 70% the number of days worked if the termination of the contract occurred from 1er april 2025. %
For each month, the remuneration taken into account may not exceed €15,700.
Type of compensation | Taking into account |
|---|---|
Allowances of 13è month | Only for the 12 partè month |
Balance sheet premiums | Only for the 12 partè month |
Rewards received | Only for the 12 partè month |
Refunds for professional expenses | No |
Termination and severance pay | No |
Conventional severance pay | No |
Leave with pay compensatory allowances | No |
End-of-mission allowance (precarious allowance) | No |
Advance notice or non-competition allowances | No |
Social Security Daily Allowances | No |
You are 55 years of age or older
The daily reference wage (SJR) is determined in 2 steps.
The total gross remuneration received during the 3 years before the end of your last employment contract is taken into account.
This sum is divided by the number of calendar days (days worked + days not worked) between 1er the day of the first contract and the last day of the last contract in that period.
Please note
Certain events occurring in the course of the performance of the contract of employment give rise to a lack of remuneration or to partial or unusual remuneration. These are mainly periods of sickness, maternity, paternity, or partial activity. In such cases, France Travail provides for the normal salary to be replenished over these periods in order to incorporate it into the reference salary.
If you are dismissed for incapacity and your dismissal procedure has been initiated as of 1er april 2025, the month corresponding to the reclassification period preceding that dismissal shall be the subject of a salary reconstitution.
The number of non-working days taken into account in the calculation of the duration of compensation may not exceed:
- to 75% the number of days worked if the termination of the contract occurred by March 31, 2025,
- to 70% the number of days worked if the termination of the contract occurred from 1er april 2025. %
For each month, the remuneration taken into account may not exceed €15,700.
Type of compensation | Taking into account |
|---|---|
Allowances of 13è month | Only for the 12 partè month |
Balance sheet premiums | Only for the 12 partè month |
Rewards received | Only for the 12 partè month |
Refunds for professional expenses | No |
Termination and severance pay | No |
Conventional severance pay | No |
Leave with pay compensatory allowances | No |
End-of-mission allowance (precarious allowance) | No |
Advance notice or non-competition allowances | No |
Social Security Daily Allowances | No |
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You're under 55
The daily reference wage (SJR) is determined in 2 steps.
The total gross remuneration received during the 2 years before the end of your last employment contract is taken into account.
This sum is divided by the number of calendar days (days worked + days not worked) between 1er the day of the first contract and the last day of the last contract in that period.
Please note
Certain events occurring in the course of the performance of the contract of employment give rise to a lack of remuneration or to partial or unusual remuneration. These are mainly periods of sickness, maternity, paternity, or partial activity. In such cases, France Travail provides for the normal salary to be replenished over these periods in order to incorporate it into the reference salary.
If you are dismissed for incapacity and your dismissal procedure has been initiated as of 1er april 2025, the month corresponding to the reclassification period preceding that dismissal shall be the subject of a salary reconstitution.
The number of non-working days taken into account in the calculation of the duration of compensation may not exceed:
- to 75% the number of days worked if the termination of the contract occurred by March 31, 2025,
- to 70% the number of days worked if the termination of the contract occurred from 1er april 2025. %
For each month, the remuneration taken into account may not exceed €15,700.
Type of compensation | Taking into account |
|---|---|
Allowances of 13è month | Only for the 12 partè month |
Balance sheet premiums | Only for the 12 partè month |
Rewards received | Only for the 12 partè month |
Refunds for professional expenses | No |
Termination and severance pay | No |
Conventional severance pay | No |
Leave with pay compensatory allowances | No |
End-of-mission allowance (precarious allowance) | No |
Advance notice or non-competition allowances | No |
Social Security Daily Allowances | No |
You are 55 years of age or older
The daily reference wage (SJR) is determined in 2 steps.
The total gross remuneration received during the 3 years before the end of your last employment contract is taken into account.
This sum is divided by the number of calendar days (days worked + days not worked) between 1er the day of the first contract and the last day of the last contract in that period.
Please note
Certain events occurring in the course of the performance of the contract of employment give rise to a lack of remuneration or to partial or unusual remuneration. These are mainly periods of sickness, maternity, paternity, or partial activity. In such cases, France Travail provides for the normal salary to be replenished over these periods in order to incorporate it into the reference salary.
If you are dismissed for incapacity and your dismissal procedure has been initiated as of 1er april 2025, the month corresponding to the reclassification period preceding that dismissal shall be the subject of a salary reconstitution.
The number of non-working days taken into account in the calculation of the duration of compensation may not exceed:
- to 75% the number of days worked if the termination of the contract occurred by March 31, 2025,
- to 70% the number of days worked if the termination of the contract occurred from 1er april 2025. %
For each month, the remuneration taken into account may not exceed €15,700.
Type of compensation | Taking into account |
|---|---|
Allowances of 13è month | Only for the 12 partè month |
Balance sheet premiums | Only for the 12 partè month |
Rewards received | Only for the 12 partè month |
Refunds for professional expenses | No |
Termination and severance pay | No |
Conventional severance pay | No |
Leave with pay compensatory allowances | No |
End-of-mission allowance (precarious allowance) | No |
Advance notice or non-competition allowances | No |
Social Security Daily Allowances | No |
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