Can unemployment benefits be phased out?

Verified 08 October 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Yes, if you fail to fulfill your obligations as a job seeker, France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) can floor temporarily or permanently the list of jobseekers. This results in a reduction or elimination of the payment of your return-to-work assistance (RWA).

What are the reasons and the duration of your cancelation in this case?

Tableau - Grounds for and duration of removal from the list of jobseekers

Grounds for cancelation

Duration of the cancelation on 1er failure to comply

Duration of the cancelation in case of 2e failure to comply

Duration of the cancelation from 3e failure to comply

Inability to justify job searches

1 month

2 consecutive months

4 consecutive months

Refusal on 2 occasions of a reasonable job offer

1 month

2 consecutive months

4 consecutive months

Refusal to develop or update its PPAE: titleContent

1 month

2 consecutive months

4 consecutive months

Refusal to take training or job search assistance

1 month

2 consecutive months

4 consecutive months

Refusal to submit to medical examinations

1 month

2 consecutive months

4 consecutive months

Refusal of an insertion action or an assisted contract

1 month

2 consecutive months

4 consecutive months

Refusal to respond to France Travail's summonses

1 month

2 consecutive months

4 consecutive months

Lack of statement or misrepresentation

Final deletion. However, if the false declaration is linked to an undeclared activity of very short duration, the deletion can be from 2 to 6 months.

FYI  

If you are in young person's employment contract, France Travail may reduce or eliminate your allowance in the event of non-compliance with your obligations. However, the penalty cannot be a removal from the list of jobseekers.

In the event of failure to fulfill your obligations as a job seeker, France Travail will inform you by post of the initiation of the cancelation procedure and of the envisaged decision.

France Travail informs you of the envisaged duration of your cancelation and the remedies and time limits of appeal.

You may make written or oral submissions in the 10 calendar days that follow the mail.

At the end of this period, France Travail shall notify you of its decision within 15 calendar days.

If you are then removed from the list of jobseekers and you wish to challenge the decision of France Travail, you have a period of 2 months from the date of the decision to challenge it:

  • You must first make a claim with France Travail
  • If you feel you have not received a satisfactory answer, you must then enter the mediator of France Travail. This step is a mandatory prerequisite for the continuation of the proceedings and the referral to the judge.
  • If the mediation is not successful, you can enter the administrative judge if the disagreement persists after the mediation (the competent administrative court is the one where the France Travail agency that made the decision you are challenging is located).

To check the precise steps to follow in case of disagreement, refer to the sanction letter. You can also find it in your personal space France Travail My Received Email.

The decision taken by France Travail applies for the duration of your appeal.

FYI  

the withdrawal of the payment of the AER by France Travail results in your delisting of jobseekers.

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