These are figures that members of Parliament would have liked to rely on a few months ago. Wednesday, February 22, the direction of the animation of research, studies and statistics (Dares), the statistical service of the Ministry of Labor, published a first study on the abandonment of positions of employees.
The subject had arisen unexpectedly, in October 2022, during the examination of the bill “on emergency measures relating to the functioning of the labor market” which led to a reform of unemployment insurance, which entered into force 1er FEBRUARY. On the initiative of right-wing deputies, and with the support of the majority and the government, a measure had been voted to equate abandonment of post with resignations, whereas until then they had led to dismissal for serious or gross negligence. . As a reminder, job abandonment describes a situation in which an employee leaves his workstation without having informed or obtained the authorization of his employer. The purpose of the change made by the parliamentarians is to prevent the opening of unemployment rights to employees in this situation.
The absence of statistics and studies on this subject had been the subject of debate, the left-wing opposition accusing the government of overestimating the extent of the phenomenon, while the executive and Les Républicains reported the aspect scale of the problem based on the statements of many business leaders. Four months later, this long-awaited first assessment is finally on the table. Result: the phenomenon is significant but its extent on unemployment insurance is to be put into perspective.
Procedures largely respected
In the first half of 2022 – the only period studied by Dares – 123,000 employees gave up their jobs, including 116,000 on permanent contracts. This represents around 70% of dismissals for serious or gross negligence in the private sector, far ahead of those of a disciplinary nature (27%), according to the ministry document. However, CDI abandonments represent only 5% of all CDI terminations over the period, compared to 43% for resignations. Although these figures are not at all analyzed in the study, they nevertheless indicate quite clearly that the vast majority of employees seem to respect the procedures towards their employer.
Regarding the impact of the phenomenon on unemployment insurance, 55% of individuals who left their jobs registered with Pôle Emploi within three months and 43% opened up a new right to unemployment benefits, approximately 50,000 people. Finally, according to Dares, 24% of employees dismissed for job abandonment are neither employed nor registered with Pôle Emploi in the three months following their departure.
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