Better sharing of value within companies: this is the government’s objective with the bill on value sharing. A text based on an agreement between employers and majority unions, and that the government intends to have Parliament adopt this summer. On the menu: new features for the Macron bonus, employee savings schemes, and employee shareholding.
Go even further than the latest laws on the redistribution of corporate earnings to employees. To do this, the Minister of Labor Olivier Dussopt intends to play on several cards, citing the incentive schemes, participationpayment of the value sharing premiumofcontribution savings plans orfree allocation of shares make it possible to link labor compensation more directly to firm performance.
The bill presented by Olivier Dussopt this Wednesday, May 24 in the Council of Ministers is based on the national interprofessional agreement (ANI) signed on February 10 by the employers’ organizations and by 4 unions (CFDT, FO, CGC, CFTC) out of 5 with the exception of the CGT. The text that will be submitted to Parliament in the coming weeks has not yet been published, but the content of the 15 articles of this text is no longer subject to any suspense. Overview of main changes to wait for.
Macron bonus in two instalments, and eligible for the PEE
The Macron bonus, formerly the exceptional purchasing power bonus transformed into a value sharing bonus (PPV) in mid-2022, has been higher since the ceiling was reboosted: the bonus, from 400 to 600 euros on average until now, happened 790 euros per employee in 2022 according to figures from the Minister of Labour. The number of beneficiaries, on the other hand, remains constant: 5.5 million beneficiary employees in 2022 compared to 4 to 5 million depending on the year between 2019 and 2021.
This bonus that deprives you of a real salary increase
What new coming? The ceiling, 3000euros or even 6000euros pass in the event of a company agreement on these profit-sharing schemes, will not change. But the text opens the door a double bounty instead of one, every year. Provided that the combination of the two premiums does not exceed the annual ceiling which will therefore remain 3000 euros (or 6000 euros in the event of an agreement).
The text also opens the door to a payment of this Macron bonus on a salary savings plan. What interest? To date none (apart from betting on a financial investment) since the Macron bonus is completely tax-exempt. But, in 2024, this full tax exemption will end. Place the PPV on a company savings plan (PEE) will then make it possible to escape the income tax, exactly the same arbitration as for the bonuses of interest and participation currently.
Ultimate subtlety: the Macron PPV version premium will remain totally tax-exempt until 2026 for the salaries of small businesses (less than 50 employees) if their remuneration is less than 3 Smic. Olivier Dussopt recognizes a constitutional risk concerning this measure, which appears in the agreement signed by the unions: we know this risk with regard to equality vis–vis tax, declared the Minister of Labor at a press conference following the Council of Ministers, assuming this risk to adhere to the national interprofessional agreement.
Profit-sharing and participation: obligations for companies from 11 employees
Small business payroll savings? The bill provides that the companies between 11 and 49 employees put in place at least one value-sharing mechanism from January 1 2025. Main condition: tre profitable… sustainably: if the net profit represents at least 1% of the turnover during 3 consecutive years. The government has retained this date of entry into force, contrary to the recommendation of the report by deputies Louis Margueritte (Renaissance) and Eva Sas (EELV) published on April 12: this recommended an implementation from 2024 in view of the inflationary context current. The government remains faithful to the 2025 horizon, in accordance with the agreement signed by the employers and the unions.
Reinforced sharing in the event of exceptional profit? Article 5 creates a new obligation to negotiate on exceptional profits, we read in the press kit. Companies with more than 50 employees must provide for a profit-sharing mechanism with the employees in the event of an exceptionally profitable year.
Clearly, an incentive or a participation raised punctually. It remains to define where this threshold of exceptional results is located… The agreement provides that it is the business manager who decides whether the result is exceptional or not, recalls Olivier Dussopt. A freedom leaves the employer who made the Council of State wince. Finally, the text refers to company negotiations (via staff representatives) to define this threshold. We will work with Parliament to refine the definition of this exceptional character, promises Olivier Dussopt. This means that this measure remains the most vague of this bill.
Too many bonuses, not enough salary? The unions have not hidden a concern, faced with the development of these value-sharing devices: that bonuses take the place of salary increases. Olivier Dussopt himself recognizes that the principle of non-substitution of the bonus for salary (…) constitutes an important element of the agreement signed by the unions. But it is a provision that already exists in the Labor Code, underlined Olivier Dussopt at the end of the Council of Ministers. It is not necessary to repeat it in the bill.
Employee ownership: transparency on fund management
The value-sharing bill also covers a large section on employee share ownership. With the key of the judicious measures improve the governance of employee share ownership fundsso that management companies report annually to the supervisory board; promote green, supportive and responsible savings in company PEEs and retirement savings plans (PER). And open up a larger portion of the capital to employee shareholders, in particular by increasing the general overall ceiling for the allocation of free shares.
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