what will the bill adopted at first reading change for the unemployed?

Subject to debates in the National Assembly since the beginning of last October, the bill for the reform of unemployment insurance has been adopted this Tuesday, October 11. Designed to be effective from 2023, the text was adopted with a narrow majority: 303 votes in favor, 249 votes against and 11 abstentions. But what will this text actually change for the unemployed? We explain the main changes.

• The modulation of unemployment insurance according to the labor market: From the implementation of this new reform, when you find yourself unemployed your access to compensation will depend on the state of the labor market as a whole. During his campaign Emmanuel Macron described the future unemployment insurance as “stricter when too many jobs are unfilled, more generous when unemployment is highIt is not the amount of compensation that will be affected, but the conditions of entry into the scheme (six months worked out of twenty-four today). The duration of this compensation may also change.

• Abandonments will now be considered as resignations : If you leave your position today, this act is not considered a resignation. It generally leads to dismissal, which allows access to unemployment benefit. From the implementation of this reform, the dismissals for which the reason is the abandonment of position will be considered as resignations, which will no longer make it possible to claim compensation.

• Validation of acquired experience (VAE) will be encouraged: The VAE needed a new impetus according to the executive. This professional certification allows the recognition of experience acquired with the aim of finding work more easily in the field concerned. The government is aiming for 100,000 VAE routes per year within five years. Currently, according to figures from the ministry, only 18,000 certifications were issued in 2020. The VAE will also be extended to “close caregivers and family caregivers” to facilitate their access to old age professions.

An extension of the compensation rules of the 2019 reform

This was the first objective of the consultations around the unemployment insurance bill: the rules of the disputed unemployment reform implemented during Macron’s first five-year term will be extended until the end of December 2023. The one that had been put in place from 2021 due to the Covid 19 crisis, but was coming to an end on October 31, 2022. Without this decree, some jobseekers could have lost their compensation on November 1.