Revaluation of the employment support allowance linked to unfavourable economic conditions (January 2024)

Sovereign Order n° 10.365 of 1st February 2024 (JDM n° 8691 of 9th February 2024) maintains the provisions of Sovereign Order n° 6. 255 of 30 January 2017 with an increase in the amount of the employment support allowance to €5.83 from 1 January 2024 (compared with €5.64 from 1 January to 31 December 2023 and €5.54 from 1 August 2022), regardless of the number of employees in the company on the date the application is submitted to the Employment Service. The allowance is granted for each hour of unpaid work paid by the employer to the employee at a rate of at least 60% of the usual wage, the hourly amount not being less than €10.49 (compared with €10.14 from 1 January to 31 December 2023 and €9.96 from 1 August 2022).

The employment support allowance is paid by the State and awarded by decision of the Director of Labour.

The person concerned must draw up an application for an employment support allowance on a form available from the Employment Service and send it or hand it in to the said Service.

All recipients of employment support allowance must inform the Employment Service of any changes in their situation within 48 hours.

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The employment support allowance was created on 1 January 2017 for the benefit of employees who, while remaining bound to their employer by a contract of employment, suffer a loss of pay attributable either to the temporary closure of their establishment, or to a reduction in the working hours usually practised in the establishment, linked to unfavourable economic conditions:

• In the event of temporary closure of the establishment, the employment support allowance is paid for a maximum of 28 days, for the days for which no compensation has been paid under the conventional unemployment insurance scheme.
• The employment support allowance is allocated, for each employee, up to a limit of 800 hours of work not carried out and paid for by the employer over the 12-month period.

The employment support allowance cannot be combined with:

• benefits of the same kind provided by the Direction de l'Action et de l'Aide Sociales (Department of Social Action and Assistance) ;
• the allowance for partial deprivation of employment provided for by law no. 871 of 17 July 1969 instituting public assistance allowances for workers temporarily and involuntarily deprived of employment, as amended. The amount of the employment support allowance is reduced by the amount corresponding to any sums received by way of allowance for partial deprivation of employment.

Payment of employment support allowance:

Employment support allowance is paid monthly.

It is paid to employees by the employer, who is reimbursed on production of statements certified by the Service de l'Emploi (Employment Service).

However, in the event of suspension of payments or substantial financial difficulties on the part of the employer, the Ministre d'Etat (Minister of State) may, on the proposal of the Directeur du Travail (Director of Labour), arrange for direct payment of this allowance to employees. This procedure may also be used in the case of homeworkers employed by several employers.

Verification of eligibility for employment support allowance by the Service de l'Emploi, which may:

• issue all necessary summonses to recipients;
• require the persons concerned to report on specific days and at specific times in order to verify their inactivity;
• carry out investigations or have them carried out.

Recipients who have unduly received the employment support allowance or who have knowingly made inaccurate declarations or submitted false statements will lose their entitlement.

Appeal against the decision to refuse to grant the employment support allowance:

A decision to refuse to grant an employment support allowance may be appealed to the Ministre d'Etat within 15 days of receipt of the notification, failing which the appeal will be inadmissible.

The ministerial decision is taken on the advice of a Commission chaired by th Conseiller de Gouvernement-Ministre des Affaires Sociales et de la Santé (Government Councillor-Minister for Social Affairs and Health) or his representative, and comprising an equal number of employers and employees appointed by ministerial order upon presentation by the employers' and workers' unions.

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