Unemployment benefit for a private sector employee whose employment contract ends on or after 1 April 2025
Verified 28 November 2025 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
Additional cases ?
Modulation of length of service and replenishment of unemployment insurance benefits
The law n°2025-989 of 24 october 2025 provides that the minimum period of work (so-called length of affiliation) and the so-called entitlement period rechargeable can be modulated for first-time job seekers registered with France Travail.
This applies to jobseekers who have never received unemployment insurance or who have not received unemployment insurance for more than 20 years.
These jobseekers will be able to benefit from unemployment insurance if they have worked at least 5 months in the last 24 months compared to 6 months currently or less than 5 months in the last 36 courses, depending on their age.
This page will be updated following the current accreditation of Unédic.
Can you receive the Return to Employment Assistance (RHE) unemployment benefit in the event of a job loss? The compensation conditions are not the same depending on your age and the date of your end of employment contract. We present you the information to know.
This page does not contain specific rules for Mayotte.
Please note
Rules on compensation following termination of employment contract before 1er April 2025 are presented in another sheet.
You are under 55
Unintentional deprivation of employment
In order to receive the WFA, you must be involuntarily deprived of employment.
The termination of your employment contract must result from one of the following situations:
- Dismissal for personal reason or for economic motive or revocation
- Conventional rupture
- Non-renewal of your FIXED-TERM CONTRACT: titleContent
- Resignation considered legitimate (for example, to follow the person with whom you live as a couple).
FYI
If your contract is for a period of secure voluntary mobility ceases for any of these reasons, you can claim the WFAA. However, if you are reinstated by your company or if you refuse your reinstatement, you cannot receive the WFA.
Physical fitness
You must be physically fit for a job.
Location
You must reside in France stable and regular.
Yes, in order to collect the WFA, you must be registered as a jobseeker or perform training listed in your contract of employment.
You must register within 12 months of the end of your employment contract. This period may be extended due to certain situations (e.g. sick leave).
In addition, you need to perform positive and repeated actions (e.g. daily job posting) in order to find a job or to start or take over a company.
Periods of suspension of the employment contract (e.g. occupational illness, maternity or paternity leave) are taken into account at the rate of one day of membership per day of suspension.
The periods of suspension of the employment contract during which you have exercised a self-employed professional activity are not taken into account. But there are 3 exceptions: the periods of leave for company creation, sabbatical leave and secure voluntary mobility shall be taken into account.
Minimum period of work
To qualify for the WFA, you must have worked at least 6 months (either 130 days or 910 hours) in Last 24 months at the end date of your employment contract.
This minimum period of work is said length of affiliation.
Taking into account the last job held
France Travail checks if you have worked a minimum period of work before your registration.
If this is not the case, France Travail can check whether the condition is fulfilled by a previous employment contract.
This previous employment contract must have ended within 12 months prior to your registration as a jobseeker.
You must not have received any allowances in connection with this contract.
Training periods
Training periods, except those paid by France Travail, are treated as working hours.
Training periods are taken into account to determine the length of affiliation up to 2/3 of the number of days or hours of training.
Periods of suspension of the employment contract
Periods of suspension of the employment contract (e.g. occupational illness, maternity or paternity leave) are taken into account at the rate of one day of membership per day of suspension.
The periods of suspension of the employment contract during which you have exercised a self-employed professional activity are not taken into account. But there are 3 exceptions: the periods of leave for company creation, sabbatical leave and secure voluntary mobility shall be taken into account.
In the event of a loss of activity, you benefit from the resumption of your initial rights until they are exhausted.
This possibility is only valid if you have resumed a professional activity while you have not exhausted your rights.
You then benefit from so-called rights rechargeable.
You must have worked 6 months (either 130 days or 910 hours) in Last 24 months to benefit from new rights with a new compensation period.
Example :
Your unemployment insurance rights are not exhausted and you have resumed a professional activity of 1er July to December 31, 2024, i.e. for 6 months. Your employment contract ends, you can benefit from the resumption of your initial rights until they are exhausted.
FYI
You will not benefit from rechargeable rights if you have been under an apprenticeship contract and have been compensated by France Travail for this contract.
You can have an option right between your old and new rights.
The right of option allows the choice of the benefit resulting from the last period of activity without waiting for the unused benefits of a previous unemployment entitlement to be exhausted.
To exercise your right of option, you must meet the following 3 conditions:
- Have unpaid unemployment benefits
- Have worked at least 6 months since opening your current rights
- Receive a daily allowance less than or equal to €20 or claim an increase of at least 30% in relation to the total amount of your initial entitlements
You have 21 days to inform France Travail in writing. Once you have made your choice, you will not be able to reverse your decision.
If you exercise your right of option, you receive your allowance from your last periods of employment from the day of your application.
Example :
Your unemployment insurance rights are not exhausted and you have resumed a professional activity of 1er July to December 31, 2024, i.e. for 6 months. Your employment contract ends, you can benefit either from the resumption of your initial rights until they are exhausted or from the new right to compensation created by your last activity.
Gross amount
The gross daily amount of the WFAA includes:
- a fixed part equal to €13.18
- and a variable part, equal to 40.4% from reference daily wage (SJR).
This amount may not be less than 57% and may not be greater than 70% of the SJR.
Minimum amount of the WFAA
The net amount of the WFA may not be less than €32.13.
If you follow a training prescribed by France Travail, you will receive the return-to-work training allowance (Aref). Its minimum amount shall be €22.99.
When your working time was less than legal or conventional, the minimum allocation shall be reduced proportionately.
You can estimate the amount of your unemployment benefits using this simulator:
Guide to benefit simulators and grants from France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi)
Degressivity of the ARE
If your daily AER is higher than a previous gross daily wage on average €159.68 (or €4,857.81 monthly gross on average), a reduction of 30% is applied from 7e month of payment.
Your allowance after degressivity may not be less than €92.57 gross per day (approximately €2,777 crude for a month of 30 days).
Contributions
A levy equal to 3% of your SJR is paid on the gross amount of your daily allowance.
This levy may not have the effect of reducing the amount of the daily allowance below €32.13.
The ARE is also subject to a generalized social contribution (CSG) and a social debt repayment contribution (CRDS).
However, such contributions may be reduced or abolished in one of the following situations:
- The gross amount of the WFA is less than the daily minimum wage, i.e. €59.40
- The levy on the CSG and the CRDS leads to a reduction in the net amount of the WFA below the daily minimum wage.
Your compensation does not start at the end of your employment contract.
3 types of deadlines may apply depending on your situation, from the day after the end date of your employment contract.
Wait Time
The WFAA cannot be paid until the end of a wait time, set at 7 days.
However, this waiting period does not apply if it has already been applied in the previous 12 months.
It starts at the end of the compensation deferrals (where applicable to you), if the conditions for the award of the WFAA are met on that date.
Otherwise, it starts from the date on which these conditions are met.
Deferred compensation for paid leave
If you have received a compensatory leave with pay, the WFAA is paid after a called deadline deferred compensation.
This deferral is determined by dividing the amount of this compensatory allowance by your reference daily wage. The result obtained gives the number of days of delay. If the result obtained is not an integer, it is rounded up to the next integer.
Example :
If you have received a vacation pay allowance of €570, and that your reference daily wage is set at €100the calculation is as follows: 570/100 = 5.7, reduced to 6 days of deferred compensation.
Specific Deferred Compensation
When you receive termination benefits in addition to statutory benefits, a specific compensation deferral is applied to these amounts. This specific delay is applicable, for example, in the following cases:
- Part of the contractual termination indemnity or the contractual termination indemnity that exceeds the amount of the statutory termination indemnity
- Supplementary severance pay superlegal
- Compensation paid in case of non-compete clause.
This delay corresponds to a number of days obtained by dividing the amount of the allowance taken into account by 109.6. The result is rounded up to the next integer (if the result is not an integer).
FYI
The delay shall not exceed 150 calendar days (5 months) or, in the case of dismissal for economic reasons, 75 calendar days.
Example :
If you have received (in addition to the statutory termination indemnity) a supralegal indemnity of €10,000 following the termination of your contract, the specific compensation delay is determined as follows: 10,000/ 109.6 = 91. In addition to these 91 days, there is a 7-day waiting period. Your compensation will start after 100 days.
Allowances are paid by France Travail each month according to updating your situation (for example, early November for the October allowance).
The payment depends on what you declare each month: resumption of activity, entry into training, illness, etc.
You can ask your France Travail agency, under certain conditions, for advances and down payments.
Warning
The payment of the WFA is made on the basis of 30 compensable days per month, regardless of the month concerned (instead of the number of days) calendars month). This measure applies to all recipients, regardless of the date on which their entitlements are opened.
The duration of the WFA payment depends on the end date of your employment contract.
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Your employment contract ended before February 1, 2023
The length of time you receive the Return to Employment Assistance (RHE) depends on how long you have been in the last 24 months.
Duration of employment (the 24 months preceding your contract) | Duration of compensation |
|---|---|
Less than 6 months | No compensation |
Beyond 6 months | 182 calendar days minimum and maximum 730 calendar days |
If you are a part-time private sector employee (short-time work), you can benefit from the partial activity allowance for a maximum of 182 days.
However, if the suspension of the company's activity is due to a disaster or natural disaster, this period may be extended until it resumes activity.
Your employment contract has ended since or after February 1, 2023
The duration of payment of unemployment benefits applies depending on the labor market situation :
- If the overall unemployment rate is below 9.0% and that it has not progressed 0.8% over 1 quarter, your compensation period is reduced by 25%.
- If the overall unemployment rate is below9.0% and that it has progressed by 0.8%, the previous rules on the duration of compensation shall apply.
The overall unemployment rate is currently below 9.0% and has not made any progress 0.8% over 1 quarter. Reducing the duration of compensation by 25% applies.
Thus, the maximum duration of payment of your compensation at the opening of your rights to the ARE will be 548 calendar days.
France Travail informs you of the reduction of the duration of your entitlements to the ARE or of the return of your entitlements to the initial duration.
You can benefit from an end of rights supplement called CFD, depending on your situation.
The duration of this supplement is a maximum of 182 days.
If your compensation period has been calculated according to the rules applicable to 1er in february 2023, you can also benefit from a so-called end-of-training supplement SBB, depending on your situation. To do this, you need to take a qualifying training, registered in your contract of employment and of a duration of 6 months or more.
Beneficiaries under the age of 55 who undertake compensated training in Aref in the course of compensation, their duration of compensation is extended up to 137 days (685 days in total).
They must justify at least 652 days worked..
In adverse circumstances, this period is extended to 867 days.
FYI
If you are a part-time private sector employee (short-time work), you can benefit from the partial activity allowance for a maximum of 182 days. However, if the suspension of the company's activity is due to a disaster or natural disaster, this period may be extended until it resumes activity.
If you are in a professional activity and still claim to be looking for a job, you can accumulate your Return to Employment Assistance (RHE) with income from a professional activity.
The conditions for this accumulation vary depending on whether you are employed or self-employed.
Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement
Employed activity
You are resuming paid employment
After resumption of activity, if you declare that you are still looking for a job, your ARE is paid in part. The amount of the WFAA paid is the amount of the daily WFAA multiplied by the number of compensable days per month by the WFAA.
This number of compensable days is calculated using the following formula:
(monthly WFA amount - 70% of the salary of your new activity) / daily WFA amount
The sum obtained is rounded to the nearest integer.
The cumulative amount of the WFAA paid and your income from work must not exceed your reference daily wage (SJR).
FYI
The days not compensated will reduce the end of your compensation.
You must declare your resumption of activity during the monthly update of your situation. If you are unable to provide proof of your income, France Travail will pay you an advance calculated provisionally, then regularize your situation the month following the provision of proof.
When you lose one of your jobs, the calculated WFA is fully accumulated with the income of the job(s) retained.
The SJR, used to calculate the WFA, is determined on the basis of the remuneration corresponding to the job lost.
You keep an employed activity
When you lose one of your jobs, the calculated WFA is fully accumulated with the income of the job(s) retained.
The reference daily wage (SJR), used to calculate the WFA, shall be determined on the basis of the remuneration corresponding to the job lost.
You must declare your resumption of activity during the monthly update of your situation. If you are unable to provide proof of your income, France Travail will pay you an advance calculated provisionally, then regularize your situation the month following the provision of proof.
When you lose one of your jobs, the calculated WFA is fully accumulated with the income of the job(s) retained.
The SJR, which is used to calculate the WFA, is determined on the basis of the remuneration corresponding to the job lost.
Self-employment
If you report self-employed income (for example, as a micro-entrepreneur) and you report that you are still looking for a job, your WFA is paid in part. The amount of the WFA paid is the amount of the daily WFA multiplied by the number of days compensable per month for the WFA.
This number of compensable days is calculated using the following formula:
(Monthly WFA amount - 60% declared remuneration for social insurance) / amount of the daily WFA
The sum obtained is rounded to the nearest integer.
When income is not known or when the activity begins, the calculation of the number of compensable days is based on a lump sum. An annual adjustment is then made on the basis of actual earnings subject to social security contributions.
The cumulative amount between the WFAA paid and your activity must not exceed your reference daily wage (SJR).
You must declare your resumption of activity when the monthly update of your situation.
If you are unable to provide proof of your income, France Travail will pay you an advance calculated provisionally, then regularize your situation the month following the provision of proof.
This additional ARE is paid each month, subject to the continuation of self-employed activity, and within the limit of a total amount capped at 60% the remaining entitlements to the WFAA.
Payment of the supplement shall cease when the 60% the remaining entitlements to the WFAA have been reached.
You can benefit from a reversal of the remaining rights of 40%provided that the self-employed activity has ceased or after agreement of France Travail.
Termination of payment
The payment of the WFAA ceases if you are in one of the following situations:
- You resume a professional activity, whether salaried or not, in France or abroad, unless authorized by France Travail to accumulate the ARE with an income from activity
- You perceive aid for the recovery or creation of a company
- You perceive Social Security daily allowances
- You perceive the shared child-rearing benefit (Prepare)
- You perceive the daily parental attendance allowance (AJPP)
- You have concluded a civic service contract
- You meet the conditions to benefit from a full pension or reach the age limit of activity
- You no longer reside in France
- You have made a false or misleading statement which has the effect of unjustifiably paying unemployment benefits.
Specific Solidarity Allowance (SSA)
If your rights end, you may, under certain conditions, benefit from the specific solidarity allowance (SSA)).
If you are not eligible for the SSA, for reasons other than the means test, you can apply for a lump sum equal to 27 times the amount of the fixed part of the WFA, i.e. €356.
You're 55 or 56
Unintentional deprivation of employment
In order to receive the WFA, you must be involuntarily deprived of employment.
The termination of your employment contract must result from one of the following situations:
- Dismissal for personal reason or for economic motive or revocation
- Conventional rupture
- Non-renewal of your FIXED-TERM CONTRACT: titleContent
- Resignation considered legitimate (for example, to follow the person with whom you live as a couple).
FYI
If your contract is exercised during a period of secure voluntary mobility ceases for any of these reasons, you can claim the WFAA. However, if you are reinstated by your company or if you refuse your reinstatement, you cannot receive the WFA.
Physical fitness
You must be physically fit for a job.
Location
You must reside in France in stable and regular.
Yes, in order to collect the WFAA, you must be registered as a jobseeker or perform training listed in your contract of employment.
You must register within 12 months of the end of your employment contract. This period may be extended due to certain situations (e.g. sick leave).
In addition, you need to perform positive and repeated actions (e.g. daily job posting) in order to find a job or to start or take over a company.
Periods of suspension of the employment contract (e.g. occupational illness, maternity or paternity leave) shall be taken into account at the rate of one day of membership per day of suspension.
The periods of suspension of the employment contract during which you have exercised a self-employed professional activity are not taken into account. But there are 3 exceptions: the periods of leave for company creation, sabbatical leave and secure voluntary mobility shall be taken into account.
Minimum period of work
To qualify for the WFA, you must have worked at least 6 months (either 130 days or 910 hours) in Last 36 months at the end date of your employment contract.
This minimum period of work is said length of affiliation.
Taking into account the last job held
France Travail checks if you have worked a minimum period of work before your registration.
If this is not the case, France Travail can check whether the condition is fulfilled by a previous employment contract.
This previous employment contract must have ended within 12 months prior to your registration as a jobseeker.
You must not have received any allowances in connection with this contract.
Training periods
Training periods, except those paid by France Travail, are treated as working hours.
Training periods are taken into account to determine the length of affiliation up to 2/3 of the number of days or hours of training.
Periods of suspension of the employment contract
Periods of suspension of the employment contract (e.g. occupational illness, maternity or paternity leave) are taken into account at the rate of one day of membership per day of suspension.
The periods of suspension of the employment contract during which you have exercised a self-employed professional activity are not taken into account. But there are 3 exceptions: the periods of leave for company creation, sabbatical leave and secure voluntary mobility shall be taken into account.
In the event of a loss of activity, you benefit from the resumption of your initial rights until they are exhausted.
This possibility is only valid if you have resumed a professional activity while you have not exhausted your rights.
You then benefit from so-called rights rechargeable.
You must have worked 6 months (either 130 days or 910 hours) in Last 36 months to benefit from new rights with a new compensation period.
Example :
Your unemployment insurance rights are not exhausted and you have resumed a professional activity of 1er July to December 31, 2024, i.e. for 6 months. Your employment contract ends, you can benefit from the resumption of your initial rights until they are exhausted.
FYI
You will not benefit from rechargeable rights if you have been under an apprenticeship contract and have been compensated by France Travail for this contract.
You can have an option right between your old and new rights.
The right of option allows the choice of the benefit resulting from the last period of activity without waiting for the unused benefits of a previous unemployment entitlement to be exhausted.
To exercise your right of option, you must meet the following 3 conditions:
- Have unpaid unemployment benefits
- Have worked at least 6 months since opening your current rights
- Receive a daily allowance less than or equal to €20 or claim an increase of at least 30% in relation to the total amount of your initial entitlements
You have 21 days to inform France Travail in writing. Once you have made your choice, you will not be able to reverse your decision.
If you exercise your right of option, you receive your allowance from your last periods of employment from the day of your application.
Example :
Your unemployment insurance rights are not exhausted and you have resumed a professional activity of 1er July to December 31, 2024, i.e. for 6 months. Your employment contract ends, you can benefit either from the resumption of your initial rights until they are exhausted or from the new right to compensation created by your last activity.
Gross amount
The gross daily amount of the WFAA includes:
- a fixed part equal to €13.18
- and a variable part, equal to 40.4% of reference daily wage (SJR).
This amount may not be less than 57% and may not be greater than 70% of the SJR.
Minimum amount of the WFAA
The net amount of the WFA may not be less than €32.13.
If you follow a training prescribed by France Travail, you will receive the return-to-work training allowance (Aref). Its minimum amount shall be €22.99.
When your working hours were less than legal or conventional, the minimum allocation shall be reduced proportionately.
You can estimate the amount of your unemployment benefits using this simulator:
Guide to benefit simulators and grants from France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi)
Contributions
A levy equal to 3% of your SJR is paid on the gross amount of your daily allowance.
This levy may not have the effect of reducing the amount of the daily allowance below €32.13.
The ARE is also subject to a generalized social contribution (CSG) and a social debt repayment contribution (CRDS).
However, such contributions may be reduced or abolished in one of the following situations:
- The gross amount of the WFA is less than the daily minimum wage, i.e. €59.40
- The levy on the CSG and the CRDS leads to a reduction in the net amount of the WFA below the daily minimum wage.
Your compensation does not start at the end of your employment contract.
3 types of deadlines may apply depending on your situation, from the day after the end date of your employment contract.
Wait Time
The WFAA cannot be paid until the end of a wait time, set at 7 days.
However, this waiting period does not apply if it has already been applied in the previous 12 months.
It starts at the end of the compensation deferrals (where applicable to you), if the conditions for the award of the WFAA are met on that date.
Otherwise, it starts from the date on which these conditions are met.
Deferred compensation for paid leave
If you have received a compensatory leave with pay, the WFAA is paid after a called deadline deferred compensation.
This deferral is determined by dividing the amount of this compensatory allowance by your reference daily wage. The result obtained gives the number of days of delay. If the result obtained is not an integer, it is rounded up to the next integer.
Example :
If you have received a vacation pay allowance of €570, and that your reference daily wage is set at €100the calculation is as follows: 570/100 = 5.7, reduced to 6 days of deferred compensation.
Specific Deferred Compensation
When you receive termination benefits in addition to statutory benefits, a specific compensation deferral is applied to these amounts. This specific delay shall apply, for example, in the following cases:
- Share of the contractual termination indemnity or the contractual termination indemnity that exceeds the amount of the statutory termination indemnity
- Supplementary severance pay superlegal
- Compensation paid in case of non-compete clause.
This delay corresponds to a number of days obtained by dividing the amount of the allowance taken into account by 109.6. The result is rounded up to the next integer (if the result is not an integer).
FYI
The delay shall not exceed 150 calendar days (5 months) or, in the case of dismissal for economic reasons, 75 calendar days.
Example :
If you have received (in addition to the statutory termination indemnity) a supralegal indemnity of €10,000 following the termination of your contract, the specific compensation delay is determined as follows: 10,000/ 109.6 = 91. In addition to these 91 days, there is a 7-day waiting period. Your compensation will start after 100 days.
Allowances are paid by France Travail each month according to updating your situation (for example, early November for the October allowance).
The payment depends on what you declare each month: resumption of activity, entry into training, illness, etc.
You can ask your France Travail agency, under certain conditions, for advances and down payments.
Warning
The payment of the WFA is made on the basis of 30 compensable days per month, regardless of the month concerned (instead of the number of days) calendars month). This measure applies to all recipients, regardless of the date on which their entitlements are opened.
The duration of payment of the WFA depends on the end date of your employment contract:
Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement
Your employment contract ended before February 1, 2023
The length of time you receive the Return to Employment Assistance (RHE) depends on how long you have been in the last 36 months.
Duration of employment (the 24 months preceding your contract) | Duration of compensation |
|---|---|
Less than 6 months | No compensation |
Beyond 6 months | 182 calendar days minimum and 913 calendar days maximum |
If you are a part-time private sector employee (short-time work), you can benefit from the partial activity allowance for a maximum of 182 days.
However, if the suspension of the company's activity is due to a disaster or natural disaster, this period may be extended until it resumes activity.
Your employment contract has ended since or after February 1, 2023
The duration of payment of unemployment benefits applies depending on the labor market situation :
- If the overall unemployment rate is below 9.0% and that it has not progressed 0.8% over 1 quarter, your compensation period is reduced by 25%.
- If the overall unemployment rate is below9.0%and that it has progressed by 0.8%, the previous rules on the duration of compensation shall apply.
The overall unemployment rate is currently below 9.0% and has not made any progress 0.8% over 1 quarter. Reducing the duration of compensation by 25% applies.
Thus, the maximum duration of payment of your compensation at the opening of your rights to the ARE will be 685 calendar days.
France Travail informs you of the reduction of the duration of your entitlements to the ARE or the return of your entitlements to the initial duration.
You can benefit from an end of rights supplement called CFD, depending on your situation.
The duration of this supplement is a maximum of 182 days.
If your compensation period has been calculated according to the rules applicable to 1er in february 2023, you can also benefit from a so-called end-of-training supplement SBB, depending on your situation. To do this, you need to take a qualifying training, registered in your contract of employment and of a duration of 6 months or more.
Beneficiaries aged 55 and 56 who undertake compensated training in Aref in the course of compensation, their duration of compensation is extended up to 137 days (822 days in total).
They must justify at least 652 days worked.
In adverse circumstances, this period is extended to 1050 days.
FYI
If you are a part-time private sector employee (short-time work), you can benefit from the partial activity allowance for a maximum of 182 days. However, if the suspension of the company's activity is due to a disaster or natural disaster, this period may be extended until it resumes activity.
If you are in a professional activity and still declare that you are looking for a job, you can combine your Return to Work Assistance (RHE) with income from a professional activity.
The conditions for this accumulation vary depending on whether you are employed or self-employed.
Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement
Employed activity
You are resuming paid employment
After resumption of activity, if you declare that you are still looking for a job, your ARE is paid in part. The amount of the WFAA paid is the amount of the daily WFAA multiplied by the number of compensable days per month by the WFAA.
This number of compensable days is calculated using the following formula:
(Monthly WFA amount - 70% of the salary of your new activity) / daily WFA amount
The sum obtained is rounded to the nearest integer.
The cumulative amount of the WFAA paid and your income from work must not exceed your reference daily wage (SJR).
FYI
The days not compensated will reduce the end of your compensation.
You must declare your resumption of activity during the monthly update of your situation. If you are unable to provide proof of your income, France Travail will pay you an advance calculated provisionally, then regularize your situation the month following the provision of proof.
When you lose one of your jobs, the calculated WFA is fully accumulated with the income of the job(s) retained.
The SJR, which is used to calculate the WFA, is determined on the basis of the remuneration corresponding to the job lost.
You keep an employed activity
When you lose one of your jobs, the calculated WFA is fully accumulated with the income of the job(s) retained.
The reference daily wage (SJR), used to calculate the WFA, shall be determined on the basis of the remuneration corresponding to the job lost.
You must declare your resumption of activity during the monthly update of your situation. If you are unable to provide proof of your income, France Travail will pay you an advance calculated provisionally, then regularize your situation the month following the provision of proof.
When you lose one of your jobs, the calculated WFA is fully accumulated with the income of the job(s) retained.
The SJR, used to calculate the WFA, is determined on the basis of the remuneration corresponding to the job lost.
Self-employment
If you report self-employed income (for example, as a micro-entrepreneur) and you report that you are still looking for a job, your WFA is paid in part. The amount of the WFA paid is the amount of the daily WFA multiplied by the number of days compensable per month for the WFA.
This number of compensable days is calculated using the following formula:
(Monthly WFA amount - 60% declared remuneration for social insurance) / amount of the daily WFA
The sum obtained is rounded to the nearest integer.
When income is not known or when the activity begins, the calculation of the number of compensable days is based on a lump sum. An annual adjustment is then made on the basis of actual earnings subject to social security contributions.
The cumulative amount between the WFAA paid and your activity must not exceed your reference daily wage (SJR).
You must declare your resumption of activity when the monthly update of your situation.
If you are unable to provide proof of your income, France Travail will pay you an advance calculated provisionally, then regularize your situation the month following the provision of proof.
This additional ARE is paid each month, subject to the continuation of self-employment, and within the limit of a total amount capped at 60% the remaining entitlements to the WFAA.
Payment of the supplement shall cease when the 60% the remaining entitlements to the WFAA are reached.
You can benefit from a reversal of the remaining rights of 40%provided that the self-employed activity has ceased or after agreement of France Travail.
Termination of payment
The payment of the WFAA ceases if you are in one of the following situations:
- You resume a professional activity, whether salaried or not, in France or abroad, unless authorized by France Travail to accumulate the ARE with an income from activity
- You perceive aid for the recovery or creation of a company
- You perceive Social Security daily allowances
- You perceive the shared child-rearing benefit (Prepare)
- You perceive the daily parental attendance allowance (AJPP)
- You have concluded a civic service contract
- You meet the conditions to benefit from a full pension or reach the age limit of activity
- You no longer reside in France
- You have made a false or misleading statement which has the effect of unjustifiably paying unemployment benefits.
Specific Solidarity Allowance (SSA)
If your rights end, you may, under certain conditions, benefit from the specific solidarity allowance (SSA)).
If you are not eligible for the SSA, for reasons other than the means test, you can apply for a lump sum equal to 27 times the amount of the fixed part of the WFA, i.e. €356.
You are 57 years of age or older
Unintentional deprivation of employment
In order to receive the WFA, you must be involuntarily deprived of employment.
The termination of your employment contract must result from one of the following situations:
- Dismissal for personal reason or for economic motive or revocation
- Conventional rupture
- Non-renewal of your FIXED-TERM CONTRACT: titleContent
- Resignation considered legitimate (for example, to follow the person with whom you live as a couple).
FYI
If your contract is for a period of secure voluntary mobility ceases for any of these reasons, you can claim the WFAA. However, if you are reinstated by your company or if you refuse your reinstatement, you cannot receive the WFA.
Physical fitness
You must be physically fit for employment.
Location
You must reside in France in stable and regular.
Retention of rights
The entitlement maintenance mechanism benefits recipients who are at least 62 years.
It allows, under certain conditions, to be compensated until the age of obtaining a full pension.
Consistent with the gradual evolution of the statutory retirement age up to 64 years in 2032, the gradual shift in the age from which the continuation of the WFA is possible is being carried out.
The age requirement for entitlement to continue entitlements shall be increased to 64 years (instead of 62).
The reduction in the age requirement takes account of the change in the statutory retirement age, depending on the year of birth, as provided for by the pension reform:
- 62 years and 3 months for recipients born in 1961
- 62 years and 6 months for recipients born in 1962
- 62 years and 9 months for recipients born in 1963
- 63 years for recipients born in 1964
- 63 years and 3 months for recipients born in 1965
- 63 years and 6 months for recipients born in 1966
- 63 years and 9 months for recipients born in 1967.
The other conditions to benefit from the maintenance are unchanged (in particular to be compensated for at least 1 year and to justify a minimum number of retirement quarters).
Yes, in order to collect the WFAA, you must be registered as a jobseeker or perform training listed in your contract of employment.
You must register within 12 months of the end of your employment contract. This period may be extended due to certain situations (e.g. sick leave).
In addition, you need to perform positive and repeated actions (e.g. daily job posting) in order to find a job or start or resume a company.
Periods of suspension of the employment contract (e.g. occupational illness, maternity or paternity leave) are taken into account at the rate of one day of membership per day of suspension.
The periods of suspension of the employment contract during which you have exercised a self-employed professional activity are not taken into account. But there are 3 exceptions: the periods of leave for company creation, sabbatical leave and secure voluntary mobility shall be taken into account.
Minimum period of work
To qualify for the WFA, you must have worked at least 6 months (either 130 days or 910 hours) in Last 36 months at the end date of your employment contract.
This minimum period of work is said length of affiliation.
Taking into account the last job held
France Travail checks if you have worked a minimum period of work before your registration.
If this is not the case, France Travail can check whether the condition is fulfilled by a previous employment contract.
This previous employment contract must have ended within 12 months prior to your registration as a jobseeker.
You must not have received any allowances in connection with this contract.
Training periods
Training periods, except those paid by France Travail, are treated as working hours.
Training periods are taken into account to determine the length of affiliation up to 2/3 of the number of days or hours of training.
Periods of suspension of the employment contract
Periods of suspension of the employment contract (e.g. occupational illness, maternity or paternity leave) shall be taken into account at the rate of one day of membership per day of suspension.
The periods of suspension of the employment contract during which you have exercised a self-employed professional activity are not taken into account. But there are 3 exceptions: the periods of leave for company creation, sabbatical leave and secure voluntary mobility shall be taken into account.
In the event of a loss of activity, you benefit from the resumption of your initial rights until they are exhausted.
This possibility is only valid if you have resumed a professional activity while you have not exhausted your rights.
You then benefit from so-called rights rechargeable.
You must have worked 6 months (either 130 days or 910 hours) in Last 36 months to benefit from new rights with a new compensation period.
Example :
Your unemployment insurance rights are not exhausted and you have resumed a professional activity of 1er July to December 31, 2024, i.e. for 6 months. Your employment contract ends, you can benefit from the resumption of your initial rights until they are exhausted.
FYI
You will not benefit from rechargeable rights if you have been under an apprenticeship contract and have been compensated by France Travail for this contract.
You can have an option right between your old and new rights.
The right of option allows the choice of the benefit resulting from the last period of activity without waiting for the unused benefits of a previous unemployment entitlement to be exhausted.
In order to exercise your right of option, you must meet the following 3 conditions:
- Have unpaid unemployment benefits
- Have worked at least 6 months since opening your current rights
- Receive a daily allowance less than or equal to €20 or claim an increase of at least 30% in relation to the total amount of your initial entitlements
You have 21 days reflection to inform France Travail in writing. Once you have made your choice, you will not be able to reverse your decision.
If you exercise your right of option, you receive your allowance from your last periods of employment from the day of your application.
Example :
Your unemployment insurance rights are not exhausted and you have resumed a professional activity of 1er July to December 31, 2024, i.e. for 6 months. Your employment contract ends, you can benefit either from the resumption of your initial rights until they are exhausted or from the new right to compensation created by your last activity.
Gross amount
The gross daily amount of the WFAA includes:
- a fixed part equal to €13.18
- and a variable part, equal to 40.4% of reference daily wage (SJR).
This amount may not be less than 57% and may not be greater than 70% of the SJR.
Minimum amount of the WFAA
The net amount of the WFA may not be less than €32.13.
If you follow a training prescribed by France Travail, you will receive the return-to-work training allowance (Aref). Its minimum amount shall be €22.99.
When your working hours were less than legal or conventional, the minimum allocation shall be reduced proportionately.
You can estimate the amount of your unemployment benefits using this simulator:
Guide to benefit simulators and grants from France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi)
Contributions
A levy equal to 3% of your SJR is paid on the gross amount of your daily allowance.
This levy may not have the effect of reducing the amount of the daily allowance below €32.13.
The ARE is also subject to a generalized social contribution (CSG) and a social debt repayment contribution (CRDS).
However, such contributions may be reduced or abolished in one of the following situations:
- The gross amount of the WFA is less than the daily minimum wage, i.e. €59.40
- The levy on the CSG and the CRDS leads to a reduction in the net amount of the WFA below the daily minimum wage.
Your compensation does not start at the end of your employment contract.
3 types of deadlines may apply depending on your situation, from the day after the end date of your employment contract.
Wait Time
The WFAA cannot be paid until the end of a wait time, set at 7 days.
However, this waiting period does not apply if it has already been applied in the previous 12 months.
It starts at the end of the compensation deferrals (where applicable to you), if the conditions for the award of the WFAA are met on that date.
Otherwise, it starts from the date on which these conditions are met.
Deferred compensation for paid leave
If you have received a compensatory leave with pay, the WFAA is paid after a called deadline deferred compensation.
This deferral is determined by dividing the amount of this compensatory allowance by your reference daily wage. The result obtained gives the number of days of delay. If the result obtained is not an integer, it is rounded up to the next integer.
Example :
If you have received a vacation pay allowance of €570, and that your reference daily wage is set at €100the calculation is as follows: 570/100 = 5.7, reduced to 6 days of deferred compensation.
Specific Deferred Compensation
When you receive termination benefits in addition to statutory benefits, a specific compensation deferral is applied to these amounts. This specific delay shall apply, for example, in the following cases:
- Share of the contractual termination indemnity or the contractual termination indemnity that exceeds the amount of the statutory termination indemnity
- Supplementary severance pay superlegal
- Compensation paid in case of non-compete clause.
This delay corresponds to a number of days obtained by dividing the amount of the allowance taken into account by 109.6. The result is rounded up to the next integer (if the result is not an integer).
FYI
The delay shall not exceed 150 calendar days (5 months) or, in the case of dismissal for economic reasons, 75 calendar days.
Example :
If you have received (in addition to the statutory termination indemnity) a supralegal indemnity of €10,000 following the termination of your contract, the specific compensation delay is determined as follows: 10,000/ 109.6 = 91. In addition to these 91 days, there is a 7-day waiting period. Your compensation will start after 100 days.
Allowances are paid by France Travail each month according to updating your situation (for example, early November for the October allowance).
The payment depends on what you declare each month: resumption of activity, entry into training, illness, etc.
You can ask your France Travail agency, under certain conditions, for advances and down payments.
Warning
The payment of the WFA is made on the basis of 30 compensable days per month, regardless of the month concerned (instead of the number of days) calendars month). This measure applies to all recipients, regardless of the date on which their entitlements are opened.
The duration of the WFA payment depends on the end date of your employment contract.
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Your employment contract ended before February 1, 2023
The length of time you receive the Return to Employment Assistance (RHE) depends on how long you have been in the last 36 months.
Duration of employment (the 24 months preceding your contract) | Duration of compensation |
|---|---|
Less than 6 months | No compensation |
Beyond 6 months | 182 calendar days minimum and 1,095 calendar days maximum |
If you are a part-time private sector employee (short-time work), you can benefit from the partial activity allowance for a maximum of 182 days.
However, if the suspension of the company's activity is due to a disaster or natural disaster, this period may be extended until it resumes activity.
Your employment contract has ended since or after February 1, 2023
The duration of payment of unemployment benefits applies depending on the labor market situation :
- If the overall unemployment rate is below 9.0% and that it has not progressed 0.8% over 1 quarter, your compensation period is reduced by 25%.
- If the overall unemployment rate is below9.0% and that it has progressed by 0.8%, the previous rules on the duration of compensation shall apply.
The overall unemployment rate is currently below 9.0% and has not made any progress 0.8% over 1 quarter. Reducing the duration of compensation for 25% applies.
Thus, the maximum duration of payment of your compensation at the opening of your rights to the ARE will be 822 calendar days.
France Travail informs you of the reduction of the duration of your entitlements to the ARE or of the return of your entitlements to the initial duration.
You can benefit from an end of rights supplement called CFD, depending on your situation.
The duration of this supplement is a maximum of 182 days.
If your compensation period has been calculated according to the rules applicable to 1er in february 2023, you can also benefit from a so-called end-of-training supplement SBB, depending on your situation. To do this, you need to take a qualifying training, registered in your contract of employment and of a duration of 6 months or more.
Recipients aged 57 and over who undertake compensated training in Aref in the course of compensation, their duration of compensation is extended up to 137 days (959 days in total).
They must justify at least 652 days worked.
In adverse circumstances, this period is extended to 1 095 days.
FYI
If you are a part-time private sector employee (short-time work), you can benefit from the partial activity allowance for a maximum of 182 days. However, if the suspension of the company's activity is due to a disaster or natural disaster, this period may be extended until it resumes activity.
If you are in a professional activity and still declare that you are looking for a job, you can combine your Return to Work Assistance (RHE) with income from a professional activity.
The conditions for this accumulation vary depending on whether you are employed or self-employed.
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Employed activity
You are resuming paid employment
After resumption of activity, if you declare that you are still looking for a job, your ARE is paid in part. The amount of the WFAA paid is the amount of the daily WFAA multiplied by the number of compensable days per month by the WFAA.
This number of compensable days is calculated using the following formula:
(Monthly WFA amount - 70% of the salary of your new activity) / daily WFA amount
The sum obtained is rounded to the nearest integer.
The cumulative amount of the WFAA paid and your income from work must not exceed your reference daily wage (SJR).
FYI
The days not compensated will reduce the end of your compensation.
You must declare your resumption of activity during the monthly update of your situation. If you are unable to provide proof of your income, France Travail will pay you an advance calculated provisionally, then regularize your situation the month following the provision of proof.
When you lose one of your jobs, the calculated WFA is fully accumulated with the income of the job(s) retained.
The SJR, which is used to calculate the WFA, is determined on the basis of the remuneration corresponding to the job lost.
You keep an employed activity
When you lose one of your jobs, the calculated WFA is fully accumulated with the income of the job(s) retained.
The reference daily wage (SJR), used to calculate the WFA, shall be determined on the basis of the remuneration corresponding to the job lost.
You must declare your resumption of activity during the monthly update of your situation. If you are unable to provide proof of your income, France Travail will pay you an advance calculated provisionally, then regularize your situation the month following the provision of proof.
When you lose one of your jobs, the calculated WFA is fully accumulated with the income of the job(s) retained.
The SJR, which is used to calculate the WFA, is determined on the basis of the remuneration corresponding to the job lost.
Self-employment
If you report self-employed income (for example, as a micro-entrepreneur) and you report that you are still looking for a job, your WFA is paid in part. The amount of the WFA paid is the amount of the daily WFA multiplied by the number of days compensable per month for the WFA.
This number of compensable days is calculated using the following formula:
(Monthly WFA amount - 60% declared remuneration for social insurance) / amount of the daily WFA
The sum obtained is rounded to the nearest integer.
When income is not known or when the activity begins, the number of compensable days is calculated on the basis of a lump sum. An annual adjustment is then made on the basis of actual earnings subject to social security contributions.
The cumulative amount between the WFAA paid and your activity must not exceed your reference daily wage (SJR).
You must declare your resumption of activity when the monthly update of your situation.
If you are unable to provide proof of your income, France Travail will pay you an advance calculated provisionally, then regularize your situation the month following the provision of proof.
This additional ARE is paid each month, subject to the continuation of self-employment, and within the limit of a total amount capped at 60% the remaining entitlements to the WFAA.
Payment of the supplement shall cease when the 60% the remaining entitlements to the WFAA are reached.
You can benefit from a reversal of the remaining rights of 40%provided that the self-employed activity has ceased or after agreement of France Travail.
Termination of payment
The payment of the WFAA ceases if you are in one of the following situations:
- You resume a professional activity, whether salaried or not, in France or abroad, unless authorized by France Travail to accumulate the ARE with an income from activity
- You perceive aid for the recovery or creation of a company
- You perceive Social Security daily allowances
- You perceive the shared child-rearing benefit (Prepare)
- You perceive the daily parental attendance allowance (AJPP)
- You have concluded a civic service contract
- You meet the conditions to benefit from a full pension or reach the age limit of activity
- You no longer reside in France
- You have made a false or misleading statement which has the effect of unjustifiably paying unemployment benefits.
Specific Solidarity Allowance (SSA)
If your rights end, you may, under certain conditions, benefit from the specific solidarity allowance (SSA)).
If you are not eligible for the SSA, for reasons other than the means test, you can apply for a lump sum equal to 27 times the amount of the fixed part of the WFA, i.e. €356.
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France Labor
ARE (condition, form, etc.)
Article L5422-2-1: rechargeable rights
Accumulation of replacement income with other income
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