Introduction: Partial Activity, A Key Mechanism in Payroll

Partial activity, formerly known as short-time work or technical unemployment, is a system that allows companies facing a temporary reduction in activity to reduce their employees’ working hours while ensuring them compensation. This mechanism, widely used during the health crisis, remains a structural tool for human resource and payroll management in 2025.

Handling partial activity in payroll involves mastering numerous parameters: calculating the employee indemnity, the employer allocation paid by the ASP (Agence de Services et de Paiement), the specific social regime (exemption from contributions, reduced rate CSG/CRDS), prorating the Social Security ceiling, and impacts on the DSN (Déclaration Sociale Nominative). This comprehensive guide relies on references from the BOSS (Bulletin Officiel de la Sécurité Sociale) to assist you step by step.

The Legal Framework of Partial Activity

Reasons for Implementation

Partial activity can be implemented in the following situations (Article L.5122-1 of the French Labour Code):

Unfavorable economic conditions;
Supply difficulties for raw materials or energy;
Natural disasters or exceptional weather events;
Transformation, restructuring, or modernization of the company;
Any other exceptional circumstances.

The Request Procedure

The employer must obtain prior authorization from the DDETS (Direction Départementale de l’Emploi, du Travail et des Solidarités) before placing employees in partial activity, except in exceptional circumstances allowing for a posteriori application within 30 days. The request is made online at the portal activitepartielle.emploi.gouv.fr.

Authorization is granted for a maximum duration of 3 renewable months, within a limit of 6 months (consecutive or not) over a reference period of 12 months.

Employee Compensation in Partial Activity

Calculation of Legal Indemnity

In 2025, an employee placed in partial activity receives an hourly indemnity paid by the employer corresponding to:

Indemnity = 60% of the gross hourly reference salary.

This indemnity cannot be lower than the net hourly SMIC, which is approximately €9.23 in 2025 (gross SMIC €11.88 × approximate coefficient). Employees on apprenticeship or professionalization contracts receive an indemnity proportional to their regular remuneration.

The Gross Hourly Reference Salary

The reference salary used for calculating the indemnity is determined according to the following rules:

It includes the base salary, and recurring performance bonuses (seniority bonus, position bonus, etc.);
It excludes expense reimbursements, exceptional bonuses, and elements of remuneration not linked to actual work performed;
The hourly rate is obtained by dividing the monthly reference remuneration by the legal monthly duration (151.67 hours) or the contractual duration for part-time employees.

Example: An employee earns a gross monthly salary of €2,800 for 151.67 hours. His reference hourly rate is: 2,800 / 151.67 = €18.46. His hourly indemnity for partial activity is: 18.46 × 60% = €11.08 gross.

SMIC Floor

If the calculation of 60% of the gross hourly salary results in an amount lower than the net hourly SMIC, the indemnity is raised to the level of the net hourly SMIC. This rule protects low-paid employees.

Example: An employee at minimum wage (gross €11.88/hour). 60% × 11.88 = €7.13. This amount being lower than the net hourly SMIC (~€9.23), the indemnity will be adjusted to €9.23 per hour of unemployment.

Employer Allocation Paid by the ASP

Amount of the Allocation

The employer receives a partial activity allocation from the State, paid by the ASP (Agence de Services et de Paiement). In 2025, for the standard regime, this allocation amounts to:

36% of the gross hourly reference salary, with a floor of €8.30 per hour.

Thus, the employer has a remaining charge corresponding to the difference between the indemnity paid to the employee (60% of gross hourly) and the allocation received (36% of gross hourly), amounting to about 24% of gross hourly.

Reimbursement Request Procedure

The employer must submit their compensation request on the portal activitepartielle.emploi.gouv.fr within 12 months following the end of the authorized partial activity period. The request specifies the number of hours not worked and the indemnity paid for each employee.

According to the BOSS, the partial activity indemnity is exempt from Social Security contributions (sickness, old-age, family allowances, work accidents). It is also exempt from Agirc-Arrco supplementary retirement contributions and unemployment contributions.

This exemption applies to the legal indemnity of 60% as well as to any additional indemnity paid by the employer, up to 70% of the gross hourly salary (3.15 times the SMIC).

Reduced Rate CSG and CRDS

The partial activity indemnity is subject to CSG at a rate of 6.20% (instead of 9.20% on activity income) and CRDS at a rate of 0.50%. These contributions apply after the deduction of 1.75% for professional expenses, on 98.25% of the indemnity.

The reduced CSG rate (6.20%) corresponds to the rate applicable to replacement income, as the partial activity indemnity has a nature of a replacement income for the CSG/CRDS.

Important: The CSG/CRDS cannot reduce the net indemnity below the gross SMIC. If this is the case, the CSG/CRDS is capped to respect this floor.

Complementary Maintenance by the Employer

If the employer decides to maintain all or part of the salary beyond the legal indemnity of 60%, the social regime depends on the level of maintenance:

Up to 70% of the gross hourly rate (within the limit of 3.15 SMIC): the complementary indemnity benefits from the same favorable regime (exemption from social security contributions, reduced rate CSG/CRDS);
Above: the excess part is subject to salary-like contributions, meaning it is subject to the full range of social contributions (both employer and employee) just like regular remuneration.

Case of Temporary Closure

In the event of total closure of the establishment (partial activity at zero hours), the Social Security ceiling must be prorated based on the calendar days of absence. According to the BOSS:

Reduced ceiling = Monthly ceiling × (Calendar days worked / Calendar days in the month)

Example: An employee placed in total partial activity from March 1 to March 15, 2025 (month of 31 calendar days). He works from March 16 to March 31, i.e., 16 calendar days. Reduced ceiling = €3,925 × (16 / 31) = €2,025.81.

Case of Hourly Reduction

In the event of a reduction in working hours (the employee works reduced hours), the Social Security ceiling is reduced according to the same modalities as for part-time work:

Reduced ceiling = Monthly ceiling × (Hours worked + indemnified hours) / Legal monthly duration

However, in practice, the method retained by the BOSS for partial activity with reduced hours involves prorating in calendar days of absence when the absence covers full days.

Part-time and Partial Activity: Accumulation of Reductions

When a part-time employee is placed in partial activity, the two ceiling reductions accumulate:

First reduction: prorating related to part-time work (contractual duration / legal duration);
Second reduction: prorating related to partial activity (days or hours of absence).

Example: An 80% employee (121.33 h/month) placed in total partial activity for 10 days in a month of 30 days. Part-time ceiling = €3,925 × (121.33 / 151.67) = €3,139.40. Ceiling after partial activity = 3,139.40 × (20 / 30) = €2,092.93.

Treatment in DSN

Declaration of Hours and Indemnities

Partial activity must be declared in the DSN with the following elements:

The number of hours not worked in the

How to Handle Partial Activity Payroll in 2025: A Comprehensive Guide