French Labour Law

Short-Time Working (Activité Partielle) in French Payroll 2026: A Complete Employer Guide

DAIRIA Law · 2026-08-25 · 11 min

Short-Time Working (Activité Partielle) in French Payroll 2026: A Complete Employer Guide

Introduction: Short-Time Working, a Key Payroll Mechanism

Short-time working (activité partielle, formerly known as chômage partiel or chômage technique — partial/technical unemployment) is a scheme allowing companies facing a temporary reduction in activity to cut their employees’ working hours while guaranteeing them compensation. This mechanism, widely used during the health crisis, remains a structuring tool for human resources and payroll management in 2026.

Processing short-time working in payroll requires mastering numerous parameters: calculating the employee allowance (indemnité salarié), the employer allowance (allocation employeur) paid by the ASP (Agence de Services et de Paiement — Services and Payment Agency), the specific social regime (contribution exemption, reduced-rate CSG/CRDS), the prorating of the social security ceiling, and the impact on the DSN (the French nominative social declaration). This complete guide draws on the references of the BOSS (Bulletin Officiel de la Sécurité Sociale — Official Social Security Bulletin) to guide you step by step.

Grounds for Recourse

Short-time working may be implemented in the following situations (Article L.5122-1 of the French Labour Code):

  • Unfavourable economic conditions;
  • Supply difficulties for raw materials or energy;
  • Exceptional disaster or bad weather;
  • Transformation, restructuring or modernisation of the company;
  • Any other circumstance of an exceptional nature.

The Application Procedure

The employer must obtain prior authorisation from the DDETS (Direction Départementale de l’Emploi, du Travail et des Solidarités — Departmental Directorate for Employment, Labour and Solidarity) before placing employees on short-time working, except in exceptional circumstances allowing a retrospective application within 30 days. The application is made online on the activitepartielle.emploi.gouv.fr portal.

Authorisation is granted for a maximum period of 3 months, renewable, up to a limit of 6 months (consecutive or not) over a 12-month reference period.

Compensating the Employee on Short-Time Working

Calculating the Statutory Allowance

Under ordinary law, an employee placed on short-time working receives an hourly allowance paid by the employer corresponding to:

Allowance = 60% of the reference gross hourly pay

This allowance may not be lower than an hourly net floor set by decree (Articles L.5122-1 and R.5122-18 of the French Labour Code), periodically revalued — check the value in force at urssaf.fr. This floor is a fixed statutory amount (it does not correspond to the “net SMIC”, i.e. the net minimum wage). Employees on apprenticeship or professionalisation contracts receive an allowance under specific rules.

The Reference Gross Hourly Pay

The reference pay used to calculate the allowance is determined according to the following rules:

  • It includes base salary and recurring bonuses linked to work (seniority bonus, position bonus, etc.);
  • It excludes expense reimbursements, exceptional bonuses, and pay items not linked to actual work;
  • The hourly rate is obtained by dividing the reference monthly pay by the statutory monthly working time (151.67 hours) or the contractual working time for part-time employees.

Example: An employee earns a gross monthly salary of €2,800 for 151.67 hours. Their reference hourly rate is: 2,800 / 151.67 = €18.46. Their hourly short-time working allowance is: 18.46 × 60% = €11.08 gross.

The SMIC Floor

If calculating 60% of the gross hourly pay results in an amount lower than the statutory floor of the allowance, the allowance is raised to that floor. This rule protects the lowest-paid employees.

Example: An employee on the SMIC (€12.31 gross/hour, as at 1 June 2026). 60% × 12.31 = €7.39. As this amount is below the statutory floor of the allowance, the allowance is raised to that floor (the amount in force published by the URSSAF).

The Employer Allowance Paid by the ASP

The Amount of the Allowance

The employer receives a short-time working allowance from the State, paid by the ASP (Agence de Services et de Paiement). Under the ordinary-law regime, this allowance amounts to:

36% of the reference gross hourly pay, with an hourly floor periodically revalued (check the value in force at urssaf.fr).

The employer therefore bears a remaining cost corresponding to the difference between the allowance paid to the employee (60% of gross hourly pay) and the allowance received (36% of gross hourly pay), i.e. approximately 24% of gross hourly pay.

Reimbursement Application Procedure

The employer must file its reimbursement application on the activitepartielle.emploi.gouv.fr portal within 12 months of the end of the authorised short-time working period. The application specifies, for each employee, the number of hours not worked and the allowance paid.

The Social Regime of the Short-Time Working Allowance

Exemption from Social Security Contributions

In accordance with the BOSS, the short-time working allowance is exempt from social security contributions (health, old-age, family allowances, workplace accidents). It is also exempt from Agirc-Arrco supplementary pension contributions and unemployment contributions.

This exemption applies to the statutory allowance of 60% as well as to any supplementary allowance paid by the employer up to a limit of 70% of the gross hourly pay (3.15 times the SMIC).

Reduced-Rate CSG and CRDS

The short-time working allowance is subject to CSG at a rate of 6.20% (instead of 9.20% on earned income) and to CRDS at a rate of 0.50%. These contributions apply after the 1.75% allowance for professional expenses, on 98.25% of the allowance.

The reduced CSG rate (6.20%) corresponds to the rate applicable to replacement income, as the short-time working allowance has the nature of replacement income for CSG/CRDS purposes.

Important: CSG/CRDS may not bring the net allowance below the gross SMIC. If this is the case, CSG/CRDS is capped to respect this floor.

Supplementary Top-Up by the Employer

If the employer decides to maintain all or part of the pay beyond the statutory 60% allowance, the social regime depends on the level of top-up:

  • Up to 70% of gross hourly pay (within the limit of 3.15 SMIC): the supplementary allowance benefits from the same favourable regime (exemption from social security contributions, reduced-rate CSG/CRDS);
  • Beyond that: the excess portion is treated as salary, i.e. subject to all social contributions (employer and employee) in the same way as ordinary pay.

Prorating the Social Security Ceiling

Case of Temporary Closure

In the event of a complete closure of the establishment (zero-hour short-time working), the social security ceiling must be prorated based on calendar days of absence. In accordance with the BOSS:

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

Example: An employee placed on full short-time working from 1 to 15 March 2026 (a month of 31 calendar days). They work from 16 to 31 March, i.e. 16 calendar days. Reduced ceiling = €4,005 × (16 / 31) = €2,067.10.

Case of Reduced Hours

In the event of a reduction in working time (the employee works reduced hours), the social security ceiling is reduced according to the same terms as for a part-time employee:

Reduced ceiling = Monthly ceiling × (Hours worked + hours compensated) / Statutory monthly working time

In practice, however, the method adopted by the BOSS for short-time working with reduced hours consists of prorating in calendar days of absence when the absence covers full days.

Part-Time and Short-Time Working: Combined Reductions

When a part-time employee is placed on short-time working, the two ceiling reductions are combined:

  • First reduction: prorating linked to part-time work (contractual working time / statutory working time);
  • Second reduction: prorating linked to short-time working (days or hours of absence).

Example: An employee working 80% (121.33 h/month) placed on full short-time working for 10 days over a month of 30 days. Part-time ceiling = 4,005 × (121.33 / 151.67) = €3,203.84. Ceiling after short-time working = 3,203.84 × (20 / 30) = €2,135.89.

DSN Processing

Declaring Hours and Allowances

Short-time working must be declared in the DSN with the following elements:

  • The number of hours not worked in the “Activity” block;
  • The reason for suspension or reduction of activity;
  • The amount of the allowance paid to the employee;
  • Where applicable, the supplementary pay top-up.

The absence reason codes and specific fields must be correctly completed to enable automated processing by the social bodies and the ASP.

Impact on Declared Contributions

The DSN must faithfully reflect the specific social regime of the short-time working allowance: absence of social security contributions on the exempt portion, reduced-rate CSG/CRDS, and, where applicable, normal contributions on the supplementary top-up exceeding 70% of gross pay.

Full Example of a Payslip with Short-Time Working in 2026

Example Data

  • Usual gross monthly salary: €2,800 for 151.67 hours
  • Hours worked in the month: 100 hours
  • Hours not worked (short-time working): 51.67 hours
  • Gross hourly rate: 2,800 / 151.67 = €18.46

Pay Calculation

Gross pay for hours worked: 100 × 18.46 = €1,846.00

Short-time working allowance: 51.67 × (18.46 × 60%) = 51.67 × 11.08 = €572.50

Total gross pay: 1,846.00 + 572.50 = €2,418.50

Social Contributions

On the €1,846.00 of salary: standard contributions (approximately 22% employee) = ~€406.12

On the €572.50 short-time working allowance:

  • No social security, pension or unemployment contributions;
  • CSG (6.20%) on 98.25% = 572.50 × 98.25% × 6.20% = €34.86
  • CRDS (0.50%) on 98.25% = 572.50 × 98.25% × 0.50% = €2.81

Short-Time Working vs Long-Term Short-Time Working (APLD)

The Key Differences

APLD (Activité Partielle de Longue Durée — Long-Term Short-Time Working), referred to as ALPD in some communications, is a specific scheme that differs from ordinary-law short-time working by:

  • A longer duration (up to 36 months over 48 months);
  • A potentially higher employee compensation rate (70% of gross hourly pay);
  • A higher employer allowance rate;
  • The need for a collective agreement or a unilateral document compliant with an industry-wide agreement.

The social regime for APLD is identical to that of ordinary-law short-time working: exemption from social security contributions and reduced-rate CSG/CRDS on the allowance, up to 70% of gross pay.

Best Practices for Payroll Managers

Essential Control Points

  • Verify the prorating of the social security ceiling based on days or hours of absence;
  • Ensure application of the reduced CSG rate (6.20% instead of 9.20%) on the allowance;
  • Check the net SMIC floor for low-paid employees;
  • Verify the treatment of any supplementary top-up (different social regime beyond 70%);
  • Reconcile the hours declared in the DSN with the hours compensated for the ASP allowance application.

Common Errors to Avoid

  • Applying social security contributions to the short-time working allowance;
  • Using the 9.20% CSG rate (earned income) instead of 6.20% (replacement income);
  • Forgetting to prorate the social security ceiling;
  • Failing to distinguish the regime for the supplementary top-up beyond 70%;
  • Incorrectly declaring hours not worked in the DSN.

FAQ: Short-Time Working in Payroll

Is the short-time working allowance taxable?

Yes. The short-time working allowance is subject to income tax. It is included in the employee’s taxable net pay and falls within the scope of withholding tax (PAS). Only the deductible CSG (3.80% in the case of replacement income) reduces the taxable net pay.

How do you calculate the social security ceiling when short-time working covers part of the month?

In the event of a complete closure, the ceiling is prorated in calendar days: monthly ceiling × (calendar days worked / calendar days in the month). In the event of reduced hours, prorating is done according to the same rules as for part-time work or by full days of absence. In 2026, the monthly social security ceiling is €4,005.

Can the employer maintain 100% of the salary?

Yes, but the social regime differs beyond 70% of gross hourly pay. The portion of the supplementary allowance exceeding 70% of gross pay (within the limit of 3.15 SMIC) is subject to social contributions as salary. The employer must therefore distinguish on the payslip between the exempt portion and the portion subject to contributions.

Can employees on a day-rate arrangement (forfait jours) be placed on short-time working?

Yes. Employees on a day-rate arrangement (forfait jours) may be placed on short-time working in the event of a reduction in the hours usually worked in the establishment or a temporary closure. The allowance is calculated on the basis of the reference pay and the hours corresponding to the applicable statutory working time.

Does short-time working affect the accrual of paid leave?

Yes. Hours not worked under short-time working are taken into account when calculating paid leave entitlements, in accordance with Article L.5122-1 of the French Labour Code. The employee therefore continues to accrue paid leave during short-time working periods.

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