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

Introduction: Short-Time Working, a Key Payroll Mechanism

Short-time working (activité partielle, formerly known as chômage partiel or chômage technique — technical unemployment) is a mechanism that allows companies facing a temporary reduction in business activity to reduce their employees’ working time while guaranteeing them compensation. Widely used during the health crisis, this mechanism remains a structural tool of human resources and payroll management in 2026.

Processing short-time working in payroll involves mastering numerous parameters: calculating the employee indemnity, the employer allowance paid by the ASP (Agence de Services et de Paiement — Services and Payment Agency), the specific social regime (exemption from contributions, reduced-rate CSG/CRDS), the proration of the Social Security ceiling, and the impacts on the DSN (Déclaration Sociale Nominative — the standardised social security filing). This complete guide draws on the references of the BOSS (Bulletin Officiel de la Sécurité Sociale — the Official Social Security Bulletin) to support you step by step.

The Legal Framework of Short-Time Working

Grounds for Use

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;
Disaster or exceptional weather events;
Transformation, restructuring or modernisation of the company;
Any other exceptional circumstance.

The Application Procedure

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

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

Compensation of the Employee on Short-Time Working

Calculating the Statutory Indemnity

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

Indemnity = 60% of the reference gross hourly remuneration

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

The Reference Gross Hourly Remuneration

The reference remuneration used to calculate the indemnity is determined according to the following rules:

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

Example: An employee receives 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 indemnity is: 18.46 × 60% = €11.08 gross.

The SMIC Floor

If calculating 60% of the gross hourly remuneration results in an amount lower than the statutory floor of the indemnity, the indemnity 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 lower than the statutory indemnity floor, the indemnity is raised to that floor (the value in force published by 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). For the ordinary-law regime, this allowance amounts to:

36% of the reference gross hourly remuneration, with an hourly floor revalued periodically (check the current value on urssaf.fr).

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

Reimbursement Application Procedure

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

In accordance with the BOSS, the short-time working indemnity is exempt from Social Security contributions (sickness, 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 60% indemnity as well as to any supplementary indemnity paid by the employer, up to a limit of 70% of the gross hourly remuneration (3.15 times the SMIC).

Reduced-Rate CSG and CRDS

The short-time working indemnity 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 indemnity.

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

Important: CSG/CRDS cannot bring the net indemnity below the gross SMIC. If it does, the CSG/CRDS is capped in order to respect this floor.

Supplementary Top-Up by the Employer

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

Up to 70% of the gross hourly rate (within the limit of 3.15 SMIC): the supplementary indemnity 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 remuneration.

Case of Temporary Closure

In the event of a total closure of the establishment (short-time working at zero hours), the Social Security ceiling must be prorated based on the 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 total 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 Working 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 procedures as for a part-time employee:

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

However, in practice, 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: Combining Reductions

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

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

Example: An employee at 80% (121.33 h/month) placed on total short-time working for 10 days in 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.

Processing in the DSN

Declaring Hours and Indemnities

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 indemnity paid to the employee;
Where applicable, the supplementary top-up of remuneration.

Absence reason codes and specific fields must be correctly completed to allow automated processing by social bodies and the ASP.

Impact on Declared Contributions

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

Complete 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

Calculating the Remuneration

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

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

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

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

On the €572.50 of short-time working indemnity:

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 mechanism 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 the gross hourly rate);
A higher employer allowance rate;
The requirement for a collective agreement or a unilateral document compliant with a sector-wide agreement.

The social regime of the APLD is identical to that of ordinary-law short-time working: exemption from Social Security contributions and reduced-rate CSG/CRDS on the indemnity, within the limit of 70% of the gross rate.

Best Practices for Payroll Managers

Essential Control Points

Verify the proration of the Social Security ceiling based on days or hours of absence;
Ensure the application of the reduced CSG rate (6.20% instead of 9.20%) on the indemnity;
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 Mistakes to Avoid

Applying Social Security contributions to the short-time working indemnity;
Using the 9.20% CSG rate (earned income) instead of 6.20% (replacement income);
Forgetting the proration of the Social Security ceiling;
Failing to distinguish the regime of 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 indemnity taxable?

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

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

Is maintaining 100% of the salary by the employer possible?

Yes, but the social regime is different beyond 70% of the gross hourly rate. The portion of supplementary indemnity exceeding 70% of the gross remuneration (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 taxable portion.

Can employees on a day-rate (forfait jours) arrangement 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 of the hours usually worked in the establishment or a temporary closure. The indemnity is calculated on the basis of the reference remuneration and the hours corresponding to the applicable statutory duration.

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

Yes. Hours not worked under short-time working are taken into account for 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.

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