Thank you for taking part in our webinar “Payroll news and social security contributions 2026”.
Many questions were asked during the session. We've grouped the answers below in the form of FAQs by topic, to help you see clearly and secure your decisions (payroll, contributions, compliance, timetable).
Please note: some measures are subject to implementing decrees. When this is the case, we specify it in the reply.
You missed the webinar: Payroll news & social security contributions 2026 → see the replay
Single general degressive reduction (RGDU) in employer contributions
Seconded civil servants are not automatically excluded from the RGDU, but it all depends on their contributions during the secondment.
The RGDU is applicable if the seconded civil servant is :
- Seconded to an employer subject to the general scheme,
- And pays social security + unemployment contributions (URSSAF) like a «classic» employee.
The RGDU is NOT applicable if the seconded employee :
- Remains affiliated to his special civil servant scheme (e.g. civilian pension),
- Does not contribute to unemployment insurance,
- And is not fully within the scope of URSSAF “employee” contributions.
Which industries are affected by the adjustment to the RDGU 2026 calculation?
We often find that professional sectors adjust their pay scales during the year (around July) to bring them into line with the minimum wage.
This is the case for around 30 branches (out of a total of 300 professional branches) concerned.
Only a very small number of branches have minimum wages that are «structurally» lower than the SMIC, i.e. for more than a year, despite multiple revaluations of the legal minimum wage:
- Temporary employment agencies
- The social and medico-social sector
- The agricultural and maritime sectors (within branches subject to approval)
These are branches of activity in which the agreed minimum wage is lower than the SMIC. More precisely, these are the branches where the minimum wage for unskilled workers is lower than the SMIC.
This measure, provided for in the LFSS 2026, is subject to an implementing decree, so it will not come into force immediately.
Additional birth leave
Does the employee continue to acquire P.C. during the additional birth leave?
Supplementary birth leave is in addition to maternity, paternity/childcare or adoption leave, and suspends the employment contract, with the employer ceasing to pay the salary during this period.
Current rules on the acquisition of paid leave already stipulate that periods of maternity and paternity leave are treated as actual working time for the purposes of calculating paid leave, unlike full-time parental leave, which does not give entitlement to paid leave unless there is a more favorable collective agreement.
For the additional birth leave itself, the precise terms and conditions (including explicit assimilation to actual working time for paid leave purposes) are to be set out in the implementing decrees announced for the scheme's entry into force on July 1, 2026.
Can leave be taken before July 1, 2026?
For the time being, the answer is no, as the scheme comes into effect from 1 January.er July 2026 for employees.
Thus, for children born or brought into the household between 1er January and June 30, 2026, leave may be taken until March 31, 2027 (i.e. within a maximum period of 9 months from January 1).er July 2026).
No compensation for the leave can be paid by the CPAM before the 1er July 2026.
Does the additional birth leave have to be taken from the 1st day of the month or is it possible to straddle two months?
The LFSS sets a time limit within which the leave must be taken (9 months from 1 January).er July 2026), but does not condition entitlement to start a 1er day of the calendar month.
All the employee has to do is give the employer a start date and duration (1 or 2 months, possibly split when confirmed by the decrees), with no requirement to coincide with the start of the calendar month.
Work-study contracts
There's no longer any help for work-study students with a baccalaureate or higher?
The scheme to help employers hire apprentices preparing for diplomas above baccalaureate level will no longer be applied from January 1ᵉʳ 2026 in its current configuration.. Only the one-off apprenticeship grant applies, for companies with fewer than 250 employees.
Pay transparency
On the subject of salary transparency, isn't there any obligation for companies with fewer than 50 employees?
With the information currently available, pay transparency rules do not apply to companies with fewer than 100 employees (and therefore not to companies with fewer than 50 employees).
Overtime
There was talk of removing the cap on the tax exemption on overtime pay of €7,500/year. What has happened to date?
In the Finance Bill for 2026, the French National Assembly adopted an amendment in October 2025 aimed at completely removing the €7,500 ceiling on the tax exemption for overtime, with effect from 1 January 2025.er october 2025.
To date (February 11, 2026), the removal of the ceiling has not been retained : the income tax exemption ceiling for overtime/complementary hours remains set at €7,500 per year (net taxable).
Does the flat-rate employer's deduction apply to overtime that has not been paid but has been placed in a counter that can be recovered at a later date?
The flat-rate employer's deduction cannot be applied to hours not paid immediately but monetized later via a counter (such as a CET or time savings account).
It applies exclusively to the overtime pay actually paid to the employee on his or her pay slip, at the minimum rate of one standard hour.
The Senior Citizens Act
What about companies with fewer than 300 employees? Do they have to do something to promote the employment of «senior» employees too, or nothing at all?
The obligations set out in the French Social Security Financing Act for 2026 do not apply to companies with fewer than 300 employees. As negotiations on the employment of «seniors» are not required by law, they are not subject to the penalty provided for those who do not respect these negotiations.
They can, however, voluntarily initiate a process or negotiate on these themes if they wish and if it fits in with their HR - CSR policy, but this is not a legal obligation.
When is the latest time to start negotiations on the employment of «seniors» in order to escape the penalty?
Once again, we are awaiting the implementing decree, which has yet to specify the practical details (dates, assessment criteria, amounts, etc.).
It is preferable to start now, without waiting until the last moment. In concrete terms, negotiations must begin before the end of the first three-year period following October 26, 2025, i.e. before October 2028, whether by opening discussions, concluding an agreement or, at the very least, implementing a project or action plan.
If the company concludes an internal method agreement validating a periodicity of up to 4 years, the next deadline could therefore be October 2029.
So there is no obligation to draw up an action plan to promote the employment of «seniors» if there is no trade union organization in a company with 300 employees?
In both cases (with or without trade union organization), a company with 300 employees is subject to the new obligations arising from the law of October 24, 2025: diagnosis of experienced employees, implementation of measures to promote the recruitment and retention of older employees.
The absence of a union representative does not remove the obligation to take action in favor of older employees: the company must still carry out a diagnosis and formalize measures (agreement if another method of negotiation is possible, or unilateral action plan).
On the other hand, companies without a trade union will not be penalized with a specific penalty for failing to negotiate or reach an agreement/plan.
What about senior employment contracts?
The LFSS 2026 contains a number of measures that have an impact on the health of the population. indirect on employment contracts for senior employees, but it does not directly modify the content of the senior employment contract as such. It does, however, tie in with recent labor law reforms that affect the way these contracts are organized.
The «senior» CDD (fixed-term contract) has been abolished and will no longer be available since the end of 2025. A new form of contract has emerged: the Contrat de Valorisation de l'Expérience (CVE) is an experimental CDI for senior jobseekers. This contract can be concluded for a potential duration of up to 5 years and is closer to a permanent contract than a fixed-term contract.
The DFS
Does the gradual abolition of the specific lump-sum deduction, particularly in the building industry, mean that the URSSAF exemption limit of €10.40 for basket allowances will be split between gross and net amounts?
Until the DFS ceases to apply on 01/01/2032, in which case basket allowances will be net only?
The subject of DFS in the building sector was not discussed during this webinar, but you'll find our response below.
The phasing-out of the DFS does not directly change the exemption ceiling for basket allowances. This ceiling continues to apply as it stands (exempted allowance up to the limit set by the URSSAF scale). What does change is the mechanism for reducing the’contribution base.
This means that the DFS only affects the base, and does not convert exempt items into taxable or net items. It only reduces the basis for calculating social security contributions, which on 01/01/2032 will correspond to the «classic» total gross salary.
We leave it up to you to contact us to discuss your DFS problem in person.
Our expertise at your service
Need to go further now? Discover our solutions for optimizing your HR performance:
- Social security audit : identify your savings potential.
- AT/MP management : secure your rates and control your costs.
- DSN support : make your declarations more reliable, with complete peace of mind.
