As of 1 July 2023, the provisions changing the salary slip template became applicaple in France. A new item has been introduced to the pay slip: “net social amount”. Seemingly, the change in question isn’t drastic. However, this modification is of a great importance in reality. Why? We will explain it later in this article.
1. New item on the pay slip
Pursuant to the regulation of 31 January 2023 amending the regulation of 25 February 2016 determining the wording, order and grouping of information on the salary slip referred to in Article R. 3243-2 of the Labour Code, the payslip template has changed as of 1 July 2023. A new line has been added to it: “net social amount”. The new item on the salary slip will look as follows:
English version:
French version:
The line “net social amount” will have to appear on all pay slips issued after 1 July 2023. Wage slips related to previous periods of employment and issued after that date will also have to contain information on the “net social amount” corresponding to the payments period.
The new provisions concern the metropolitan territory and the overseas territories where the Labour Code applies, i.e.: Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, Réunion, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon. The “net social amount” doesn’t need to be indicated on the salary slips of workers employed in French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, the French Southern and Antarctic Lands and New Caledonia, as well as in the principalities of Monaco and Andorra.
2. What is: “Net social amount”?
The “net social amount” corresponds to the net income after deduction of all compulsory social security contributions. In other words, the “net social amount” consists of all amounts related to remuneration and replacement income paid to workers by the employer (e.g. salaries, bonuses, benefits in kind, overtime payments, severance allowances, etc.) less social security contributions.
All private sector employers are required to indicate the “net social amount” on the payslip. This line should appear on the wage slips of all workers, regardless of their socioprofessional category.
It should be noted here that from 1 January 2024, the “net social amount” will have to be entered in the nominative social declaration (DSN) and will be subject to consistency checks by Urssaf.
3. Practical meaning of the “net social amount”
Listing the “net social amount” on the payslip will make it easier to claim social security benefits in CAF or MSA. Indeed, the net social amount corresponds to the amount of income taken into account when calculating certain social benefits, such as the activty bonus or the RSA. By indicating this amount on the salary slip, the employee won’t have to calculate himself/herself the “net” income to be declared in the application for social benefit. This will reduce the risk of error in the amount of income indicated in the request.
4. Other changes introduced to the salary slip
The introduction of the line “net social amount” doesn’t constitute the only change in the payslip. The French legislator has made several more modifications. An important novelty is the separation, on the salary slip, of compulsory social security contributions and contributions that are deducted from gross pay to calculate net “social” income, from contributions to optional schemes and other deductions or payments. In addition, the French legislator systematised the descriptions of certain benefits, refunds or deductions. This change will allow workers to better understand how their net remuneration is calculated. The introduction of the requirement to make the headings in the payslips more legible and hierarchical constitutes another novelty. Moreover, some information that didn’t affect workers’ rights and whose calculation was complex, such as the total amount of reductions in contributions paid by employers, has beed removed from the salary slip.
5. Legal notice
The study is a work within the meaning of the Act of 4 February 1994 on Copyright and Related Rights (OJ 2006, No. 90, item 631, consolidated text, as amended). Publishing or reproducing this study or its part, quoting opinions, as well as disseminating in any other way the information contained therein without the written consent of Crede sp. z o.o. is prohibited.
