The bill on negotiated terminations of employment contracts was debated in Parliament in April

The draft law on negotiated terminations, resulting from the agreement between social partners which provides for a reduction in the duration of compensation by unemployment insurance after an amicable termination of employment contract, will be debated in Parliament in April, the Ministry of Labour announced on Wednesday, March 25.

The agreement reached in February between three employers' organizations (Medef, CPME, U2P) and three trade union organizations (CFDT, CFTC and FO) notably provides for reducing the maximum duration of compensation for post-contractual termination beneficiaries under the age of 55 from 18 to 15 months.

This measure also stipulates that for seniors over 55 and residents of overseas territories, the maximum compensation periods are set at 20,5 months and 30 months respectively.

Enhanced support from France Travail is also being put in place to promote a faster return to employment for beneficiaries of negotiated terminations.

"It's a great agreement," said Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou on Wednesday, who presented the draft transposition law to the Council of Ministers, which will be debated by parliamentarians "as early as April," according to the ministry.

"Individual negotiated terminations represent 26% of unemployment insurance expenditure, i.e. 9,4 billion euros," which is "a considerable sum which has increased a lot since the creation of these negotiated terminations," Mr. Farandou recalled at a press conference.

The government had initially asked the social partners to generate at least 400 million euros in savings per year through these negotiations on negotiated terminations.

But "by 2029, this reform of the system of individual negotiated terminations should generate between 600 and 800 million euros in annual savings and promote 12.000 to 15.000 additional returns to employment each year," the Ministry of Labour specifies.