Among the bills that should roam the spans of the National Assembly this summer, the one centered around the sharing of value is arousing particular interest. Before entering the hemicycle, the text will be presented this Wednesday, by Olivier Dussopt, in the Council of Ministers. It should faithfully repeat the points mentioned in the National Interprofessional Agreement (ANI) signed on February 10, 2023 by employers and unions. In a context where salaries hardly follow inflation, and where some point the finger at the disproportion between the salaries of big bosses and those of workers, the government’s desire is therefore to respect an agreement that Bruno Le Maire described as “a step forward decisive social action”, by offering it a legal framework. On the basis of this document, it is possible to draw the contours of the value sharing bill.
The law will promote the implementation of value sharing in companies with at least 11 employees and less than 50 employees. From January 1, 2025, if the latter are companies whose net profit is greater than 1% over 3 years in a row, they will have to put in place at least one value-sharing mechanism. These redistribution mechanisms will also be more flexible: they will adapt better in the event of exceptional results and will take greater account of workers with flexible hours or on parental leave. The inclusion of CSR criteria in the objectives of profit-sharing and participation will be mentioned, so that the vision that employees have of company performance is not reduced to a purely financial aspect.
The inclusion of the value-sharing bonus in the field of value sharing and employee savings will also go in the direction of this simplification. It should be noted that companies will have to negotiate the modification or creation of mechanisms within their social and economic committee (CSE) in agreement with their union representatives, or within the framework of discussions within their professional branch.
The text will simplify the implementation of employee shareholding in structures where this is legally possible via a “Plan for sharing the valuation of the company”: concretely, it is a bonus indexed on the valuation of the company over a period of 3 years. It will allow employees to be more involved in the evolution of the company. The bonus may also be indexed to the accounting results of the company, if the latter is not listed.
The development of employee share ownership in companies will also go through better access to information for workers: better communication on the mechanisms of management and remuneration of shares will thus be required of companies. The latter will also have to make their employees aware of the risks incurred by the acquisition of their shares, as may be the simultaneous loss of employment and of the employee’s shares in the event of the company’s bankruptcy. The project will strengthen the attractiveness of company mutual funds invested in company shares (shareholding FCPE), which allow employees, among other things, to limit their risk of capital loss by benefiting from shares at reductions and tax advantages on the gains linked to these actions. A greater portion of company capital should also be open to employees.
The text should also facilitate access to employee savings by removing the ceiling from the contribution to PEE and PER for employees, where they are limited to 2% of the annual social security ceiling (PASS) of our time. All within the framework of a greening of savings, more oriented towards investment in the energy transition: among other things, fund managers will have to offer at least two funds taking into account these so-called extra-financial criteria. The text will also offer more freedom to employees, allowing them to release the funds from their savings plans more easily for certain types of expenses: energy renovation, assistance to a loved one or the acquisition of a “clean” vehicle.
It remains to be seen whether this bill will also include external additions to the National Interprofessional Agreement, and how it will be received at the Palais Bourbon this summer.
