Sanctions imposed on beneficiaries for non-compliance with duties

1 Sanctions imposed on beneficiaries for non-compliance with duties 

From 2002 on, and the introduction of PARE, the new employment individual plans, the fundamental novelty of French unemployment insurance was its linking of supposedly enhanced service provision with reinforced activation obligations. 

The initial demand on the part of employers to concede extensive sanction competences to the ASSEDICs was rejected by the government, who had also refused to accept the earlier version of the convention for the same reason, among others. In doing so, the government successfully opposed a faction of the social partners who had thus sought to enhance their scope of action. Fundamentally, the sanctions already stipulated in the labour code for contractual infringements are still imposed in cases of misconduct.102 The ASSEDICs have been empowered to report to the supervisory authorities if in doubt about compliance by relevant provisions, and to propose a cessation of benefit payments. If beneficiaries fail to submit certain documents or refuse to answer a summons to appear for assessment, the ASSEDICs can temporarily suspend benefits. However the final decision still rests with the local state employment administration representative (directeur departemental du travail). 

In the wake of more recent reforms, the receipt of benefits is however made to depend increasingly on the fulfilment of specific demands. In particular, the Borloo Act , incorporated into the labour code103 was a step in the direction of increased demand on the part of the unemployed. This Act, while reaffirming the duty of unemployed persons to actively seek employment, has formulated sanctions in a renewed manner. 

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