Salary, bonuses and benefits

Verified 01 January 2026 - Entreprendre Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

The amount of the salary is freely fixed during a negotiation between the employer and the employee. However, certain legal and treaty provisions must be respected. The salary consists of all amounts paid in cash and benefits in kind received by the employee. Here is the information you need to know.

The salary is set freely by the parties. Its modification is prohibited without the employee's consent.

Fastening

The employer and the employee shall determine the amount of the salary together in accordance with the following rules:

  • The amount of the salary may not be less than Smic: titleContent gross monthly, or €1,823.03 since 1er January 2026
  • The amount of the salary must be the same between women and men for equivalent work (principle equal work, equal pay).

It is forbidden to set the salary through electronic auctions.

Please note

In practice, wage negotiations are often expressed as gross wages, i.e. wages before deducting social security contributions. The net salary is the salary received by the employee after deduction of these sums.

Change

During the contract, the salary cannot be changed without the employee's consent.

The employee's refusal cannot constitute a fault.

However, it may lead to dismissal if the proposed salary change is motivated by a real and serious cause (e.g. economic hardship or disciplinary action)

Any clause of automatic revision of salary by an indexation on the evolution of the Smic: titleContent is prohibited.

Warning  

A payroll deduction may be made in the absence of work provided by the employee (e.g. in the event of a strike).

Social contributions on earnings

For the calculation of social contributions, all the following amounts paid to the employee are part of the remuneration:

  • Wages or earnings
  • Leave with pay allowances
  • Allowances, bonuses, gratuities and all other cash benefits
  • Benefits in kind, commissions and tips.

Please note

Tips remain exempt from social security contributions when the employee's monthly remuneration does not exceed 1.6 Smic (or €2,308.98). Employers can continue to apply this exemption on a transitional basis for periods of employment beginning on 1er January 2026.

Definition

Bonuses and gratuities are in addition to salary.

Payment is compulsory if it is provided for by one of the following mechanisms:

  • Employment contract
  • Collective agreement
  • Usage
  • Unilateral commitment of the employer.

A simulator allows you to know the premiums provided by certain collective agreements:

Know the premiums provided for in the collective agreement

That's part of the salary. These include, for example:

  • Annual bonuses and gratuities (end-of-year bonuses of 13e months, holidays, balance sheet, participation, etc.)
  • Cost-of-living catch-up premiums (life expectancy premiums, productivity premiums, etc.)
  • Individual bonuses (attendance, punctuality, seniority, etc.)
  • Premiums relating to certain working conditions (hardship, hazardous and unhealthy work, on-call duty, etc.).

Bonuses and gratuities are not part of the salary if they are not mandatory. This is the case, for example, of a performance bonus, a variable bonus decided by the employer or the exceptional purchasing power premium.

Social contributions on earnings

For the purpose of calculating social security contributions, all of the following amounts paid to the employee shall form part of the remuneration:

  • Wages or earnings
  • Leave with pay allowances
  • Allowances, bonuses, gratuities and all other cash benefits
  • Benefits in kind, commissions and tips.

Please note

Tips remain exempt from social security contributions when the employee's monthly remuneration does not exceed 1.6 Smic (or €2,308.98). Employers can continue to apply this exemption on a transitional basis for periods of employment beginning on 1er January 2026.

Definition

Benefits in kind are an element of salary that is not paid in cash (i.e. cash, check or bank transfer).

This is most often the provision of food or the provision of a vehicle or official accommodation.

Benefits are included in salary to calculate the following amounts:

  • Monitor compliance with Smic: titleContent or the conventional minimum wage
  • Determine the compensation to be paid to the employee during his paid leave
  • Determining the compensatory notice allowance and the termination indemnity
  • Determine the amount of social contributions (social security contributions, CSG and CRDS)
  • Determine the amount of income to be reported for income tax purposes.

Social contributions on earnings

For the purpose of calculating social security contributions, all of the following amounts paid to the employee shall form part of the remuneration:

  • Wages or earnings
  • Leave with pay allowances
  • Allowances, bonuses, gratuities and all other cash benefits
  • Benefits in kind, commissions and tips.

Please note

Tips remain exempt from social security contributions when the employee's monthly remuneration does not exceed 1.6 Smic (or €2,308.98). Employers can continue to apply this exemption on a transitional basis for periods of employment beginning on 1er January 2026.

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