Social Security - Unemployment Benefits

There are several possible scenarios:

1) You have previously worked in a European Economic Area country and you have not received any unemployment benefit there:

• You must ask for form E 301 from the competent institution in that country before coming to France. 

The form lists the periods taken into account for calculating unemployment benefit and will be useful to you if you are unemployed in France. If you do not have form E 301 when you arrive in France, ASSEDIC can ask for it, but it often takes longer to obtain it this way.

The rule in the European Economic Area is that the last country of employment pays the unemployment benefit. You must therefore work at least one day in France if the period of employment in another EEA country is to be taken into account to establish your entitlement.

If you are entitled to unemployment benefit, the calculation of your benefit will be based on the French salary, provided that you worked at least four weeks in France or, if not, it will be based on a reference salary.

2) You received unemployment benefit in a European Economic Area country and have come to France to look for employment:

• After being registered as a job-seeker in your country for four weeks, you must ask for form E 303 from the organisation paying your benefit.

You must register in France as a job-seeker within seven days of cancellation of your registration with the employment services in your country.

You will receive your benefit in France for a maximum of three months, within the limits of your entitlement (exceptionally, the competent institutions may authorise your departure before the end of the four weeks).

You must produce form E 303 to the ASSEDIC agency in your new place of residence. It will take over payment of your benefit for the three months, on behalf of the institution of the country in which your entitlement began.

N.B.: you may have to wait for quite a long time before receiving your benefit (especially if you do not have form E 303). It is therefore desirable to set aside enough money to cover your living expenses during the period in which your application is being examined.

At the end of the three months, or even beforehand, if you return to the country where you were previously entitled to unemployment, you can ask for your benefit to be paid there again, within the limits of your remaining entitlement. The period during which you received benefits under form E 303 will simply be deducted from the remaining entitlement.

If you do not return before the end of these three months, you will lose the balance of your benefit in your country of origin, unless there are special national provisions in force.

3) You were working in France and lost your job:

You must register in France as a job-seeker, and your unemployment situation will be examined by the French services. ASSEDIC will pay your benefit if you meet the necessary conditions (from 1 January 2003, you must have contributed at least six months full-time during the eighteen months preceding the loss of your job). 

As explained in paragraph 1, form E 301 will enable ASSEDIC to take account of the periods worked in another EEA country when calculating your benefit.

If while receiving benefit in France you decide to go to seek work in another EEA country, you must ask ASSEDIC for form E 303. You may receive your benefit for a maximum of three months in that country (the procedure is the same as in case B).

If you decide to leave France immediately after losing your job (without registering as a job-seeker) in order to seek work in another EEA country, you cannot receive benefit there unless you work for a minimum period established by the host country.

Before leaving France, it is recommended that you ask the Departmental Labour and Employment Directorate in your place of residence to fill in form E 301. This form will enable the unemployment institution in the country where you wish to work to take account of the period worked in France when calculating your benefit.

Visit the following website to find out about unemployment amounts and periods: www.assedic.fr

4) You resign from your job in a European Economic Area country to follow your spouse (or partner) who has found work in France:

In this case, your resignation will be regarded as legitimate by the French institution. 

You may perhaps receive unemployment benefit in France provided that you work there at least one day and that your previous contributions are sufficient.

In this case, too, do not forget to bring form E 301 which you have had filled in before departure by the competent institution in the EEA country where you worked beforehand (see A).

N.B.: all the above information changes regularly. We advise you to visit the website www.assedic.fr before your departure.

Source: European Union
© European Communities, 1995-2006
Reproduction is authorised.