Plan based on solidarity between employers, the AGS wage guarantee plan is financed by employer contributions calculated on the basis of compensations leading to unemployment insurance contributions. The AGS sets the rate of contributions and is responsible for the balance of the wage guarantee scheme.
All private law employers are required to contribute to the employee wage claim guarantee scheme:
- Retailers (individuals or legal entities normally involved in retailing as part of their business)
- Craftsmen
- Farmers
- Professionals (since 1 January 2006)
- Legal entities subject to private law
- Temporary employment agencies eligible for an adapted contribution
- Businesses where the majority shareholding is held by the State
- Legal entities subject to public law
- Condominium associations
- Employers of household staff
The employee wage claim guarantee scheme is financed exclusively by employer contributions based on the remunerations used as the basis for calculating unemployment insurance contributions.
The AGS board of directors sets the rate of contributions paid by employers and is responsible for the balance of the employees wage guarantee scheme. Balance is ensured by the permanent adequacy between the level of advance payments, recoveries and contributions.
Since the 1th January 2011, the Central agency of social security bodies (LâAgence centrale des organismes de SĂ©curitĂ© sociale , or Acoss) is responsible for collecting and crediting these contributions from companies.
Conditions for initiating receivership proceedings
The company must be insolvent, in other words, it can no longer honour its current liabilities on the basis of its available assets. It should then report to the court with jurisdiction (court of first instance or commercial court) and file for insolvency.
However, case law has introduced a nuance into the strict application of this pure accounting notion by limiting insolvency to cases of businesses actually incapable of continuing their normal activity.
How to refer to the court to request the initiation of proceedings
The manager may refer to the court by filing for bankruptcy or a claimant can sue the debtor and request the initiation of receivership proceedings.
Legal effects of going to court
The court initiates proceedings which may be a receivership plan where the business has chances of survival or judicial liquidation proceedings if there is no change of recovery.
The court appoints a judicial representative and depending on the size of the business, a judicial administrator who will be in charge of the companyâs interests. If the court orders judicial liquidation, a liquidator is appointed to serve as a judicial representative with the role of identifying all claimants of the business and especially the employees.
Conditions for initiating protection proceedings
The company must be insolvent, in other words, it can no longer honour its current liabilities on the basis of its available assets. The court checks that the conditions for initiating proceedings are met.
The head of the company initiates the proceedings at the commercial court. The procedure should allow the business to reorganize its activities to overcome the temporary difficulties and prevent the situation from getting worse.
The observation period in the protection plan
The entrepreneur maintains his prerogatives within the company that it continues to manage, assisted by a judicial administrator and representative.
The procedure starts with a 6-month observation period, renewable once at the request of the prosecutor, and after which the court decides on the definition of the protection plan which is supposed to help the debtor pay its debts
The entrepreneur implements, if necessary, redundancy procedures, in compliance with common law procedure, in order to avoid the emergence of insolvencies.
