Employers have until the end of the summer to pay it. First created by Emmanuel Macron in the context of the yellow vests crisis in 2019, the "Macron bonus", supposed to promote purchasing power, has now become a special bonus for the coronavirus. Due to the health crisis, the government has also authorized companies to double its amount. Europe 1 takes stock of this system.
Who can benefit ?
Nearly two million employees had benefited from the "Macron bonus" on purchasing power. And this premium, paid by employers to their employees, was already exempt from income tax and all social contributions or contributions, up to a limit of € 1,000.
In 2020, the exceptional bonus is renewed with new reasons to benefit all employees, whether they work on behalf of a private or public company. The only limit is that their gross earnings do not exceed three times the amount of the gross annual minimum wage, or 4,618.26 euros maximum per month.
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The amount of the bonus is always a maximum of 1,000 euros to be exempt from tax for the employee and from all social charges (employer and employee). And no need to agree on a profit-sharing agreement to trigger the payment of this premium, contrary to what was originally planned.
Can the premium be increased?
Yes. Also due to the health crisis, the government has authorized companies that wish to double the amount of this premium to go up to € 2,000. But this time, a profit-sharing agreement will have to provide for it. Finally, it is no later than August 30, 2020 that this premium must be paid.
Does the employer have a choice?
If the reason for the improvement in purchasing power always implies the granting of this bonus, the employer, who remains free to decide whether to allocate it or not, may do so if he wishes to reward the employees who were present at their work station from the start of the crisis and for the most part, by being in contact with the public.
The employer is therefore not obliged to set it up, but above all, it may not offer it to all employees, and not give the same amount to everyone. The philosophy of this "Macron bonus" for 2020 is to take into account the working conditions linked to the epidemic and the constraints and renunciations that this may have brought about in the lives of certain employees.