In May 2022, after several increases in the Smic, 146 of the 171 main branches monitored by the Ministry of Labour had at least one minimum below the legal wage. The situation later improved, but it had taken nearly three years to go from 146 to only 20 branches in that position.
Today, employers benefit from substantial reductions in contributions on low wages. These reliefs are particularly high at the Smic level, then decrease gradually.
That does not authorize paying below the Smic, which is illegal, but it compresses wages and blocks career progression.
The first rungs can be caught up by the Smic, to the point that a beginner and a more experienced employee are paid at the same level.
To avoid this compression, the government is pushing branches to review their entire pay scales.
These scales are supposed to guarantee a progression in pay over the course of a career.
When the Smic rises, some of these minima fall below the legal wage.
The executive is considering reducing social contribution exemptions for companies in these branches, in order to push them to raise wages beyond the legal minimum.
The government wants to tackle the 122 professional branches whose pay scales still show conventional minima below the Smic, according to the unions. In France, the state sets the Smic, but each branch also negotiates its own minima, according to qualifications, seniority or responsibilities.