End-of-contract bonus in France: what it is based on, and when it is not paid

The prime de précarité, which the Labour Code calls the end-of-contract payment, is the sum paid when a fixed-term contract (CDD) ends without leading to a permanent one. This guide is for you if your contract is ending or you are checking your last payslip: it explains what it is based on, when it is not owed and how the bonus and holiday pay fit together. For your amount, gross and net, the end-of-contract bonus tool does the sums.

The principle: compensating for a contract that stops

When a fixed-term contract reaches its end without being followed by a permanent contract with the same employer, you are entitled, as a salary supplement, to a payment meant to make up for the insecurity of your situation. It is at least 10% of the total gross pay received during the contract (service-public.gouv.fr; article L1243-8 of the Labour Code). A collective agreement can lower it to 6%, provided it offers you something in return, such as preferential access to vocational training.

It is added to the last salary, on the same payslip, and it is subject to social contributions and income tax like salary.

What it is based on

The basis is the total gross pay received over the whole contract, renewals included: not only basic salary, but everything on your payslips that counts as salary, overtime and bonuses included. If your contract was renewed, the bonus is not paid at the end of the first period: it is worked out at the end of the last renewal, on the whole.

An example calculated by the site's code: a 5-month fixed-term contract renewed for 3 months, at €2,200 gross a month, with no holiday taken during the contract. The bonus and holiday pay are worked out on the full 8 months.

Holiday pay is worked out on the bonus

When a fixed-term contract ends, holiday earned and not taken is paid as compensation. For a fixed-term contract, it is at least 10% of the total gross pay for the contract, end-of-contract bonus included (service-public.gouv.fr): that is why, in the example, the holiday line (€1,936) is more than 10% of the salary alone. This payment is still owed even when the bonus is not. The paid holiday guide explains how days accrue and salary maintenance, the other calculation method.

When the bonus is not owed

The bonus falls away in the following cases (service-public.gouv.fr; article L1243-10 of the Labour Code):

• You stay on a permanent contract: the fixed-term contract, renewed or not, continues as a permanent one with the same employer.
• You turn down a permanent contract for the same or a similar job, with at least equivalent pay. The offer must be in writing and made before the contract ends; if you do not reply, it is deemed refused.
• You end the contract early, including for a permanent job with another company, or it is ended for serious misconduct or force majeure.
• The contract ends during the trial period.
• Your contract is of an excluded type: customary fixed-term contract (CDD d'usage), seasonal contract, a contract with a young person during school or university holidays, a subsidised contract (apprenticeship, professionalisation, CUI-PEC) or a contract that includes additional vocational training, unless your collective agreement provides for the bonus anyway.

Conversely, if the employer ends your contract early outside the permitted cases (serious misconduct, force majeure, unfitness confirmed by the occupational doctor), it owes you damages at least equal to the salary you would have received until the end, plus the bonus (article L1243-4). If you are offered a permanent contract at the end, compare the two situations: no bonus, but more security; the fixed-term or permanent guide helps weigh up the rest.

Agency work: the end-of-assignment payment

An agency worker receives an end-of-assignment payment on the same principle: at least 10% of the total gross pay for the assignment, renewal included (service-public.gouv.fr). The practical difference: the temporary work agency pays it at the end of each assignment, with that assignment's last salary. It is not owed if you sign a permanent contract with the client company straight after the assignment, if you end the assignment yourself, for serious misconduct or force majeure, for an assignment that includes additional vocational training, or for a seasonal assignment, unless a more favourable agreement applies (article L1251-33). The agency worker's holiday pay is at least 10% of total gross pay, end-of-assignment payment included.

Checking your last payslip

1. Add up the gross pay on every payslip of the contract, or read the cumulative gross on the last one.
2. Apply the bonus rate (10%, or 6% if your collective agreement provides for it) and compare with the “indemnité de fin de contrat” line.
3. Add the bonus to the pay and take 10% of the total: that is the minimum for the “indemnité compensatrice de congés payés” line if you took no holiday, pro rata for the days left otherwise.
4. If there is a gap, ask for a written explanation before signing the final settlement receipt. An amount listed on a signed receipt can be disputed within 6 months; unpaid wages can be claimed within 3 years (service-public.gouv.fr).

The end-of-contract bonus tool does these sums and estimates the net figure; the final settlement guide goes through the other lines of the last payslip. And if you are looking for what comes next, the CV analysis tells you what your profile is worth on the market, on a fixed-term or a permanent contract.