Obligation to employ disabled workers: the declaration must be filed in June

Companies with at least 20 employees are subject to the obligation to employ disabled workers (OETH(2)). At least 6% of their total workforce must be workers with disabilities.

How to implement this obligation?

To meet this obligation, employers may hire disabled workers on indeterminate or fixed-term contracts, employ temporary workers with disabilities, give internship opportunities to disabled persons, or implement an approved collective agreement at the branch, business group, or company level.

Every year, companies that do not employ enough OETH beneficiaries or that do not apply an approved agreement are subject to a financial sanction. The payment is calculated by multiplying the number of missing OETH beneficiaries by a lump sum which may vary according to the size of the company (for example, 400 times the gross hourly minimum wage for companies with less than 250 employees).

Special note: The payment may be subject to deductions for certain expenses incurred directly by the company (for carrying out work to make the company’s premises accessible to disabled workers, for providing support to OETH beneficiaries, for concluding supply, subcontracting or provision of services agreements with disabled self-employed workers or companies tailored for disabled persons, etc.).

Declaration of performance and payment in June

To enable the administration to verify that this obligation is met, companies subject to the OETH must file their annual declaration of permanence.

For 2020, the declaration, as well as, where applicable, the payment of the financial contribution for May 2021, must be made by June 5 or 15, 2021 with their DSN depending on the size of the workforce of the company.

Important: As of the 2021, this declaration and payment will be made with the DSN of February of the following year, which must be filed by March 5 or 15, depending on the company’s workforce.

To assist employers in making this declaration, the URSSAF(3), CGSS(4) or MSA(5) use the details received in 2020 via the DSN to calculate the company’s workforce, the number of persons with disabilities to be employed under the OETH, the number of OETH beneficiaries that it employs, and the number of employees in a job requiring specific physical conditions. The results will be passed on to the employer by April 30, 2021.

Clarification: The employer brings this annual declaration to the attention of the Social and Economic Committee, except for the nominative list of OETH beneficiaries.

(1) Déclaration Sociale Nominative (DSN)

(2) Obligation d’Emploi de Travailleurs Handicapés (OETH)

(3) Unions de Recouvrement des Cotisations de Sécurité Sociale et d’Allocations Familiales (Unions for the Recovery of Social Security and Family Allowances)

(4) Caisse Générale de Sécurité Sociale (CGSS)

(5) Mutualité Sociale Agricole (MSA)