Doing casual jobs while registered with ANPE & ASSEDIC

[Bartbag]

Dear All,

I wonder whether anyone has personal experience of this and can advise accordingly.  My husband and I are currently registered unemployed and intend to start a business; we hope to benefit from the ACCRE scheme (no cotisations for first 12 months in business after being registered unemployed for 6 months).  Our ANPE lady assures us that we can do casual jobs (e.g. gardening etc.) on Cheque Emploi scheme without endangering our unemployed registration; she says that we just need to state that we are still looking for work when registering online with ASSEDIC each month.  We would hate to find out, when it's too late, that for the sake of a couple of days' work, we have to register as unemployed and start the 6 months' count all over again, and have found in the past that different people often tell you different things!  Does anyone have a definite answer?  Thanks.

[Clair]

See this thread: http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1053384/ShowPost.aspx

[mandycats]

Hi i feel compleded to reply as it is a common misconception.  Of course they will say you CAN work, however all benefits are reduced by the amount you earn. What often happens is that they suspend your payments pending conformation of your hours worked and as CESU is basically an informal contract to work you can be seen to have WORK this has a very real impact on your ACCRE payments.  This is a total pain in the butt i'm afraid and will take alot of time going to and fro the offices to explain everything (often twice).  This also impacts on your year end tax bill.

Another very important thing they wont tell you is that your first year under ACCRE is for the year in which you start your business and terminates on 31st December of that year!  It is NOT an actual year of your business operating.  If you are thinking of starting a business get on with it quick as we spent along time planning our car parts business and we started in october 2007.  We actually only had 3 months ACCRE allowance.  ACCRE doesnt cover the URSAF payments either so make sure that you have enough to cover your pension and conjoint payments from the beginning.  Conjoint workers are not covered by ACCRE so as you both are working the business you will have to pay for you both.

I hope this helps and of course this is how things applied to our situation and other departments may have slightly differing rules. 

[Bartbag]

Thanks, Mandycats.  I'm  a bit confused by your first paragraph as we aren't receiving any benefits.

As far as your second para. goes, thanks very much for that.  We had actually been told something different from that, i.e. that it did apply for the first 12 months of your business operating!  This makes a huge difference, obviously.  It wasn't anyone official that told us that - but it was someone who is supposed to be a reliable authority on all things official!  Will check that out asap.

Thanks for your advice and I hope your business is going well now.

[mandycats]

Hi, glad i could be of some help.  As with the first paragraph it was just that you said you were registered as unemployed i just assumed that you meant you were receiving payments.  Sorry for the assumption! 

Good luck with your enterprise and dont let the paperwork get you down!

 

 

[Bartbag]

Receiving payments - if only!  Thought I'd reply to this as we visited URSSAF today for the first time (doubtless the first of many visits...) and the lady assured us that whichever month we started our business, the ACCRE relief from cotisations would be for a 12 month period after that and not for the rest of 2008!  She also gave us a leaflet which said the same thing.  So I don't know if that's something that's been changed since you started your business.

Anyway, thanks for the good wishes, Mandycats, and although I'm sure the paperwork will get me down, will try not to let it drag me down!