The French government in Paris, France, is preparing a reform of the AT/MP contribution — the employer premium for France’s insurance scheme for workplace accidents and occupational diseases — as part of the 2027 social security budget bill (PLFSS). The government wants to calculate the premium rate at the level of the whole company from now on, rather than per establishment. The measure is part of a broader package to reduce the growing deficit of the social security system’s AT/MP branch.
Three measures for a branch with a growing deficit
The deficit of the French AT/MP branch is estimated at around €1 billion in 2026 and could rise to €1.5 billion in 2027 without intervention. The government is aiming for about €800 million in savings and additional revenue from 2027, according to LegiSocial and Journal du Net. Generalising the premium rate to company level instead of per establishment (établissement) should bring in about €288 million of that. The government also wants to lower the ceiling for the daily allowance paid for workplace accidents or occupational diseases (indemnités journalières) from 1 November 2026, to 1.8 times the French minimum wage (Smic). According to LegiSocial, around 14 percent of absence cases exceeded that threshold in 2025; the measure is expected to yield about €270 million in 2027. A third measure would make these allowances, currently half exempt from income tax, fully taxable from 2027, worth a further roughly €285 million. Unions and employer organisations had until the end of September to put forward alternative proposals; otherwise the government threatened to decide on its own. The measures will only take effect once the legislative texts are published.
What AT/MP means, for those unfamiliar with France
AT/MP stands for “accidents du travail / maladies professionnelles”, France’s insurance scheme for workplace accidents and occupational diseases, comparable to workers’ compensation schemes in other countries. Employers pay an annual contribution (cotisation) for this to the social security system, set by the regional fund for pensions and workplace health (Carsat; the Cramif in the Paris region). The amount depends partly on the company’s accident and illness history.
Relevance for EHS professionals worldwide
Premium differentiation based on safety performance is a theme that extends far beyond France, from experience rating in workers’ compensation in the United States to bonus-malus systems used by accident insurers elsewhere in Europe. A shift from establishment level to company level could weaken the direct financial incentive for safety at individual sites of multi-site companies, even as the total premium for the company as a whole changes. For compliance and EHS teams at international companies with operations in France, this is relevant when reviewing premium forecasts and internal accountability for safety performance by location.
Context
Under the current rules in France, Carsat sets the AT/MP rate each year through three regimes based on headcount: a taux collectif (sector-wide rate) for companies with fewer than 20 employees (fewer than 50 in Alsace and Moselle), a taux mixte (partly sector-based, partly based on the company’s own claims record) for 20 to 149 employees, and a taux individuel, based solely on the company’s own three-year accident and illness record, for companies with 150 employees or more. Headcount is already counted at the level of the whole company, but the rate itself is in principle set per establishment. Companies with multiple sites can already irrevocably opt for a single taux unique across all their sites; the reform would make this the general rule.
Source: Budget 2027 : vers une généralisation du taux unique de cotisation AT/MP au niveau de l’entreprise, 01-10-2026
Additional research: LegiSocial – IJSS AT/MP : tarification, réformes envisagées par le gouvernement, Journal du Net – Le gouvernement demande 800 millions d’euros d’économies sur la branche AT-MP
