Every year on November 25, St. Catherine’s Day is celebrated, this celebration from another era that takes its name from the martyr Catherine of Alexandria and traditionally celebrates young unmarried women. Although today this day is almost no longer celebrated, it has left curious traces on the rules for granting gift vouchers within companies.
Gift certificates, vouchers and company gifts issued by the corporate social committee (CSE), formerly CE, or by the employer itself in the absence of a committee, are subject “as a matter of principle” to contributions and contributions to social security, indicates the Ministry of Economy on your site. In fact, “it is an advantage granted by the employer “in exchange for or in relation to work”, is it justified?
Marriage and birth as grounds for exemption
But certain conditions give rise to exemptions from social security contributions for the worker. If the total amount of the gift vouchers granted to the employee during the year is less than 5% of the monthly social security limit, or 183 euros in 2023, the beneficiary does not pay contributions.
Furthermore, when its amount is greater than 183 euros, certain events such as birth, adoption, marriage, civil union or retirement also give rise to an exemption (as long as its use is minimal in relation to the reason for its allocation). and that its amount is not disproportionate).
And, even more surprising, as Guillaume Champeau, among other founders of the Numerama medium, pointed out on his X account (formerly Twitter), single women who celebrate their 25th birthday in the same year can also benefit from this advantage on the day of Santa Catalina. , November 25.
Rest assured, single men are also entitled to their own “gift.” However, they are assigned in the year they turn 30 and another calendar date.
St. Nicholas Day for single men
“The Urssaf considers that the exemption of bonuses granted on the occasion of Saint Nicholas (which is celebrated every year on December 6, ed.) is limited to bonuses intended for single men who celebrate their 30th anniversary (such as Saint Catherine’s Day , which celebrates singles (women celebrating their 25th anniversary)”, we can read on the Urssaf website.
Contacted by us, Urssaf confirmed that this rule is still in force today. But the use of this type of gift vouchers on the occasion of the festivities of Saint Catherine and Saint Nicholas seems little known and even marginal.
Urssaf told us that “he does not have statistics that can corroborate the use of these bonuses by the company” for this reason. Benoît Serre, vice president of the National Association of Human Resources Directors (ANDRH), told us that he had “never heard of this rule.”
Source: BFM TV
