What if you received your salary not just once, but every week, or on other agreed dates? This is the idea put forward by MP Jean Laussucq (Together for the Republic), who is preparing to submit a bill to the National Assembly in the coming days. The objective is clear: to relax the rules for requesting advance payments and, above all, to help employees avoid difficult ends of the month.
The current system is considered too rigid, as advance payments are only possible once a month, on the 15th, and for only half of the salary. However, according to MP Laussucq, this rigidity contributes to a significant cost for households: €7 billion per year is spent by the French on bank charges or bank fees. According to a January 2025 study, 22% of French people are even overdrawn every month from the 16th.
Monthly pay, a (costly) problem that has had its day?
Waiting for pay is therefore a source of financial stress for a large part of the working population. An Opinionway survey for Stairwage, cited by BFMTV and Lesfurets, reveals that 63% of employees would like to be able to access their pay more often during the month. This figure even rises to 75% among those under 35. Despite the legal possibility of requesting a mid-month advance payment (which the employer cannot normally refuse), nearly eight out of ten requests are reportedly refused by companies, often for fear of administrative complications.
This proposed change marks a shift from the monthly payment of salaries, introduced in 1978 and enshrined in the Labor Code. At the time, this reform was seen as a major social advance. It standardized salaries, whether a month had 28 or 31 days, and ensured that pay would continue in the event of sick leave. Monthly payments also structured our relationship with the budget: rent, loans, subscriptions... everything is planned monthly, making it easier to calculate what's left to live on. For some experts, a weekly payment could increase the risk of poorer financial management and require readjustment.
However, times are changing, and so are the demands. Pay splitting is not a utopia, and more than a thousand companies already offer it to their employees, often via specialized platforms. Yann Le Floch, CEO of the Stairwage platform, asks the question: "Is it ultimately fair today that employees are the ones giving their employer credit for 30 days of work?". These advance payments are seen as an alternative to bank overdrafts and consumer credit, as France Inter points out. It remains to be seen how this initiative will be received in the Assembly.
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