Good news for employees. The increase in the profits of French companies in 2021 has allowed a sharp increase in payments under employee profit-sharing and profit-sharing in 2022, according to figures from the manager Amundi transmitted. These amounts increased by a total of 30% in 2022, after a slight drop in 2021, according to Europe’s leading asset manager, based on data from 115,000 corporate clients. The latter represent more than three million employees out of the 11 million employees who benefit from profit-sharing and participation schemes.
On average, a person benefiting from these schemes received 1,702 euros, compared to 1,447 in 2021, an increase of almost 18%. In 2022, “the tools have played their role of sharing value”, by redistributing part of the profits of companies, described Catherine Leroy, director of employee savings and retirement at Amundi. The number of employees who benefited also increased by more than 11%. “Companies have mechanically used these devices more”, with the increase in profits, but “have also paid profit-sharing supplements”, she explains.
70% of the money donated was saved
The increase in the sums received or the more difficult economic context in 2022 have not changed the habits of employees: 70% of the money paid has been saved and 30% transformed into immediate payment. Savings went a little more towards money market funds, which are safer but not very profitable, after several years of decline, “given the context of market volatility”, according to Amundi. Nearly 60% of investments were also made in funds that communicate on their environmental objectives, according to articles 8 and 9 of the European SFDR regulation on the publication of sustainability information in financial services.
Participation and profit-sharing are even more the fact of large companies than small ones, notes Catherine Leroy, who calls for “further simplifying the implementation of the system” to remove the obstacles to its own SMEs.