5. Payroll costs: Items submitted

All elements of remuneration are subject to employee and employer social security contributions, with the exception of those specified in Order No. 99-0892/MF-SG,

All elements of remuneration are subject to social security contributions, except

• those which constitute reimbursement of expenses,
• those which are not in the nature of wages,

• Fixed or consistent in nature,

The amount of the remuneration component must not depend on the employer’s discretion. If the employer can arbitrarily vary the amount of remuneration from one moment to the next or from one employee to another, it will no longer be considered a salary supplement but a gratuity.

Otherwise, the remuneration component will be subject to social security contributions. However, the concept of fixedness must not be interpreted rigidly, as it may be based on percentages or rates where the actual amount may vary depending on cash flow (such as a balance sheet bonus or a performance bonus).

If the salary, bonus, allowance or benefit in kind does indeed meet these three (3) conditions, it must also be free from any intention on the part of the employer to make a gift and must be perceived by employees as a supplement to their salary.

According to these criteria, elements of remuneration corresponding to the basic salary are always subject to social security contributions.

The opposite is very often true for allowances that actually constitute reimbursement of expenses.

• Permanence, continuity or regularity.

Compensation components must be paid regularly and at the same time to employees or to a homogeneous category within the company. Regularity or consistency is an essential element that removes any element of uncertainty from the payment, enabling the employee to incorporate the compensation component into their spending habits.

• Generality or homogeneity,

Basic pay, bonuses, allowances and benefits must be paid to all employees or to a homogeneous category of employees (by role, by function, by age, etc.). In this case, the conditions for award are determined by collective agreements, company-level agreements and specific regulations, and not on the basis of the actual expenses incurred by each employee.

• Special allowance of 1982 explicitly exempt from social security contributions.