Définition
Smic is the legal minimum wage in France. It is based on the hours worked. It was established by law on January 2, 1970.
Since 2010, the Smic has been revalued each January by decree of the Council of Ministers, after consultation of the National Commission for Collective Bargaining (CNNC), based in particular on the analysis of the Smic and its evolution carried out by the group of independent experts in accordance with the law of December 3, 2008. Its calculation method is set out in article L. 3231 of the French Labor Code. Since the promulgation of Decree 2013 123 of February 7, 2013 on the methods for revaluing the Smic, the new rule stipulates that the annual increase in the purchasing power of the Smic can in no case be less than "half the gain in purchasing power of the average hourly wage of blue-collar and white-collar workers" (SHBOE) measured by the Ministry of Labor's quarterly survey on labor activity and employment conditions (Acemo).
The purchasing power of employees paid the Smic is guaranteed by indexing the hourly Smic to changes in consumer prices (excluding tobacco) for households in the first quintile of the standard of living distribution. When this index is at least 2% higher than the index used to establish the immediately preceding value, the Smic is revalued in the same proportion from the first day of the month following the publication of the index, resulting in its increase. The Smic hourly rate has been revalued several times for this reason since October 2021. Lastly, the government may raise the Smic to a higher value than that which would result from the application of the above mechanisms alone, either during the year, or at the time of the January 1st revaluation. This is known as a "boost". For example, the Smic hourly rate was revalued by 2.0% on July 1, 2012, including +0.6 point as “boost".
Remarque
The Smic is revalued on July 1st of each year until 2009, then on January 1st of each year starting 2010.
Since 2013 (decree n°2013-123 of February 7, 2013), the Smic has been revalued:
- every January 1st, taking into account the change in the monthly consumer price index (excluding tobacco) for households in the first quintile of the standard of living distribution, increased by half the gain in purchasing power of the average hourly wage for blue-collar and white-collar workers (with the possibility for the government to decide on an additional revaluation) ;
- during the year, when the consumer price index reaches a level corresponding to an increase of at least 2% compared with the index recorded when the immediately preceding SMIC was set. For example, the gross hourly SMIC wage was revalued three times in 2022, by 0.9% on January 1st, then by 2.6% on May 1st and by 2.0% on August 1st, in application of the early indexation mechanism in the event of high inflation. The cumulative increase amounts to +5.6%, increasing the hourly minimum wage from 10.48 euros in December 2021 to 11.07 euros in August 2022.