French long service medal (médaille du travail) in 2026: rules, payroll and the 2026 tax change

The French long service medal — the médaille d'honneur du travail — is a state distinction awarded to private-sector employees on the basis of length of service. For HR teams and payroll professionals, it is not merely a ceremonial matter: the 2026 Finance Act abolished the income tax exemption on related bonuses from 1 January 2026, while the social contribution exemption remains in force (under conditions) until 31 December 2026. From 1 January 2027, that exemption also disappears. The practical consequence: any employer who plans to pay a bonus linked to a medal award in 2026 is operating under a split regime that most payroll software configurations have not yet been updated to reflect.

The award itself is governed by decree n°84-591 of 4 July 1984 and administered by the prefectural services. It is granted by ministerial decree on two fixed dates each year. The employer neither grants nor withholds the medal — but the employer is directly involved in preparing the application file and, where applicable, in deciding on and processing the accompanying gratification.

Reduced thresholds apply for employees in jobs qualifying for early retirement under pénibilité rules (hazardous or physically demanding work). The applicable thresholds are set out on service-public.gouv.fr and depend on the individual's specific situation.

Seniority is calculated as at the date of the promotion, not the date of filing. This matters for HR planning: an employee who reaches 20 years of service in November 2026 can be included in the January 2027 promotion, provided the application is filed before 15 October 2026.

Applications must be submitted to the relevant prefectural services within strict deadlines:

• January 1 promotion: file must be received before 15 October of the preceding year
• 14 July promotion: file must be received before 1 May of the same year

Missing these deadlines means waiting for the next cycle — a six-to-twelve-month delay. In companies with multiple employees approaching medal thresholds, these dates belong in the HR calendar as fixed obligations, not approximate guidelines.

Several factors complicate seniority calculations and require advance document gathering:

• changes of employer during the career
• periods of unemployment or inactivity
• part-time working arrangements across different roles or contracts
• periods of work abroad
• service across multiple establishments within the same group

The documents typically needed — old work certificates (certificats de travail), social security contribution records from previous employers, civil status documents — take time to collect. Starting the process six to nine months ahead of the deadline is the reliable approach.

No. The award of the medal does not create an automatic entitlement to a cash bonus or extra leave. Service-public.fr makes this explicit: a monetary gratification or additional leave days may be provided by a collective bargaining agreement (convention collective), a company-level agreement, or an established custom within the firm. Without one of these legal bases, the employer has no obligation.

The practical landscape varies significantly. In some industries, the collective agreement specifies the bonus amount precisely and it is close to universally expected. In others, no provision exists. What does not vary: once a consistent, general and fixed custom of paying a bonus is established within a company, unilaterally ending it exposes the employer to legal challenge from employees who rely on it.

Before any decision, the recommended sequence is:

1. Check the applicable collective agreement for a specific provision.
2. Check for any company or establishment agreement covering the medal.
3. Review the company's past practice: has a consistent bonus been paid in the last three or more award cycles?
4. If a bonus is decided, formalise the amount and basis in writing before payment.
5. Check the payroll treatment: which contributions apply, and what is the income tax treatment?

The social contribution exemption applies — under conditions — until 31 December 2026.

The rule: a bonus paid by the employer (and, where applicable, by the works council — CSE) in connection with a long service medal is exempt from social contributions if the total amount (employer share plus CSE share combined) does not exceed the employee's monthly base gross salary. The monthly base salary means the employee's standard gross remuneration, excluding bonuses and variable pay.

Any amount exceeding this threshold is subject to standard contributions.

From 1 January 2027, this exemption is abolished. Bonuses paid after that date will be fully subject to social contributions regardless of amount. Employers planning a significant gratification in December 2026 should note that paying before 31 December still allows the exemption — though income tax is due in any event (see below).

This is the change most employers and payroll teams have not yet fully integrated. The 2026 Finance Act (loi n°2026-103 of 19 February 2026, Article 17, I-5°, published in the BOFiP as ACTU-2026-00053) removed the income tax exemption that previously applied to long service medal gratifications under Article 157, 6° of the Code Général des Impôts.

The change takes effect for all gratifications received on or after 1 January 2026. There are no transitional provisions: a bonus paid in January 2026 (including for a promotion awarded at the January 2026 ceremony) is taxable, regardless of the fact that the promotion relates to service completed before the law changed.

The regime in 2026 is therefore split:

The payroll consequence: the bonus must appear as a taxable element on the payslip and be included in net fiscal income. Employees who received this bonus in prior years and paid no income tax on it may be surprised. Communicating the change before the payslip is processed is advisable.

A Paris-based SME is preparing three medal applications for the July 2026 promotion.

The first employee has 20 years of service but with a two-year unpaid career break. The HR team needs to determine whether that period counts. Depending on the reason for the break, it may or may not affect the seniority calculation.

The second has changed employer twelve years ago. The old work certificate is missing. The HR team contacts the previous employer (still trading) and recovers a written attestation confirming dates of employment.

The third employee qualifies for the vermeil (30 years). The collective agreement provides for a 500-euro bonus. The employee's monthly base gross salary is 3,200 euros — so the bonus falls well within the exemption threshold for social contributions. However, it is taxable as income. The payslip must include the 500 euros in the taxable gross line, with an informative note that no social contributions apply but income tax does.

The coincidence of two changes in 2026 creates an unusual window. The social contribution exemption survives until 31 December 2026, but the income tax exemption is gone. This means:

• Bonuses paid in 2026 are exempt from contributions (within the threshold) but taxable as income.
• Bonuses paid in 2027 will be subject to both contributions and income tax.

For employers whose collective agreement provides for substantial bonuses — typically matching one or two months of salary — paying before 31 December 2026 is still worth doing if the award is already validated. The contribution saving is real. But the tax impact on the employee must be factored in and communicated in advance.

We review collective agreement provisions, verify the applicable exemption thresholds, configure the payroll line correctly in the DSN, and advise on communication to employees regarding the new income tax treatment. The medal award process is a small but concrete HR risk that the 2026 Finance Act has made more complex than in previous years.

For broader payroll and social management context, see Payroll and social management guide 2026 and our payroll services page. For other HR compliance topics, see RQTH advantages and disadvantages and Therapeutic part-time.

Up to date as of 2026-05-26. The income tax exemption abolition derives from loi n°2026-103 of 19 February 2026 (2026 Finance Act, Article 17, I-5°), effective for income received from 1 January 2026 (BOFiP ACTU-2026-00053). The social contribution exemption within the monthly base salary limit is maintained until 31 December 2026 based on information available at this date — verify current rules on boss.gouv.fr and urssaf.fr before any payment. This article is for information only and does not replace personalised professional advice.