SMIC 2022: it increases this Monday, August 1! What you will gain

SMIC INCREASE. The amount of the minimum growth wage has been increased! What gain? Gross, net, hourly… We tell you everything about the new amounts.

[Mis à jour le 1er août 2022 08h02] It’s D-Day! The amount of the minimum wage increases for the third time this year, Monday, August 1, 2022. Good news for all employees paid the minimum growth wage. The minimum wage is increased by 2.01% to account for inflation (6.1% in July over one year, according to the latest figures from INSEE). Let’s take a simple example. Thierry, 35, a town hall employee, had until then pocketed a net minimum wage of 1,302 euros. With the revaluation of 2.01%, his salary will increase to €1,329for a net gain of 27 euros each month. As a reminder, an increase of this kind can be qualified as automatic. As soon as the consumer price index exceeds 2% (between March and June for the 20% of the poorest households), the minimum wage is increased accordingly. Here are all the minimum wage amounts to know as of Monday, August 1, 2022:

• Net minimum wage as of August 1, 2022: €1,329
• Gross minimum wage on August 1, 2022: €1,678
• Net hourly minimum wage on August 1, 2022: €8.77
• Gross hourly minimum wage on August 1, 2022: €11.06

As a reminder, the minimum growth wage corresponds to the legal minimum hourly wage that the employee must receive. It applies to all adult employees, regardless of the form of their remuneration (time, performance, task, piecework, commission or tip). The employer can be sentenced to a fine of €1,500 if he pays the employee a remuneration lower than the minimum wage, as well as damages. The Smic is revalued each year on the 1^er January, it is indexed to inflation measured for the 20% of households with the lowest incomes. This revaluation of the Smic is carried out on the basis of half of the gain in purchasing power of the average hourly wage of workers and employees. Finally, if inflation increases by at least 2% compared to the index observed when the last amount of the minimum wage was established, it is automatically increased in the same proportions. This is the case for the revaluation of August 1, 2022.

After experiencing a 0.9% increase at the start of 2022, the minimum wage is now raised to €1645.58 gross per month, compared to 1,589.47 euros gross monthly last year. In 2021, the Smic had already experienced a fairly unprecedented revaluation of 2.2% to compensate for the price increase of more than 2% between November 2020 and August 2021. It was the first time since 2011 that an automatic increase took place outside January 1st. As a reminder, if an employer were to pay one of his employees below the legal amount of the minimum wage, the latter is liable to a fine of €1,500. He may also be ordered to pay damages and interests to the employee.

The minimum wage is therefore experiencing a second increase on May 1, 2022. Indeed, to take account of the rise in inflation (+4.5% in March over one year), the minimum growth wage is increased by 2.65% , a net increase of 34 euros per month. In other words, the net minimum wage goes from 1,269 euros to 1,302.64 euros net, an increase recorded on Sunday 1 May. The amount of the minimum wage will once again be increased from August 1, 2022 by 2.01%.

Each year, the amount of the minimum wage is reassessed. As of January 1, 2022, it reached 1,603 euros gross per month on the basis of 35 hours per week. This increase is the result of both the evolution of inflation and the increase in the wages of workers and employees. On May 1, 2022, a new increase following inflation came into effect, bringing the gross minimum wage to 1645.58 euros. As an indication, here is the evolution of the amount of the minimum wage since 2010:

The amount of the monthly net minimum wage reached 1,302.64 euros, compared to 1,269 euros on January 1 and 1,231 euros in 2021. As a reminder, here is the evolution of the amount of the net minimum wage, in recent years, amounted to:

The amount of the hourly minimum wage (gross) amounts to 10.85 euros, compared to 10.57 euros on January 1, 2022 and 10.25 euros previously. As a reminder, the amount of the hourly minimum wage, in recent years, was:

The amount of the hourly Smic is extremely variable. Keep in mind that the amount may vary from one payslip to another, due to the amount of social security contributions deducted from the gross hourly minimum wage. In January 2022, the amount of the Net hourly minimum wage was approximately €8.37. For example, it was weaker between January and September 2021, measured at 8.11 euros.

The minimum growth wage corresponds to the legal minimum hourly wage that the employee must receive. Deductions are however applicable, in certain cases (apprentices and employees under 18). the hourly rate is of €10.85 since May 2022, this is the amount paid for one hour of work. Unlike the monthly Smic, which is modeled on the basis of 35 hours per week.

The amount of the annual Smic is obtained by multiplying the amount of the monthly Smic (above) by the number of months of the year, i.e. 12. Please note, if you benefit from a 13th month paid to your employer, this is not part of the calculation of the annual minimum wage. Referring to the new amount of the Smic 2022 valid since May 1, 2022, the net annual Smic amounts to €15,631.68 (1302.64×12). For its part, the gross annual minimum wage climbs to €19,746 (1645.58×12).