On 21 June 2024, the Law of 15 May 2024 was published, amending a number of provisions of the Social Penal Code. This is the perfect opportunity to recall the importance of compliance with social legislation, and to draw attention to some novelties in social criminal law.
Infringements of social legislation are divided into 4 levels from 1 to 4, with level 4 infringements being the most serious and therefore the most heavily sanctioned. An example here is illegal work.
Depending on the level, an administrative fine or a criminal fine and/or imprisonment can be imposed. Including additional levies, until recently this amounted to:
| Sanction level | Prison sentence | Criminal fine | Administrative fine |
| Level 1 | none | none | 80 to 800 euros |
| Level 2 | none | either 400 to 4,000 euros | or 200 to 2,000 euros |
| Level 3 | none | either 800 to 8,000 euros | or 400 to 4,000 euros |
| Level 4 | either 6 months to 3 years | and/or 4,800 to 48,000 euros | or 2,400 to 24,000 euros |
In specific cases, these fines are multiplied by the number of employees involved in the infringement, with a ceiling of one hundred.
The Law of 15 May 2024 has significantly increased the penalties of level 3 and 4, as follows (incl. additional levies):
| Sanction level | Prison sentence | Criminal fine | Administrative fine |
| Level 1 | none | none | 80 to 800 euros |
| Level 2 | none | either 400 to 4,000 euros | or 200 to 2,000 euros |
| Level 3 | none | either 1,600 to 16,000 euros | or 800 to 8,000 euros |
| Level 4 | either 6 months to 3 years | and/or 4,800 to 56,000 euros | or 2,400 to 28,000 euros |
In addition, for certain infringements the sanction levels have been increased e.g. infringements relating to the payment of wages, for other infringements the sanction levels have been reduced; if the powers of social inspectors are altered, a definition is added to the law of social dumping, namely a wide range of intentional abuses and the circumvention of existing European and/or national legislation, including laws and generally applicable collective agreements which enable unfair competition by illegally minimising labour and operating costs, and result in the violation of workers’ rights and their exploitation; etc.
The law now also provides for a new penalty, namely exclusion from participation in public procurement or concessions for a period of 3-5 years.
Of course, prevention is better than cure, and it is important to always respect the legislation. As a preventive measure, it is always possible to have our office carry out a screening or advise you on the implementation of certain social law obligations. Even if a social inspection revealing alleged infringements has taken place, our office can assist you in developing a defence both with regard to the administration and before the competent courts.
Our PKF BOFIDI Legal experts are at your service
For further questions regarding the social criminal code, please do not hesitate to contact our PKF BOFIDI Legal team and we will be happy to help you.
This article was written by Hayat Boujdaini, a specialist in Labour and Social Security law.