Any private-sector company that has set up a health insurance, death and disability, or pension contract via a Unilateral Decision of the Employer (DUE) must ensure that this document remains compliant with URSSAF requirements. A poorly drafted or un-updated DUE can lead to the loss of social contribution exemptions and expose you to a reassessment. Here are the HR formalities to follow.
The DUE: a very common way of setting up a scheme
The DUE is one of the three legal ways of formalising a group social protection scheme, alongside the company agreement and the referendum. When the employer decides alone to set up a group contract, it is the simplest route, hence its popularity in VSEs and SMEs.
But simplicity does not mean the absence of rules: to be valid and enforceable, the DUE must follow a strict formalism, in both substance and form. If you are starting from scratch, begin with our dedicated article on drafting a unilateral decision of the employer; this guide focuses on bringing an existing DUE into compliance.
The sensitive details to check in your DUE
Two points receive particular attention from URSSAF, inherited from the ministerial instruction of 17 June 2021:
- The continuation of benefits during the suspension of the employment contract. In the event of parental leave, indemnified sick leave or equivalent leave, if the employee benefits from full or partial continued pay, the health and death and disability benefits must continue to apply. The DUE must provide for this explicitly.
- The definition of the objective categories of employees. The categories must be based on the criteria in force (arising from the 2017 ANI and subsequent texts), and no longer on the former 1947 managerial classification. This requires a clear and justified distinction between beneficiaries, on pain of calling into question the collective nature of the scheme. The framework is detailed by URSSAF on supplementary social protection.
What are the risks of non-compliance?
In the event of an audit, the failure to update the DUE or to provide proof of its delivery can lead to a reassessment of contributions on the employer contributions, the loss of the collective and compulsory nature of the scheme, and therefore the cancellation of the social exemptions, with a potentially heavy impact on cash flow. To guard against this, three reflexes: draft a compliant DUE, deliver it to each employee concerned, and keep proof of delivery (signature, receipt, mention on the payslip, delivery by hand).
The checklist for a compliant DUE
To be compliant, your DUE must specify:
- the beneficiaries: the employees concerned and any dependants;
- the guarantees and contributions: the nature of the benefits, the level of cover, the employer/employee split;
- the continuation of benefits in the event of contract suspension (leave, sick leave and so on);
- the effective date and duration of the scheme, with the terms for revision;
- the waiver cases allowed by URSSAF (spouse’s health plan, individual policy, short fixed-term contract and so on);
- the objective categories defined according to the current criteria.
How to prove compliance?
Compliance is not only a matter of content: it also depends on the distribution and traceability of the DUE. HR best practices: archive the signed or delivered DUE (digital or paper), keep a record of it in the employee’s file or on the payslip, communicate clearly at the time of hiring or when the contract is set up, and update the document each time the guarantees or categories change.
An HR issue beyond compliance
When properly maintained, the DUE is not just an administrative document: it is a structuring HR tool that formalises the employer’s commitments, clarifies employees’ rights and strengthens the transparency of your social protection policy. Against a backdrop of strengthened URSSAF audits, securing your practices is an investment, not a constraint.
MIA Assurances supports you
Auditing an existing DUE, updating it, making the proof of delivery reliable: these steps require genuine regulatory expertise. As a specialist insurance broker in social protection, MIA Assurances supports companies in bringing their DUEs into compliance, drafting the documents and managing the associated HR formalities.
FAQ – URSSAF compliance of the DUE
- Should you update a DUE already in place?
Yes. An old DUE may no longer comply with the current requirements (objective categories, continuation of benefits in the event of suspension). An update is necessary to retain the exemptions.
- Which two details are the most closely checked?
The continuation of benefits during the suspension of the employment contract, and the definition of the objective categories according to the current criteria (2017 ANI and subsequent texts), and no longer the 1947 classification.
- How can you prove that a DUE has indeed been given to employees?
By keeping proof of delivery: signature, receipt, mention on the payslip or a traceable delivery by hand.
- What is the risk of a non-compliant DUE?
A URSSAF reassessment, the loss of the collective and compulsory nature of the scheme and the cancellation of the contribution exemptions.
- What is the difference with the article on drafting the DUE?
The other article explains how to create a DUE. This one deals with bringing an already existing DUE into compliance and auditing it.
