The business closure compensation is based on two main variables: the worker’s seniority in the company and their age at the time of contract termination. Calculating this amount requires knowing the flat rate per year of seniority applicable at the legal closure date, and then adding, if applicable, a supplement related to age. Here’s how these parameters are structured and what they concretely change in the final amount received.
Flat rate per year of seniority and applicable ceilings
The calculation of the closure compensation starts from a flat amount multiplied by the number of years of service in the company. This flat rate is indexed periodically. For closures with a legal date from March 1, 2026, the amount is 206.99 EUR per year of seniority. Data published by the CGSLB for earlier closures mentioned a flat rate of 191.24 EUR (indexed as of December 1, 2022).
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The seniority taken into account is capped at 20 years maximum. A worker who has spent 28 years in the same company will have their calculation limited to 20 years for this first component. The details of the business closure compensation according to B2Boost help to better understand the complete mechanics of this capping.
| Component | Calculation base | Ceiling |
|---|---|---|
| Seniority | 206.99 EUR x number of years of service | 20 years (i.e., 4,139.80 EUR max) |
| Age supplement (beyond 45 years) | 206.99 EUR x number of years of age beyond 45 years | 19 years (i.e., 3,932.81 EUR max) |
| Maximum cumulative compensation | Seniority + age supplement | 8,072.61 EUR |
This table reflects the amounts based on the flat rate of 206.99 EUR. With the previous flat rate of 191.24 EUR, the overall ceiling was set at 7,458.36 EUR.
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Supplement for workers over 45: calculation and concrete example
The age-related supplement targets a specific situation: employees over 45 years old, for whom finding a new job after a closure is statistically more difficult. Each year of age beyond 45 years entitles one to an additional flat rate identical to the base flat rate (206.99 EUR or 191.24 EUR depending on the legal closure date).
This supplement is also capped, at 19 years. A worker aged 64 would thus reach the ceiling (64 – 45 = 19 years). In contrast, a 51-year-old employee counts only 6 years of supplement.
Example with the flat rate of 191.24 EUR
A 51-year-old worker with 28 years of seniority in the closed company receives:
- Seniority component: 20 x 191.24 = 3,824.80 EUR (ceiling reached, the 8 excess years do not count)
- Age component: 6 x 191.24 = 1,147.44 EUR (51 years – 45 years = 6 years)
- Total: 4,972.24 EUR in closure compensation
With the flat rate of 206.99 EUR, the same profile would obtain 20 x 206.99 + 6 x 206.99 = 5,381.74 EUR. The difference between the two indexations approaches 400 EUR for this scenario.
Cumulative with other claims: what the Closure Fund covers
The closure compensation is not the only sum that the Closure Fund (FFE) can pay. According to the brochure updated in May 2024 by the CGSLB, the worker can combine the closure compensation with unpaid wages and holiday pay covered by the Fund, within certain limits.
This combination modifies the total amount actually received compared to the theoretical calculation of the compensation alone. An employee whose employer has not paid the last months of salary before the closure can thus receive, in addition to the flat-rate compensation, an intervention from the Fund covering part of these arrears.
Deductions and taxation
The gross amount calculated does not correspond to the net amount. Social deductions apply to the closure compensation. The Fund makes these deductions before payment, which reduces the amount actually received by the worker.
Expansion of the scope since 2023
The closure compensation and the transition compensation have been extended to workers of companies that do not have an industrial or commercial purpose. This expansion, driven by a royal decree proposed by Minister of Labor Pierre-Yves Dermagne, particularly concerns certain non-profit organizations and associations.
Before this change, only workers in the industrial and commercial sector could claim the compensation. The extension changes the game for thousands of employees in the non-profit sector whose employer ceases operations.
Payment deadlines and real value of the compensation
A report from the Court of Auditors in June 2019 highlighted an extension of the time between the actual closure and the full payment of the compensation by the Fund. This trend, confirmed in subsequent parliamentary debates, has a direct impact on the practical value of the compensation for the worker.
During the waiting period, the employee often has to resort to unemployment benefits to compensate for the lack of income. The payment delay reduces the real value of the compensation, even if the nominal amount remains the same.
The calculation of the closure compensation remains a simple arithmetic operation once the flat rate and ceilings are known. The difficulty lies more in identifying the legal closure date, which determines the applicable flat rate, and in taking into account the deductions.
For a worker under 45 years old with less than 20 years of seniority, the formula boils down to multiplying the flat rate by the number of years of service. Beyond that, the double capping (seniority and age) sets a maximum that even the most senior profiles will not exceed.