Opting for the Employers' Mutual Insurance

For farmers, the Employers' Mutual Insurance (Mutualité des employeurs - MDE) pays a replacement income (a 'Mutual Insurance reimbursement', in the same way as for employees) while cash benefits from the National Health Fund (Caisse nationale de santé - CNS) are suspended. Entry to the Employers' Mutual Insurance is voluntary for farmers.

Entry to the Employers' Mutual Insurance is compulsory for farm employees affiliated with the social security system. Terms and procedures can be found in the 'Absences/Incapacity for work' section.

Persons concerned

The farm manager and their assistants and/or partners, where applicable.

How to proceed

Voluntary entry to the Employers' Mutual Insurance

Farmers may register voluntarily with the Employers' Mutual Insurance using the 'Application for voluntary entry of non-employees to the Employers' Mutual Insurance (Pdf, 111 Kb)' form. Voluntary entry for farm managers also covers their assistants and partners, if they are enrolled as such. Assistants and partners are not able to enrol in the Employers' Mutual Insurance solely in their own right, however.

The insurance takes effect from the start of the affiliation for all social security cover, provided the application is made no later than 3 months after the affiliation starts.

For farmers already affiliated with social security for more than 3 months and who submit an application during the year, entry to the scheme will take effect from 1 January the following year.

End of voluntary entry

Voluntary entry to the Employers' Mutual Insurance ends:

• when the farmer submits a written declaration. In this instance, voluntary entry ends on the final day of the month in which the written request for cancellation is received. This waiver means exclusion from the insurance for at least 12 months. A new entry is only possible from 1 January after 12 months have lapsed;

• following non-payment of 2 successive contributions;
• if the farmer cancels their affiliation. In this instance, the voluntary entry automatically ends on the date they cancel their affiliation.

Contributions for the Employers' Mutual Insurance

Contributions are calculated using the same contribution base as the one used for calculating cash benefits. Contributions appear alongside the other (compulsory) social security contributions on the monthly account statement from the Social Security Centre (Centre commun de la sécurité sociale - CCSS).

Contribution rate and financial absence rate

Members are divided into 4 contribution classes depending on their financial absence rate. All new members pay class 2 contributions.

The contribution classes and financial absence rate are set out in the Articles of Association of the Employers' Mutual Insurance. They are determined before 1 December of the current year for the coming fiscal year.

Reimbursement

Reimbursements from the Employers' Mutual Insurance are made by the Social Security Centre.
While sickness cash benefits from the CNS are suspended, the Employers' Mutual Insurance reimburses 80% of the contribution base applied when the incapacity for work starts. During this period, the Employers' Mutual Insurance also fully covers:

• leave for family reasons;
• family hospice leave.

Any period of incapacity for work must be justified by a medical certificate.

If the period for which benefits are paid is less than one month, every day of incapacity for work corresponds to one thirtieth of a month. If the period for which benefits are paid lasts an entire month, it is deemed to be 30 days. This number of days applies to all calendar months.

The amount to be reimbursed is shown as a credit on the farm's monthly statement for the month in question.

Any subsequent amendment of the contribution base means the Employers' Mutual Insurance reimbursement must be recalculated.

Forms