Stairwage FAQ: frequently asked questions about earned wage advances

Stairwage is a French company specialising in the digitalisation and automation of earned wage advances (acomptes sur salaire). Its platform gives employees simple access to part of the salary they have already earned, whenever they need it during the current month.

Designed in particular for mid-sized companies and large groups, Stairwage also simplifies how HR and Payroll teams manage advance requests. The solution is part of a wider effort to improve employees' financial well-being.

Stairwage gives employees a platform where they can request an earned wage advance in a few steps, without having to submit a manual request to the Payroll department.

The available amount is determined by the rules agreed with the employer and the employee's entitlements. Once the request is approved, the advance is paid to the employee instantly and then taken into account when payroll is processed.

For companies, Stairwage automates checks, approvals and request tracking.

Stairwage offers a digital solution that lets employees of client companies request an earned wage advance simply and securely.

With Stairwage, employees can access part of the pay they have already earned before the end of the month, without resorting to consumer credit or going into overdraft.

Access to the service is provided by the employer and is completely free for employees.

Stairwage offers a platform of services designed to improve employees' financial well-being and simplify HR processes.

Its offering covers three main needs: access to earned wage advances, information on social benefits and support schemes, and help with budget management.

For employers, Stairwage makes it possible to digitalise and fully automate the management of advance requests, while making them easier to integrate into payroll processes.

An earned wage advance (acompte sur salaire) is the early payment of part of an employee's pay for work already performed.

In France, Article L3242-1 of the Labour Code provides in particular that a monthly-paid employee who requests it is entitled to an advance equal, for a fortnight, to half of their monthly pay.

An earned wage advance is therefore not a loan: it is part of the salary already earned, paid before the usual payday.

The difference lies in whether the work has already been done.

An earned wage advance (acompte) corresponds to pay the employee has already earned but has not yet received.

A salary advance (avance), on the other hand, is a sum paid for work that has not yet been performed.

An earned wage advance is a right for eligible employees, under the conditions set out in the French Labour Code, whereas an employer can in principle refuse a request for a salary advance. Find out more: earned wage advance vs. salary advance: what's the difference?

A monthly-paid employee can request an earned wage advance during the month, under the conditions set out in Article L3242-1 of the French Labour Code.

The statutory right covers an advance corresponding to a fortnight of work. More favourable terms may be provided by the employer or by an agreement applicable within the company.

A solution like Stairwage makes it possible to simplify the request and its processing, in compliance with the applicable rules.

In principle, an employer cannot refuse the first advance requested in a month by a monthly-paid employee when the request meets the legal conditions. See also: the employer's obligations regarding earned wage advances.

However, additional requests are not automatically covered by this legal obligation and may depend on collective agreements or more favourable rules adopted by the company.

Stairwage enables employers to organise and automate the management of these requests.

The French Labour Code provides a right to an advance corresponding to a fortnight of pay for eligible monthly-paid employees.

However, there is no general prohibition on a company offering more frequent advances, provided the applicable rules are respected.

Terms can therefore vary between companies, collective agreements and the schemes in place.

Stairwage makes it possible to organise this flexibility while simplifying request management.

Digitalising earned wage advances simplifies a process that is often manual for HR and Payroll teams.

Traditionally, requests can involve individual exchanges, checks, approvals and administrative follow-up.

With Stairwage, companies can fully automate these steps, reduce repetitive tasks and offer employees a simpler service.

This automation also improves request traceability and makes integration into payroll processes smoother.

Stairwage is designed to integrate with companies' HR processes and payroll systems.

Depending on the technical environment and the employer's needs, data exchanges can be organised through secure files or dedicated interfaces.

The aim is to make it easier to calculate available amounts, track advances paid and reflect them in monthly payroll.

Integration terms are defined with each company to limit the operational workload for HR and Payroll teams.

Deployment time mainly depends on the payroll environment, the scope of employees covered and the integration method chosen.

As a guide, implementation can be completed in about one month, depending on the complexity of the project.

Deployment generally includes defining the management rules, technical configuration, testing and communication to employees.

The aim is a simple roll-out that requires limited involvement from internal teams.

Yes. Stairwage is aimed in particular at mid-sized companies, large enterprises and groups with large workforces.

The platform is designed to handle advance requests at scale, with management rules tailored to each organisation and its payroll processes.

Stairwage supports companies such as Eiffage in digitalising their earned wage advances.

The solution combines ease of use for employees, administrative automation and process control for employers.