Salary advance requests are becoming more common in French companies, driven by inflation and the current economic climate, according to recent reports. These advances, which differ from traditional salary advances, are not regulated by the Labor Code and are growing rapidly, especially among employees with lower incomes. For some workers, the 15th of the month has become a crucial date when a portion of their earned salary is released to help cover expenses and avoid financial strain. Aude Ferrary, Head of Payroll and HR Services and Jurist for TPLPaye, noted a "real increase" in these requests, estimating a 10% rise among the 60,000 pay slips her firm manages for companies with fewer than 300 employees. She attributed the trend to the economic context and inflation, pointing out that salary advances were extremely rare a decade ago but are now becoming more common. In some companies, requests for salary advances now outnumber traditional advances. Stairwage, a payroll management agency handling 200,000 employees for 400 companies, reported that 12% of affected employees make at least one advance request each month, showing a strong increase in 2025 and 2026. Lila Cluzel, Regional Director of Social Affairs in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes at In Extenso, confirmed a significant rise in both salary advances and traditional advances, noting that some employees end up with nearly the same salary at the end of the month after receiving an advance. This trend has led companies, especially small businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises, to handle these requests on a case-by-case basis, increasing administrative pressure and the risk of errors. Cluzel also highlighted an increase in the amounts and number of "third-party holder notices," which involve salary seizures for employees who cannot pay taxes or fines. These notices require employers to deduct the amounts from employees' pay slips, further adding to the administrative burden. Although there is no centralized record of the exact number of advance and salary advance requests, the trend of early salary payments is shifting from exceptional requests to a regular budget management tool in some companies. For employees, these advances are often a last resort to manage the end of the month without relying on bank loans.