Social security under the CAE

The aim of the project was to develop a qualitative approach to the (non-)take-up of social protection schemes, based on the actual practices of self-employed workers covered by CAEs. Recognising the diversity of CAEs, in terms of both their size and their governance models and political orientations, the originality of our project lay in proposing:

• A qualitative approach – rather than merely a diagnostic one – through a localised approach that complements the quantitative findings and analyses currently being carried out in France to identify everyday practices, as well as the meanings, perceptions and representations associated with social protection in the context of grey areas of employment, between salaried employment and self-employment.
• The establishment of a research and analysis framework specifically tailored to these increasingly blurred lines between salaried employment and self-employment: drawing on the example of CAEs, we have developed an analytical model that is both operational and reproducible.
• Finally, this project aimed to create a forum for generating knowledge and sharing these ideas within the world of CAEs.

HAL Publications

Flora Bajard, Maya Leclercq. CAEs grappling with social protection issues: an interview with Flora Bajard and Maya Leclercq. French Journal of Social Affairs, 2022, 1, pp. 41–51

Flora Bajard, Maya Leclercq. Becoming an entrepreneur in a work and employment co-operative. The 1001 faces of empowerment.. Journal of Anthropologists, 2019, 158–159, pp. 151–174.

Flora Bajard, Maya Leclercq. Social protection in Activity and Employment Co-operatives (CAE): the effects of political and organisational culture on access to rights. The LIRISS Mediterranean Papers, 2022, 2, pp. 38–50

Flora Bajard, Maya Leclercq, Lucas van Melle. »Sketches and Discoveries’ – Final booklet from the CAE and social protection action research days. 2022