Employers' imputed social contributions (D.122)

4.10 Definition:

Employers' imputed social contributions (D.122) represent the counterpart to unfunded social benefits (less eventual employees' social contributions) paid directly by employers to their employees or former employees and other eligible persons without involving an insurance enterprise or autonomous pension fund, and without creating a special fund or segregated reserve for the purpose.

The fact that certain social benefits are paid directly by employers, and not through the medium of social security funds or other insurers, in no way detracts from their character as social welfare benefits. However, since the costs of these benefits form part of employers' labour costs, they should also be included in the compensation of employees.

4.11 In the accounts of the sectors, the costs of direct social benefits appear first among uses in the generation of income account, as a component of the compensation of employees, and a second time among uses in the secondary distribution of income account, as social benefits. In order to balance the latter account, it is assumed that the households of employees pay back to the employers' sectors the employers' imputed social contributions which finance together with eventual employees' social contributions the direct social welfare benefits provided to them by these same employers. This notional circuit is similar to that for employers' actual social contributions, which pass through the accounts of households and are then deemed to be paid by them to the insurers.

For the valuation of employers' imputed social contributions, the amount of which does not necessarily coincide with that of direct social benefits, reference should be made to heading D.612.

4.12 Time of recording of compensation of employees:

  1. wages and salaries (D.11) are recorded in the period during which the work is done. However, ad-hoc bonuses or other exceptional payments, 13th month, etc. are recorded when they are due to be paid;
  2. employers' actual social contributions (D.121) are recorded in the period during which the work is done;
  3. employers' imputed social contributions (D.122):

    (1) representing the counterpart of compulsory direct social benefits are recorded in the period during which the work is done;

    (2) representing the counterpart of voluntary direct social benefits are recorded at the time these benefits are provided.

4.13 The compensation of employees may consist of:
  1. the compensation of resident employees by resident employers;
  2. the compensation of resident employees by non-resident employers;
  3. the compensation of non-resident employees by resident employers.
These different items are recorded in the ESA as follows:

(1) the compensation of resident and non-resident employees by resident employers groups together items a) and c) and appears among uses in the generation of income account of the sectors and industries to which the employers belong;

(2) the compensation of resident employees by resident and non-resident employers groups together items a) and b) and appears among resources in the allocation of primary income account of households;

(3) item b), compensation of resident employees by non-resident employers appears among uses in the external account of primary incomes and current transfers;

(4) item c), compensation of non-resident employees by resident employers appears among resources in the external account of primary incomes and current transfers.