The AEM (Attestation Employeur Mensuelle, monthly employer attestation) is the document your production hands you for every month worked. It is the piece of paper that proves your hours and your salary to France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi), and that feeds your 507-hour counter. Many intermittents sign it without reading it, which is a shame, because it often contains errors that go against you. This guide explains how to decode it.
What is an AEM?
The AEM is the Attestation Employeur Mensuelle, a form produced by Pôle emploi (France Travail) that your intermittent employers must hand you at the end of every month worked. It replaces the old individual paper attestations per contract.
The AEM contains the key information about the work you did that month: number of hours, type of contract, gross salary, work period, and reference codes for France Travail. Your 507-hour counter is calculated from your accumulated AEMs.
The fields to check first
1. Number of hours declared
The key figure. On the AEM, look for the line « Number of hours worked » or similar. Compare it with your signed timesheet: if you worked 87h on the shoot but the AEM declares 80, that is an error (deliberate or not) that costs you 7h off your 507. Over the year, accumulated errors can cost you several dozen hours and therefore your rights renewal.
2. Work period (from / to)
The start and end dates of the shoot. If the prep is not included but you worked on it (location scouting, tests, moving equipment), ask for the correction.
3. Gross salary
The total gross salary paid over the period. Check that it includes overtime at 25%/50%, allowances (meal, Sunday, night, travel) and the collective-bargaining uplifts specific to your trade. If your AEM shows a gross salary below your timesheet (× hourly rate + uplifts), ask for a correction.
4. Type of cachet (annexe 10 artists)
For artists, the AEM indicates whether your cachets are « isolated » or « grouped ». Since 1 August 2016, each cachet is worth 12 hours for the 507-hour counter, whatever the box says. The distinction now only matters for contributions (URSSAF), not for your France Travail rights. Above all, check that all your cachets are present and declared.
5. Intermittent code (annexe 8 or 10)
Annexe 8 = technicians (gaffer, electricians, grips, camera, sound, editing). Annexe 10 = artists (musicians, actors, dancers). If you are a technician but the AEM mentions annexe 10 (or vice versa), it is a classification error that can block your France Travail declaration.
Common AEM errors
- Hours rounded down: you worked 11.5h, the AEM says 10h. A frequent error when payroll is run on a spreadsheet
- Omitted prep: a 10-day shoot, you did 5 days of prep beforehand, but the AEM only declares the 10 days
- Overtime not uplifted: 12h of shooting are declared as 12 « plain » hours instead of 8 normal hours + 2h at 125% + 2h at 150%
- Wrong collective agreement: your contract is under « Audiovisual production » when it should be « Film production » (different rates)
- Non-covering period: you worked on the 30th and 31st of the previous month, and they are not on the AEM
How to ask for a correction
If you spot an error:
- Contact the production (admin / payroll) by email, attaching your signed timesheet and the disputed AEM
- Ask for the specific correction (hours, salary, type of cachet)
- Note the date and keep the correspondence
- If no answer within 1 month, escalate to your union (SPIAC-CGT, SNTPCT, FAFTLV) or the labour inspectorate
- As a last resort, France Travail can be informed of the disagreement and will rule
Importing your AEMs into an app
To save time on data entry, tools now let you import your AEM PDF and automatically extract the data to update your 507-hour counter. Intermittor offers this feature: you upload the PDF, the app extracts hours, gross salary, period and production, and adds it to the counter with no manual entry.
Handy especially if you work for 8-12 different productions a year and receive as many AEMs every month. No more spreadsheet to maintain, no more risk of forgetting.
Frequently asked questions
What is an AEM (monthly employer attestation)?
The AEM is the Attestation Employeur Mensuelle, a form produced by France Travail that your intermittent employers must hand you at the end of every month worked. It shows your hours, your type of contract, your gross salary and the work period. Your 507-hour counter is calculated from your accumulated AEMs.
Which fields should you check first on an AEM?
Five fields: the number of hours declared (to compare with your signed timesheet), the work period (from / to), the gross salary (including overtime and uplifts), the type of cachet for artists (isolated or grouped), and the annexe code (8 for technicians, 10 for artists).
What should I do if my AEM contains an error?
Contact the production’s admin or payroll by email, attaching your signed timesheet, and ask for the correction. An uncorrected hours error costs you hours off your 507h; accumulated over the year, these errors can cost you your rights renewal.
What are the frequent errors on AEMs?
The most common: hours rounded down, prep days omitted, overtime not uplifted, wrong collective agreement (audiovisual instead of film), and non-covering periods (end-of-month days carried over to the next AEM).
Why check the annexe 8 or 10 code on the AEM?
Because a wrong classification (a technician declared under annexe 10 or vice versa) is an error that can block your declaration to France Travail. Annexe 8 = technicians, annexe 10 = artists.
Key takeaways
- The AEM is your official proof for France Travail: read it before filing it
- Check 5 fields first: hours, period, gross salary, type of cachet, annexe code
- Frequent errors: rounded hours, omitted prep, missing uplifts
- Always ask for corrections: one month’s difference across 12 accumulated months can block your 507h
- Tools like Intermittor automate the import of AEM PDFs
Sources
- France Travail: AEM and intermittents du spectacle
- France Travail: Artist or technician? (annexes 8 and 10)
- Movinmotion: What is an AEM?
Article written by Come Nolo, gaffer / chief lighting technician on film, music video and advertising shoots. See also: How to calculate your 507h · Intermittor: the intermittent du spectacle app.
Related guides
- The end of the AEM: the DSN (nominative social declaration) / AER CS (rematerialised employer attestation) reform
- Calculate your 507-hour counter
- Annexe 8 vs Annexe 10
- Starting out as an intermittent
Manage all of this automatically with Intermittor: 507-hour counter, timesheets, AEM import and France Travail tracking.
To go further, Intermittor’s intermittence guide covers this topic in detail with up-to-date rules and worked examples: Contract, payslip, AEM, certificate: your documents. Complete contents: the intermittence guide.