France PEO & Employer of Record

WeHG is an International PEO and Global Employer of Record services provider for companies willing to expand into the French market and/or recruit local/expat workers in the country.

The traditional method has always required the establishment of a subsidiary in France. However, our solution allows you to start the operations in France within days hence saving time and money. WeHG would hire candidates on your behalf while you maintain full operational control of their work. So legally they would be our employees, on our local payroll, 100% compliant but will work on your behalf.

France fast facts

Population: 67, 413, 000
Land area: 640,679 km²
Capital: Paris
Local currency: Euro (€) (EUR)​, CFP franc (XPF)​

GDP per capita: $50, 876
GDP in currency: $3.322 trillion

France is a relatively advanced country located in northwestern Europe. Historically and culturally among the most important nations in the Western world, she has also played a highly significant role in international affairs, with former colonies in every corner of the globe. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, the Alps and the Pyrenees, France has long provided a geographic, economic, and linguistic bridge joining northern and southern Europe. It is Europe’s foremost agricultural producer and one of the world’s leading industrial powers.

Hiring, Negotiating and Doing Business in France

Necessity of written employment contract

Foreign employers in France are to note that there is no ‘standard French employment contract’. Before a contract can be drafted, the applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement ought to have been determined. This appropriate agreement is based on your business’ activity in France. 

Employers must use the relevant CBA when drafting employment contracts, as failure to do so could result in significant financial or legal fines in the future. It’s also vital to consider the classifications of your employee’s role, as well as their job level within that capacity, before establishing a French employment contract. 

Experience, age, credentials, and responsibilities of employees must all be properly evaluated, confirmed, and documented in the contract. Given the complications discussed above, we strongly advise consulting with a labour law professional knowledgeable of French labour regulations before forming your team in France to ensure compliance with local law.

Different forms of engagement: employment, contracting, work with private entrepreneur

Citizens of any European Union or European Economic Area Member State, or of Switzerland, can work in France without a work permit. 

A work permit may take various forms: 

• A long-stay visa equivalent to a residence permit (VLS-TS) authorizing the holder to take up paid employment, like the Talent Passport permit as well as the ‘Intra-company transfer’ residence permit. These residence permits are equivalent to a work permit. No additional steps are necessary. 
• A specific work permit is requested by the employer before arrival in France for people. This work permit is required to obtain a visa and a residence permit. It is thus necessary for particular for the procedures for the introduction of employees on permanent contracts (excluding the Talent Passport), temporary workers on fixed-term contracts and posted workers excluding intra-group mobility. 

Certain residence permits valid as work permits and special work permits allow their bearer to work as an employee: 

• For any employer or for a specific employer only; and/or
• In one or more set geographical areas. 

A work permit issued in an overseas department or region (Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte and Reunion) is valid only in that department. Foreign talents holding such a permit and who wish to move to mainland France to engage in paid employment must obtain a new work permit. 

A work permit issued in mainland France does not entitle its bearer to work anywhere else than in mainland France. Foreign talents wishing to work in one of the overseas territories must have their employer request another work permit. 

The requirement to seek a new work permit does not apply if the bearer holds: a European Blue Card Talent Passport; a resident card; or a private and family residence permit issued in the overseas territories.

France Employment Contract

Types of employment agreements

Like other countries, France has a number of different types of employment contracts to suit various working arrangements and projects. Among them, 2 types stand out: the CDI and CDD. 

• CDI 

Despite the fact that France lacks a “standard employment contract,” the CDI is widely regarded as one. The CDI is a permanent contract with no expiration date, which means it does not need to be reevaluated under normal circumstances. Employment with a CDI usually begins with a 2-4 month probationary period (also known as a trial period), which can be extended if it is allowed in writing in the employment contract. Although the employee must be informed of their responsibilities in writing, unless the “Convention Collective” (CBA) states otherwise, a verbal agreement for a full-time CDI is sufficient. The contract for a part-time CDI, on the other hand, must be in writing. It’s worth noting that the CDI contract’s goal is to help people.

The contract for a part-time CDI, on the other hand, must be in writing. It is important to note that the CDI contract is intended, in theory, to provide a contractual foundation for stable and long-term employment.

• CDD 

A CDD is a fixed-term employment contract that can only be used for certain reasons, like the temporary replacement of an absent employee, dealing with increased demand, or seasonal work. A CDD has a maximum duration of 18 months and can be renewed twice during that time. The length could be longer than 18 months in some cases, but only if specified in the CBA. If you want to keep the employee after this period, you must change their contract to a CDI. A CDD contract, unlike a CDI contract, must be written in French and signed by both parties. If one of these conditions is not met, the CDD will be automatically converted into a CDI.

It is also important to note that a CDD contract should include the following information: 

• Start and end date 
• Length of the probation period 
• Reason for hiring (as mentioned above) 
• Job title 
• Salary 
• Convention collective
• Supplementary pension fund (Caisse de retraite complémentaire)

If the employer fails to give the employee a copy of the contract within two working days, they have a right to demand 1-month compensation.

France working hours

In France, the legal working hours (Temps de travail) are set at 35 hours per week. Except for those with special working conditions, such as sales representatives, executives, limited liability company managers, caretakers in residential buildings, and domestic staff, the 35-hour rule applies to all employees. There are many other exceptions, so blue-collar workers and those in large organizations are the main beneficiaries, but even these people work more than 35 hours per week. French workers work an average of nearly 40 hours per week. Monday through Friday is the working week. The working day varies according to the company, its industry, corporate culture, size, and location in France. Working hours are generally from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and 17:30 a.m. to 19:00 p.m. Lunch is usually an hour-long, but it isn’t compulsory.

Overtime

Labour conditions in France require that the first eight hours of the extra work hours should attract a 25% premium in addition to the normal pay rate. Overtime for more than 8+ hours attracts a 50% premium.

Vacation leave in France

Vacation days are accumulated annually from the 1st of June to the 31st of May, to be used in the following period. Officially, this means that if you start working on April 1st, you can only take 5 days off between June 1st and May 31st (i.e. 2.5 days each for April and May). During the first 14 months of employment, you are entitled to five days of vacation! Some employers are flexible on this, and knowing this ahead of time can be helpful when negotiating employment terms. Customarily, ‘flexibility’ refers to days taken ‘in advance’ (par anticipation), i.e. they are deducted from your entitlement in the following period. The following count as working period: paid leave, leave to compensate for overtime, leave for family reasons, suspension of work due to occupational accidents or illnesses, maternity or paternity leave, adoption leave, training leave and periods of military service.

Certain constraints on how leave can be taken are imposed by employment legislation, such as the: the number of days of leave has a cap 24 working days, and the employee must take at least 12 working days of the main vacation at the same time. The employer may split up a major holiday that lasts more than 12 working days with the permission of the employees, and they are given at least one month’s notice. The fifth week of leave must be taken in addition to the primary holidays (usually August),

Also, the employees may receive some extra day(s) of leave in case of taking a fraction of the main vacation outside the period between 1 May-31 October: one extra day if this fraction lasts 3-5 days and two extra days if this fraction lasts 6 or more days.

France Maternity Leave

All mothers have the right to a minimum of sixteen weeks of paid maternity leave. Up to six weeks of the allowance may be taken as prenatal leave ( repos prenatal) which is taken before the estimated birth date ( la date présumé) and the remainder as postnatal leave ( repos postnatal). Workers can choose to shorten their leave, but eight weeks of maternity leave (six of which are postnatal) are compulsory. 

After the third child, employees are entitled to 26 weeks on leave: 8 weeks before the date of birth and 18 after. If the birth date is after the estimated date, the prenatal leave is automatically extended, but the postnatal leave entitlement remains the same. 

During maternity leave, employees receive payments from the French social security system. Most companies also have collective agreements ( conventions collectives) concerning continuing payment of the salary by the employer during the period of maternity leave.

All new fathers have the right to paternity leave of 11 days (18 days for twins or more). The leave must be taken on consecutive days within four months of the birth. The employer must be informed at least one month in advance. This can be combined with the three days of leave given for the birth of a child.

France Severance Laws

Before being fired or discharged employees are entitled to notice. The length of time between the notice and termination of the contract depends on what the employee and employer agreed to in the employment contract, but it is usually one to three months. Immediate firing may be justified in circumstances of gross wrongdoing.

Any employer that wants to terminate the employment contract of an employee must show just cause and follow dismissal procedures. Reasons for dismissal must be convincing. In view of this, the two primary reasons for firing an employee that is considered justified: personal (in the case of misconduct) and economic (e.g bankruptcy).

Employees with eight months of seniority or more on an open-ended contract are legally entitled to severance compensation in case of dismissal on economic grounds. However, employees are not eligible for severance compensation in case of dismissal for misconduct or negligence. Even though regulated, the law only establishes a minimum threshold for severance payments. The latter are calculated upon the gross monthly salary of the employee before the termination of the employment contract. Accordingly, they cannot be lower than the following amounts: 25% of the gross monthly salary times years of seniority, for employees with up to 10 years of seniority; 33.33% of the gross monthly salary times years of seniority, for employees with 11 years of seniority or more. The gross monthly salary of reference for the calculation above corresponds to the most advantageous formula for the employee between the following: The monthly average of the 12 months prior to the termination of the contract or the monthly average of all months prior to the termination if the length of service is less than 12 months; A third of the monthly salary for the three months prior to the termination of the contract. In the last case, any annual or exceptional bonus paid to the employee needs to be considered only up to an amount calculated in proportion to the period for which the bonus is paid. Moreover, the severance payment is calculated in proportion to the length of time the employee worked full-time and part-time. Severance compensation is not cumulative with any other indemnity of the same nature.

France Tax

Salary payments do not have income tax deducted, therefore employees are to make tax declarations and pay their income taxes (unlike in many counties where the employer makes deductions automatically)

Health Insurance Benefits in France

A doctor may prescribe sick leave for an employee by issuing a sick leave form ( un avis d’arrêt de travail). The employee must complete it and send within 48 hours to:

• the social security agency
• the employer, or the Pole Emploi office in the case of unemployment

Employees on sick leave are obliged:

• to stop working while receiving sickness benefits
• to comply with authorised times for leaving the house (specified by the doctor; usually 10:00-12:00 and 16:00-18:00 on all days)
• to ask for authorisation if wishing to stay in a different residence

Payments during periods of sick leave depend on the length of employment with the company and the length of the period of absence.

Additional Benefits in France

Social Security provides coverage for:

1) illness, maternity, paternity,  disability and death;

2) occupational accidents and diseases;

3) old-age benefits; and

4) family allowances.

It is composed of various schemes involving the insured according to their professional activities, chiefly:

• the general scheme: it includes workers, students, recipients of certain benefits, and residents;
• special schemes: they cover employees who are not in the general scheme (e.g. civil servants, SNCF and EDF-GDF agents…);
• the schemes for non-agricultural employees: they separately cover the artisans, merchants or manufacturers and liberal professions to the pension insurance, the “sickness” risk is subject to joint management;
• the agricultural scheme: it ensures the welfare of farmers and farm employees. This social security system does not depend on the Ministry of Social Affairs, but on the Ministry of Agriculture.

Complementary Plans contribute supplementary coverage to the risks afforded by Social Security. Some are mandatory (supplementary pension for private sector employees) and others optional (mutual health organisations, insurance companies, pension funds).

UNEDIC (National Employment Union Industry and Commerce) administers the unemployment insurance programme.

State Welfare provides support to the poorest.

General market practice benefits/additional allowances

• Investment climate

France is a business-friendly country, with one of the largest markets in Europe, and access to the European single market. It’s capital, Paris, is an important financial center in the region and the European leader in venture capital.

France also has a talented workforce, innovative business leaders, a high-quality transportation infrastructure, and strong intellectual property protections. In recent years, the French government has expanded their policies to continue attracting foreign interest and investment.

• Technology and innovation

Technology plays an important role in the French economy and its government invests heavily in R&D, creating a favorable foundation for innovation. The Sophia Antipolis technology park in Paris has the highest concentration of technology engineers outside Silicon Valley. Major global technology players have established a presence in the park including companies like Accenture, Cisco, Intel, IBM, Air France, and Orange.

• Manufacturing

France is an industrial powerhouse and despite a decline in overall output, manufacturing remains one of the country’s largest economic sectors. The country is home to leading automobile manufacturers (Peugeot and Renault) and the world’s leading aircraft manufacturer (Airbus). With an increased focus on technology and innovation and the country’s strong entrepreneurial culture, the French government continues to support the manufacturing sector in order to increase its competitiveness.

• Tourism

As with many European countries, tourism plays a key role in the country’s economy. France receives over 85 million visitors per year – representing nearly 10% of the country’s GDP. France is one of the most visited countries in the world, and its popularity can be attributed to its history, cultural influence, culinary experiences, and renowned attractions, including UNESCO world heritage sites located throughout the country.

France Holidays

There are eleven national public holidays in France:

• 1 January, New Year’s Day (Nouvel an, Jour de l’An)
• Easter Monday in March or April (Lundi de Pâques)
• 1 May, Labour Day (Fête de travail)
• 8 May, aVictory Day – End of Second World War 1945 (Fête de la liberation)
• Ascension Thursday, the sixth Thursday after Easter, usually in May (Ascension)
• Whit Monday (Pentecost) , the Second Monday after Ascension, in May or June (Pentecôte)
• 14 July, Bastille Day (Fête Nationale)
• 15 August, Assumption (Assomption)
• 1 November, All Saints’ Day (Toussaint)
• 11 November, Armistice 1918 Day (Fête de l’Armistice)
• 25 December, Christmas Day (Noël)

Why Choose WeHireGlobally

WeHG takes care of all the onboarding hurdles, payroll, compensation and benefits, tax filing, and termination of employment. Our Employer of Record solution allows you to manage your overseas teams efficiently while minimizing cost and risk.