Employment contracts are mandatory in France. In order to hire an individual from France, the employer must have knowledge about the employment laws, benefits, allowances, and more. This segment will help the employer with all the information required.
Employee Contract
Public and Provincial Holidays
Leave Information
Basic
In France, there are two types of Employment contracts; CDI (Permanent employment) and CDD (Temporary employment). According to the France employment laws, CDI (contrat à durée indéterminée) is provided to an employee for continuing and indefinite service. CDI (contrat à durée déterminée) is provided to an employee hired for temporary employment and can not be extended over 18 months of service.
French is the preferred language for employment contracts though employees and employers have the option for the contract to be translated to other languages
Probation Period
The probationary period for employees ranges from 1 – 3 months.
13th Month Pay
The 13th month’s pay is not mandatory in France. However, the employer can provide it on mutual agreement and is paid at the end of the year.
Employee Benefits
Employers in France may provide the following benefits to their employees:
- Pension Scheme
- Social Security
- Maternity leave
- Paternity leave
The payroll cycle in France is monthly.
The French minimum wage (salaire minimum de croissance or SMIC) is adjusted every year on January 1. Read on the wages here
Any hours of work beyond the statutory limit of 35 hours a week is considered overtime. The companies are entitled to compensate employees for overtime hours worked in the following structure
Employer Payroll Cost:
| Funds |
Contribution |
| Health, Disability, Maternity, Death |
13% |
| Autonomy Solidarity Contribution |
0.3% |
| Old-Age Insurance (Upper limit of 3,428 EUR) |
8.55% |
| Family Benefits |
3.45% or 5.25% |
| Unemployment |
4.05% |
| Wage Guarantee Insurance |
0.15% |
Employee Payroll Cost:
| Type |
Contribution |
| Old-Age Insurance (Upper limit of 3,428 EUR) |
6.9% |
| Social Security Surcharge |
9.2% |
| Social Security Debt Reimbursement Contribution |
0.5% |
Employee Income Tax
| Income Share (Euros) |
Tax Rate (%) |
| 0 to 11,520 |
0% |
| 11,520 to 29,373 |
11% |
| 29,373 to 83,988 |
30% |
| 83,988 to 180,648 |
41% |
| Above 180,648 |
45% |
VAT
The standard rate of Value Added Tax in France is 20%.
The employer can terminate the employment contract based on a valid reason (personal or financial reasons) or mutual consent or if the individual is retiring.
The notice period for employees under probation is up to 5 days, while regular employees will have up to 3 months.
Severance pay
The severance pay varies based on the individual’s service to the employer. The statutory severance pay is;
| Years of service |
Severance Pay |
| Below 10 years |
25% of the monthly salary for each year of service |
| Above 10 years |
33.33% of the monthly salary for each year of service |
If an individual stays more than 90 days, Long term Visa is mandatory. In order to avail of a long-term visa, supporting documents for the stay are required. Long-term visas are available to most nationalities, except for EEA and EU nationals.