France
Knowledge Base
Frequently asked question, important data and information on EOR.
General information
The minimum wage for 2023 in France is €10.84 per hour.
Labor Law
Laws that regulate Labor Relationship
The laws that regulate labor relationships can vary depending on the country and the specific labor laws in place. Some common examples of labor laws may include minimum wage laws, anti-discrimination laws, workers’ compensation laws, and collective bargaining laws.
Onboarding guide
Requirements for a labor contract
• Employer Identity card
• Job title
• Type of contract
• Start date
• Salary
• Working hours
• Benefits
Pre-hire Medical exam
Medical examinations are not required to onboard a new hire in France, but some employers may require them.
Types of contracts
• Fixed-term
• Indefinite
• Part-time
Probation Period
3 months for technicians and intermediate supervisors and 4 months for executive employees.
Are offer letters mandatory in the country?
An offer letter is not mandatory for labor contracts in France, but it is recommended to provide a written employment contract..
Are digital signatures in labor contracts valid?
Permitted.
Mandatory onboarding documents
• Proof of identity
• Proof of address
Statutory benefits
Annual Bonus
There is no statutory annual bonus for employees in France, but some collective bargaining agreements may provide for bonuses.
Additional bonus
Additional statutory bonuses for employees in France include a profit-sharing bonus.
Leaves (medical, maternity, paternity, etc.)
•Parental leave: workers who have been working for 1 year before childbirth are entitled to parental leave. This leave can be full or part-time (minimum 16h/week worked), it must be requested every year, at least 1 month before the end of the maternity leave, or in case of renewal or 2 months if not consecutive to the maternity leave.
•Paternal leave: 3 working days of leave for the birth of a child paid by the employer and paternity leave of 25 consecutive calendar days 32 days if there are multiple births.
•Maternity leave:
a. a single childbirth that raises the mother’s number of children to three or more, maternity leave is 26 weeks, 8 weeks before the expected date of delivery and 18 weeks after delivery.
b. Birth of twins, maternity leave consists of 12 weeks before delivery and 22 weeks after delivery.
c. Triplets or more, maternity leave consists of 24 weeks before delivery and 22 weeks after delivery.
•Sickness and Disability Leave: Where the employee is out of work for sickness, subject to compliance with certain formalities (notably for the employee to submit, within 48 hours, the sick slip to the Social Security office and the employer) and satisfies the requirements, the employee is entitled to receive a daily allowance during his leave, after a three-day waiting period. This allowance will be directly paid to the employer in case of subrogation. The daily allowance paid for sick leave is 50% of the basic daily wage (on average, the Social Security Daily Indemnity is of EUR 43.40). After 30 days of sick leave, the daily allowance is increased to 66.66% of the basic daily wage, if the employee has at least three children. After 3 months, the daily allowance will be re-evaluated. If an employee’s work capacity and income have been reduced by at least 2/3, as a result of an accident or a non-occupational disease, the employee will be considered as an ‘invalid’ and he/she can obtain the payment of a pension disability to compensate for lost wages, by filing a demand before the CPam(French Health Insurance). The amount of the disability pension received will depend on the category the person is in. Also, the category that has been determined is not definitive and may evolve.
• Adoption leave: Employees who adopt a child are entitled to adoption leave, which can last up to 10 weeks for a single child or 18 weeks for siblings or a disabled child. The employee receives a daily allowance from the national family benefits agency.
• Leave for family reasons: Employees can take leave for family reasons, such as to care for a sick child, partner or parent. This leave can last up to three months per year and is not paid, but the employee may be entitled to a daily allowance from the national family benefits agency.
• Leave for civic duties: Employees can take leave for civic duties, such as serving on a jury or as an elected representative. This leave is unpaid, but the employee is entitled to a daily allowance from the employer.
Annual Leave (days per year)
Employees in France are entitled to a minimum of 25 days of annual leave for the first year of employment, and the number of days increases with more time of service.
How do vacation days expire?
Vacation days must be taken within the same calendar year, or they will be lost.
Official Holidays
The official holidays for 2023 in Montenegro are:
• 1 Jan, New Year’s Day
• 10 Apr, Easter Monday
• 1 May, Labour Day
• 8 May, Victory Day
• 18 May, Ascension Day
• 29 May, Whit Monday
• Jul 14, Bastille Day
• Aug 15, Assumption Day
• Nov 1, All Saints’ Day
• Nov 11, Armistice Day
• Dec 25, Christmas Day
Working on holidays and Sundays
Working on Sundays and public holidays in France is regulated, and employees are entitled to extra pay or compensatory rest. The exact rules depend on the type of work and collective bargaining agreements.
Number of Working hours
A maximum of 10 hours per day and 35 hours per week, although some collective bargaining agreements may provide for different working hours. The overtime policy in France stipulates that overtime work cannot exceed 220 hours per year.
Overtime
After 35 hours per week will be paid as overtime, from the 36th to the 43rd hour will be 25% additional per hour for each of the first eight hours of overtime and 50% additional for each hour.
Social Security (what does it cover)
All residents must pay for health insurance and premiums are automatically deducted from employees’ salaries.
Payroll
Salary payment currency
Euro (€).
Can salary be paid in a different currency other than the local currency?
Salaries must be paid in euros (€) in France, but in some cases, employees can agree to be paid in another currency.
Payment frequency
Monthly.
VAT percentage
20% for most goods and services.
Income Tax
Individuals, whether French or foreign nationals, who have their tax domicile in France are generally subject to personal income tax (PIT) on worldwide income unless excluded by a tax treaty. Rates are progressive from 0% to 45%, plus a surtax of 3% on the portion of income that exceeds 250,000 euros (EUR) for a single person and EUR 500,000 for a married couple and of 4% for income that exceeds EUR 500,000 for a single person and EUR 1 million for a married couple. For more information see https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/france/individual/taxes-on-personal-income
Tax Payer Identification Number
TIN – Numéro SPIN (numéro fiscal de référence)
Offboarding
Voluntary resignation
The employee is obliged to respect the contractual or legal notice period. As it is a termination at the employee’s initiative, the company does not have to pay severance pay.
Contract termination
A labor contract can be terminated in several cases, including:
• Expiration of the contract term
• Mutual agreement between the employer and employee
• Termination due to economic reasons or restructuring by the employer
Justified Dismissal
The reasons for dismissal must be exact, verifiable and serious for the dismissal to be justified. There are two types of reasons: financial or personal.
Unjustified Dismissal
If the company does not comply with the formal requirements or the substantive conditions, in case of contesting the dismissal of the worker before the courts, the company could be sentenced for abusive or unfair dismissal.
Employees with less than 1 year of seniority are not entitled to severance pay. The amount of severance pay depends on the duration of work and the applicable stipulations of the collective agreement. Severance pay is calculated on the basis of an employee’s average salary, sometimes it often includes bonuses during the last year of employment or the last 3 months.
Minimum Notice Period
A notice period predetermined by French law it´s between 1 – 3 months. The termination process is complex and rigid, it usually takes a month before the notice period begins. There is no notice period for short contracts but the employer is required to pay the remainder of the contract up to the expected end date.
Immigration
Visa process
The process of the visa follows the next steps:
1. Collection of all the required documentation from the employee
2. Translation of the documents (if applicable)
3. Assistance with filling the visa application form
4. Preparing the final package
5. Book an appointment to submit the visa application to the French authorities
6. Submit the visa application at the Consulate during the appointment by the Employee (the processing time is on average 3 weeks)
7. Reception of the Visa and arrival in France (the Employee will have 1 month to find a permanent accommodation in France)
8. Gather and complete additional documents
9. Application for the residence card OR validation of the VLS-TS once arrived on French
10. Collection of the residence card
Visa documents
In France two common long-stay work permits are the ‘Talent Passport – Qualified Employee’ (if the candidate is already in France for higher education) and the ‘Talent Passport – EU Blue Card’.
Requirements – Talent Passport – Qualified Employee
• Concrete job offer: The applicant will need to have a signed employment contract of at least 3 months in France.
• Minimum salary: The minimum salary for obtaining the Talent Passport – Qualified Employee has to be equal or greater than €41.023,- annually.
• Degree: Master 2 or equivalent obtained in France
Requirements – Talent Passport – EU Blue Card
• Concrete job offer: The applicant will need to have a signed employment contract of at least 1 year in
• Minimum salary: The minimum salary for obtaining the Talent Passport – EU Blue Card has to be equal or greater than €53.836,50,-
• Degree: The applicant needs to have a diploma attesting to at least 3 years of higher education or 5 years of professional experience of a comparable level. For the latter, there needs to be proof of these levels of experience.
Information job offer:
• Job title of the employee
• Job description of the employee
• Yearly gross salary of the employee in Euro
• Contract duration
Information candidate:
• Nationality & country of residence
• Resume
• Copy of the diploma’s
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