France
Make employment in France easy. Let us handle payroll, benefits, taxes, compliance, and even stock options for your team in France, all in one easy-to-use platform.
- Capital City
Paris
- Currency
Euro (€, EUR)
- Languages
French
- Population size
67,067,000
Facts & Stats
- Capital City
Paris
- Currency
Euro (€, EUR)
- Languages
French
- Population size
67,067,000
- Ease of doing business
Very easy
- Cost of living index
$$$$ (17 of 139 nations)
- Payroll frequency
Monthly
- VAT - standard rate
20%
- GDP - real growth rate
1.725% (2018 est.)
France, officially the French Republic (French: république française), is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. France is a developed country with the world's seventh-largest economy by nominal GDP, and the tenth-largest by PPP. In terms of aggregate household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world.
Grow your team in France with Remote
Looking to employ workers in France? Companies hiring in France must either own a legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solutions provider, usually one that provides employer of record services.
Remote can employ your team in France on your behalf through our local legal entity in the country and handle payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance for your France team. You can also pay contractors now in France with Remote.
Risks of misclassification
France, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassification of contractors in France may lead to fines and penalties for the offending company.
Employing in France
Employment law in France is not contained under a single law. Instead it is governed by statutory regulations codified in (among other laws) the French labour code, the French Constitution as well as European Commission and other international labour conventions. Furthermore, collective labour law through codetermination, trade unions and collective bargaining plays a significant role in French labour relations.
French employment law provides strong labor conditions and protections for employees, so employing people will be an important investment and commitment.
Temporary agencies are popular options for more flexible workforce arrangements. For these and many other reasons, the following are only guidelines in the broadest sense, and professional legal services are recommended when employing in France.
Minimum Wage
The minimum hourly wage for a 35-hour workweek is €11.65. Collective bargaining agreements frequently establish a higher minimum wage, which is legally enforceable.
Payroll Cycle
For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal monthly installments on or before the last working day of each calendar month, payable in arrears.
Onboarding Time
We can help you get a new employee started in France fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 3 working days.
Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.
For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.
Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.
11 Public holidays
Want to see and manage all holidays? Sign up for our free HRIS!
Effortless HR in France: Take the Tour
Competitive benefits package in France
At Remote, we’re obsessed with helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in practicing “fair equity,” which means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive (and that will allow you to attract the best local talent).
Our benefits packages in France are tailored to fulfill the local needs of your employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Mental Health Support
Pension or 401(K)
Life and Disability Insurance
Taxes in France
Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in France.
13.00%
Health, Maternity, Disability, Death
8.55% (ceiling of €3,311) - Old Age Insurance
5.25% or 2.45% - Family Benefits
4.05% (ceiling of €13,244) - Unemployment
0.30%
Autonomy Solidarity Contribution
0.15%
AGS (Wage Guarantee Insurance)
Types of leave
All full-time workers are legally entitled to 25 days paid holiday leave a year. In addition, full-time workers have 11 paid public holidays a year. The minimum amount of annual leave is 5 weeks.
Employment termination
Termination process
French employers in general have the following ways to terminate the employment relationship:
Termination by mutual consent through a settlement agreement;
Employee resignation with written notice and notice period as per employment contract;
Urgent dismissal of the employee, for example in case of theft or any other serious misconduct.
Notice period
The statutory notice period for an employer depends on the duration of employment. For employment duration between 6 months and 2 years, the notice period is 1 month. For employment duration over 2 years, it is 2 months. For executives, the notice period is 3 months.
There are exceptions where notice period is not observed:
Employer’s voluntary waiver on the notice period or upon the employee’s request.
Employee’s resignation during pregnancy or for the purpose of raising a child.
Employee’s resignation following business start-up leave.
An applicable collective agreement makes exemption.
Probation periods
The maximum length of a probationary period is 8 months depends on position held. Probation period is also applicable to part-time employees and collective bargaining agreements also play a role here.
Fair Pricing in France
Employer of Record
Hire and pay your global team
Starting at $599/month
for annual plans
Top features
Satisfaction guaranteed
No deposits or hidden fees
Zero onboarding or offboarding fees
Compliant equity incentives support including withholding and reporting
Built-in security and compliance
Fast onboarding (average 2-3 days)
Flexible, localized benefits
Top features
Only pay for contractors you actively work with
Work with contractors in 200+ countries
Create, edit, and sign tailored, localized contracts
Approve contractor invoices with one click or auto-pay
Transparent payments with complete visibility
Remote Payroll
Consolidate your multi-country payroll
$50
per employee/month
Top features
Reduce costs by centralizing payroll management
Ensure local compliance for every country
Direct support from in-house local payroll experts
Accurate, on-time, compliant payroll to level-up your employee experience
Tax and labor authority reporting handled for you
Top features
Guided onboarding and offboarding
Employee profile and document management
Time and attendance (time off and tracking)
Expense management and reimbursement
Employee self-serve on the platform and mobile app