Employer of Record in France: A Comprehensive Guide for 2026

Introduction

An Employer of Record in France is a third-party entity that acts as a legal employer and helps navigate the French Labour Code, sector-level collective agreements, pre-employment registration, monthly payroll filings, and mandatory employee benefits from the first day of employment.

Typically, the legal employer must file the Pre-Employment Declaration (DPAE) before the employee starts, remit social contributions to the Union for the Collection of Social Security Contributions and Family Allowances (URSSAF), and submit the monthly Nominal Social Declaration (DSN).

Applying the wrong agreement can create back-pay exposure, incorrect leave or bonus entitlements, and contribution adjustments.

Employers must also account for the 35-hour workweek, strict rules for fixed-term and part-time contracts, mandatory supplementary health insurance, and a formal dismissal process that can lead to employment tribunal claims when mishandled. For non-European Union hires, work authorization can extend onboarding timelines and must be secured before employment begins.

This guide covers entity setup versus EOR hiring, contracts and onboarding, payroll and taxes, benefits, worker classification, visas and work permits, remote work, leave, background checks, and termination in France.

How to hire employees in France?

There are two ways to hire in France. You can register a local entity and employ people directly, or you can work with an employer of record.

What does setting up a subsidiary in France involve?

A French subsidiary is treated as a tax resident of France regardless of where the parent company sits. That means a registered French address, a French bank account separate from the parent's, and a full set of local obligations.

Registration runs through the INPI (National Industrial Property Institute) guichet unique, which replaced the old CFE (Business Property Tax) system in 2023. Once the file clears, the company receives its Kbis extract, SIREN (Business Directory Identification System) number, and intracommunity VAT (Value Added Tax) number. Registration is completed through the INPI guichet unique. The total cost varies by legal form, registry formalities, beneficial-owner filing, and legal-notice publication. Current charges should be calculated for the specific entity type at the time of filing.

Once registered, the entity carries ongoing obligations that need local expertise:

• URSSAF (Union for the Collection of Social Security Contributions and Family Allowances) affiliation and monthly DSN submissions
• Identifying the correct convention collective, determined by the company's main activity via its NAF (Nomenclature of Activities) code rather than by individual job title
• A DPAE (Pre-Employment Declaration) filing for every hire before the start date
• Payroll built to the Code du travail, including the 35-hour week and statutory leave
• Termination procedures that can end in Prud'hommes proceedings if handled incorrectly

Entity setup makes sense when you are building a substantial French presence with a long horizon. For a first hire or a small team, the compliance overhead usually outweighs the benefit.

The registration cost of a French subsidiary is relatively modest, but the ongoing requirements- URSSAF affiliation, monthly DSN submissions, DPAE filings, local payroll, and formal termination procedures- create the larger operational commitment.

Skuad’s Employer of Record platform supports companies that want to hire in France before establishing a local entity. Skuad:

• Acts as the legal employer across 160+ countries, allowing teams to hire without setting up a local entity
• Supports employment contract generation aligned with local labor laws across supported markets
• Facilitates statutory contribution workflows covering applicable social insurance, pension, and severance obligations
• Supports payroll processing in 70+ currencies with automated tax withholding and year-end reconciliation
• Helps administer statutory benefits, paid leave, and parental entitlements in line with local requirements

Book a demo to see how Skuad supports hiring in France

How can an employer of record help in France?

An EOR arrangement in France must operate through a legally permitted employment structure. Simply having a French entity does not automatically authorize a provider to hire employees and supply their labor to a client. Before hiring, confirm the provider’s French legal model and whether it complies with the rules governing labor supply, temporary employment, or portage salarial.

In practice, that covers:

• Drafting the CDI or CDD to Code du travail standards, including the correct convention collective for your activity
• Filing the DPAE before the employee's start date
• Running payroll and issuing compliant bulletins de paie
• Calculating and remitting URSSAF contributions and monthly DSN declarations
• Administering statutory benefits, paid leave, and the mutuelle
• Handling work permit applications for non-EU nationals

There are hundreds of them, and the one that applies is set by your company's main activity rather than by the role you are filling. Get it wrong, and you can end up owing back pay, misapplied leave entitlements, and adjusted contribution rates.

Identifying the applicable convention collective, filing the DPAE before the start date, calculating URSSAF contributions, and reflecting sector-specific terms in each payslip require coordinated local employment workflows.

Skuad’s Employer of Record platform supports the employment lifecycle through:

• Employment contract generation aligned with local labor laws across supported markets
• Statutory contribution workflows covering applicable social insurance and pension obligations
• Payroll processing in 70+ currencies with automated tax withholding and year-end reconciliation
• Administration of statutory benefits, paid leave, and parental entitlements in line with local requirements
• Termination and offboarding support, including notice and severance calculations where required locally

Book a demo to see how Skuad can support the employing a France hire.

Where to find candidates in France?

Employers can use several France-specific recruitment platforms depending on the roles they need to fill:

• Apec: Best suited to executive, managerial, and highly qualified professional roles. It is widely used by employers recruiting experienced candidates and university graduates for permanent positions.
• Cadremploi: Focuses primarily on managers and senior professionals across sectors such as finance, sales, engineering, IT, and operations.
• Codeur: A freelance marketplace for finding independent professionals, particularly developers, designers, marketers, writers, and other digital specialists for project-based work.
• Meteojob: A broader recruitment platform covering roles across industries, experience levels, and regions. It can support both high-volume hiring and recruitment for specialised positions.

Employers may also combine specialist job boards with professional networks, recruitment agencies, university partnerships, and France’s public employment services to reach a wider candidate pool.

What does onboarding look like in France?

Onboarding in France starts with the employment contract, and the contract type determines how much flexibility you have.

What contract types are used in France?

A CDI (permanent employment contract), the standard open-ended contract, can technically be concluded orally. In practice, almost nobody does, because the DPAE filing and most conventions collectives require written terms anyway.

Everything else must be in writing:

• CDD (fixed-term contract). Article L1242-12 requires written form. A CDD without a written contract is requalified as a CDI.
• Part-time contracts. Article L3123-6 requires written form, and the absence of one creates a presumption of full-time employment.
• Temporary work contracts. Written form required.

What must a French employment contract include?

Standard terms across contract types:

• Identity of both parties
• Job title and work category, can be discussed collectively
• Working hours and their distribution
• Remuneration
• Paid leave entitlement
• Social security and pension scheme references
• Probation period, where applicable

A CDD carries additional mandatory clauses:

• The specific legal ground for using a fixed-term contract, since French law permits CDDs only for defined reasons
• The end date, or a minimum duration where the exact end date cannot be fixed
• The name and job description of the absent employee, where the CDD covers a replacement

What is the 24-hour part-time rule?

Part-time contracts are subject to a minimum of 24 hours per week under the Code du travail, though this is a default rather than an absolute. A branch-level collective agreement can set a different minimum, so the applicable convention collective should be checked first.

Statutory exceptions under Article L3123-7 include contracts of seven days or less, certain replacement CDDs, and temporary work contracts covering an absent employee. An employee can also request a shorter week in writing to manage personal constraints or combine multiple jobs, and employees under 26 pursuing studies can request a schedule compatible with their coursework.

How do you onboard a new employee in France?

The DPAE must be filed with URSSAF before the employee's first day. This is a legal precondition for employment, not an administrative afterthought, and failure to file is one of the markers of illegal work.

Beyond the contract and the DPAE, onboarding follows familiar ground:

French onboarding can involve different written-form rules for CDIs, CDDs, part-time arrangements, and temporary contracts, followed by DPAE filing, benefits enrollment, payroll preparation, and employment record administration.

Skuad’s Manage platform helps coordinate these employment workflows by supporting:

• Employment contract generation aligned with local labor laws across supported markets
• Statutory contribution workflows covering applicable social insurance and pension obligations
• Payroll processing in 70+ currencies with automated tax withholding and year-end reconciliation
• Administration of statutory benefits, paid leave, and parental entitlements in line with local requirements
• Termination and offboarding processes, including notice and severance calculations where required locally

What taxes apply to employers and employees in France?

Employment costs in France sit well above gross salary, and most of the gap comes from employer social contributions rather than from tax in the narrow sense. Two things are worth separating up front. Corporate tax applies to the entity. Social contributions and withholding apply per employee.

What are the employer's tax obligations?

Corporate tax

The standard corporate income tax rate is 25%, set by Article 219 of the Code. A reduced rate of 15% applies to the first EUR 42,500 of taxable profit for companies with turnover under EUR 10 million, provided the capital is at least 75% held by individuals.

A social surcharge of 3.3% applies to the portion of corporate tax above EUR 763,000.

The financial year commonly closes on 31 December, though companies may set a different year-end.

Social contributions

Employer social charges average roughly 45% of gross salary in 2026, before relief is applied. There is no single statutory rate. The effective figure depends on salary level, headcount, sector, the AT/MP accident risk rating for your activity, and location.

Since 1 January 2026, the Réduction Générale Dégressive Unique (RGDU) has replaced the former Fillon reduction and the reduced maladie and allocations familiales rates. It applies to salaries below 3 SMIC and tapers as pay rises. The practical effect is that lower salaries carry a meaningfully lighter employer burden than the headline range suggests.

Contributions are declared and remitted to URSSAF through the monthly DSN filing.

Payroll tax

The payroll tax is due only from employers not subject to VAT on their full turnover. In practice, that means banks, insurers, associations, holding companies, and certain healthcare organisations. Most companies hiring commercially in France never pay it.

Payroll tax generally applies to employers whose turnover is not fully subject to VAT. It is therefore most relevant to sectors such as banking, insurance, healthcare, associations, and certain holding companies. Most commercial businesses whose activities are fully subject to VAT do not pay it.

For 2026, the tax is calculated per employee on annual gross remuneration using three progressive rates: 4.25%, 8.50%, and 13.60%. The applicable thresholds were increased by 0.9% under the 2026 Finance Act. Employers must declare and pay the tax through their professional account on impots.gouv.fr.

What are the employee's tax obligations?

Income tax

France operates income tax deducted at source, so income tax is withheld at payroll. The employer applies a withholding rate supplied by the tax authority for each employee rather than calculating the scale directly. The progressive scale below determines the employee's final liability at annual assessment.

The 2026 scale, applying to 2025 income:

Rates are unchanged from the previous year. Only the thresholds moved, uprated by 0.9% under the 2026 finance law to offset inflation.

The scale applies per part of the family quotient, so an employee's household composition affects their liability. Two people on identical salaries can owe different amounts.

Social contributions

Employee social contributions run to roughly 22 to 25% of gross salary, covering health, pension, unemployment, and CSG/CRDS (Generalized Social Contribution and the Social Debt Repayment Contribution). The exact figure varies with cadre status and where the salary sits relative to the PMSS ceiling, which stands at EUR 3,925 per month in 2026.

How are bonuses handled in France?

Bonuses in France fall into three categories, and understanding the difference matters because two of them create binding obligations.

Discretionary bonuses

These are awarded at the employer's initiative, commonly to executives or employees in specialised roles. Care is needed here: a discretionary bonus paid consistently over several years on fixed criteria can become a usage d'entreprise, an established practice the employer cannot withdraw unilaterally without following a formal denunciation procedure.

Contractual bonuses

These are written into the employment contract and are enforceable as a term of employment.

Collectively agreed bonuses

These are set by the applicable convention collective. These bind the employer regardless of what the individual contract says, which is another reason identifying the correct convention collective early matters.

The 13th month falls into the second or third category depending on how it was established. It is a widespread practice in France rather than a statutory entitlement, and its payment schedule is set by the contract or the collective agreement rather than by law. Some agreements provide for a single year-end payment, others split it across the year.

France’s headline employer contribution range does not show the full cost of a hire because the final amount varies with salary, sector, headcount, location, relief eligibility, and the applicable contribution rates.

Use Skuad’s employee cost calculator to:

• Compare estimated employment cost with the employee’s gross salary
• Review the employer-side costs included in a hiring estimate
• Model monthly and annual employment cost scenarios
• Adjust compensation inputs to compare different hiring budgets
• Build a clearer cost estimate before selecting an employment model

Estimate the cost of your planned France hire before finalizing compensation or headcount budgets.

What laws govern employment in France?

French employment law is codified and generally protective of employees. The practical difficulty for a foreign employer is that obligations come from several sources at once, and the statute is only the floor.

What is the difference between contractors and employees in France?

The difference between an employee and an independent contractor in France is not determined by what the contract calls the relationship. Courts look at how the work is actually performed, and the decisive test is the lien de subordination, meaning whether the worker operates under the authority, direction, and control of the company.

A relationship involving subordination is considered an employment relationship, regardless of what the parties signed. A contractor who works fixed hours set by the company, uses company equipment, reports to a manager, and has no other clients will generally be treated as an employee if challenged.

What should an employment contract include?

An open-ended employment contract can in principle be concluded orally. Every other form must be in writing: fixed-term contracts, part-time contracts, and temporary work contracts. A fixed-term contract without written form is requalified as open-ended.

Where a contract is written, it typically sets out:

• The duration, for fixed-term contracts
• The terms of employment and job classification
• Trial period and notice period
• Total compensation, including any collective agreement minimums
• Termination conditions

These are not fully open to negotiation. The Labour Code and the applicable sector-level collective agreement set floors that a contract cannot fall below.

What are the penalties for misclassification?

Misclassification falls under concealed employment, a criminal offence rather than a civil matter. Penalties stack across several authorities.

• Criminal: A fine of up to EUR 45,000 and three years imprisonment for individuals, and up to EUR 225,000 for companies.
• Tax: Penalties of 5% to 40% plus 0.4% monthly interest, rising to 80% in cases of fraud or abuse of law.
• Social contributions: 100% of unpaid contributions plus a 5% late penalty and 0.2% monthly interest, with an additional 25% to 40% penalty possible.
• Pension: 100% of unpaid amounts plus a 5% late penalty and 0.2% monthly interest.

Beyond the financial exposure, a requalified contractor can claim the full employment rights they should have had, including back pay, paid leave, notice, and severance, calculated from the start of the relationship.

How is intellectual property protected in France?

The Intellectual Property Code is the primary legislation governing intellectual property rights in France.

Employee-created intellectual property generally vests in the employer where the work falls within the employee's duties. Contractor-created intellectual property does not transfer automatically and requires express assignment in the contract, which is a frequent gap in contractor arrangements.

What types of visas are available in France?

Nationals of the European Union, the European Economic Area, and Switzerland do not need a visa to live or work in France. The rules below apply to everyone else.

The employer applies for the work authorisation, not the employee. This is the step that determines the timeline, and it needs to be started well before the intended start date.

For many non-EU hires in France, the employer must apply for work authorization, may need to document a local recruitment search, and should account for processing periods that can extend the planned start date.

Skuad supports the work permit process on your behalf, including:

• Supporting work permit applications for foreign employees
• Helping coordinate visa documentation with relevant immigration authorities
• Assisting with residence or work permit conversions where required
• Helping track documentation requirements and application deadlines
• Helping keep teams aligned with permit renewal requirements

This gives HR and mobility teams a structured way to coordinate the documentation required before an international employee begins work.

Book a demo to discuss immigration support for a planned hire in France.

Who needs a work permit in France?

Nationals of the European Union, the European Economic Area, and Switzerland need no work authorisation. Certain residence permit holders are also exempt, including holders of a resident card, a talent passport, or a private and family life permit.

For everyone else, work authorisation must be obtained before employment begins. There is no minimum duration below which it is unnecessary.

Applications are filed through the government's digital portal for foreign nationals. Once approved, the employer and the employee both receive the authorisation, and the employee attaches it to their residence permit application.

For most roles, the employer must first show that no suitable candidate was available locally. In practice, this means advertising the position through the public employment service for at least three weeks and documenting the outcome. Roles on the official shortage occupation list are exempt from this step.

Processing typically runs one to two months. Practitioners generally advise starting three months before the intended start date, since an incomplete file can add weeks.

Authorisation is also required again when an employee changes employer, changes role, or renews a fixed-term contract.

How does payroll work in France?

Payroll in France is heavily regulated, and most of the compliance burden sits in recurring monthly filings rather than in initial setup.

What benefits are employers required to provide in France?

Statutory benefits in France are funded through the social security system, which both employers and employees contribute to. Health cover, pensions, family benefits, and unemployment insurance all run through it.

What health cover is required?

The social security system provides baseline health cover. Employers are separately required to offer supplementary health insurance and to fund at least half the premium. This is a mandatory employer cost, not an optional benefit.

How does the pension system work?

The system has three tiers.

What is the retirement age?

The legal minimum retirement age is 64 for those born from 1969 onward, reached through a phased increase from 62. The 2026 social security financing law suspended part of that schedule, reducing the age by three months for the 1964 to 1968 cohorts for pensions taking effect from 1 September 2026. Full rate is granted automatically at 67 regardless of contribution history.

What are workers' rights in France?

Statutory working hours

The legal working week is 35 hours. Hours beyond that are overtime rather than prohibited. The absolute limits are 48 hours in a single week and 44 hours averaged across 12 consecutive weeks. A single working day cannot exceed 10 hours, with a maximum daily span of 12 hours including breaks.

Rest periods

A 20-minute break is due once daily working time reaches six hours. Employees are also entitled to 11 consecutive hours of daily rest and 35 consecutive hours of weekly rest.

Minimum wage

Since 1 June 2026, the statutory minimum is EUR 12.31 gross per hour, or EUR 1,867.02 gross per month at 35 hours. It is reviewed each January and adjusted automatically mid-year if inflation crosses a set threshold, which is why it moved twice in 2026. Sector agreements frequently set higher minimums by job classification.

Overtime

The first eight overtime hours carry a 25% premium, and hours beyond that carry 50%. A collective agreement can set different rates but cannot go below 10%. Annual overtime volume is capped by agreement, and exceeding the cap triggers mandatory compensatory rest.

Probation periods

Statutory maxima depend on employee category, running roughly two months for non-managerial staff, three for supervisory, and four for managerial roles. Renewal once is possible where a sector agreement permits it.

What are the rules for remote work in France?

Complying with French labor law is an essential step in international hiring. Building a workable remote model on top of it matters just as much, and in France that model has legal requirements attached rather than being purely a matter of company preference.

Right to disconnect

Companies with 50 or more employees must negotiate terms covering employees' right to disconnect from digital tools outside working hours. If no agreement is reached, the employer must publish a charter setting out how the right is applied. This is a statutory obligation under the French Labor Code, not a best practice.

Remote work agreements

Remote work is normally established through a collective agreement or an employer charter drawn up after consulting the social and economic committee. Where neither exists, the employer and employee can formalize the arrangement by any means they agree on. Employees who work remotely hold the same rights as those working on site, including access to training, promotion, and workplace representation.

Costs and equipment

Employers are generally expected to cover professional expenses tied to remote work. Many sector-level collective bargaining agreements set specific allowances, so the applicable convention collective should be checked before setting a policy.

Technology and infrastructure

Remote collaboration depends on the tools behind it. That means communication and collaboration software, reliable connectivity, suitable hardware, and security measures that meet General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements for handling employee and client data.

Training and development

Train existing employees and managers on time management, digital literacy, and remote collaboration. Employers in France also carry a broader duty to maintain employees' ability to hold their position, which applies to remote workers as well.

Feedback and improvement

Collect feedback from employees on their remote experience, identify gaps, and adjust the policy. Where a collective agreement governs remote work, changes may need to go through the same negotiation route that created it.

How is salary determined in France?

France has no single standard salary. Pay is set through negotiation between employer and employee, within the range established by law and by the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

There are two levels for salary in France. The first is the national minimum wage (SMIC). The second is the minimum set by the sector-level collective bargaining agreement (convention collective) covering the employer's activity, which is frequently higher than SMIC. Nearly all private sector employees in France fall under one of these agreements, so checking which one applies is a required step rather than an optional one.

Actual pay varies with experience level, the nature of the work, the industry, and the location. According to INSEE data, average net pay for a full-time employee in the private sector is approximately EUR 2,700 per month, or around EUR 32,000 per year, though figures differ significantly by sector and seniority.

The French salary structure allows for a range of employee provisions, some of which are required by law. Limits on these provisions are tied to the negotiated salary and set out in the French Labor Code and the relevant collective agreement.

Tap into the latest salary trends and access compensation data with Skuad's salary insights tool.

What leave are employees entitled to in France?

Below are some of the main statutory leave entitlements in France.

Maternity Leave

Maternity leave in France is 16 weeks for the first and second child, and 26 weeks from the third child onward. For twins, the entitlement is 34 weeks, rising to 46 weeks for triplets or more.

The standard 16-week entitlement is split into six weeks before the expected birth date and ten weeks after. Employees may transfer up to three weeks of prenatal leave to the postnatal period, subject to medical approval. Taking at least eight weeks in total, including six after the birth, is mandatory.

Paternity Leave

Fathers and the mother's partner are entitled to 25 calendar days of paternity and childcare leave for a single birth, or 32 calendar days for multiple births. This sits alongside three days of birth leave paid by the employer.

The first four days of paternity leave must be taken immediately after the birth leave and are mandatory. The remaining days can be taken in up to two separate periods within six months of the birth.

Annual Paid Leave

Employees earn two and a half working days of paid leave for each month worked, totaling 30 working days, or five weeks, per year. No more than 24 working days may be taken consecutively during the main leave period. Collective agreements often provide more generous terms.

Sick Leave

Employees on sick leave receive daily benefits (indemnités journalières) from social security after a three-day waiting period, provided they meet minimum contribution and work-hour conditions. For ordinary illness, benefits are payable for up to 360 days across a rolling three-year period. For recognized long-term conditions (affections de longue durée), the period extends to three years.

Many collective agreements require the employer to top up these benefits, so the applicable convention collective determines what an employee actually receives.

Public Holidays

France recognizes 11 statutory public holidays nationally. Only Labor Day on 1 May is a mandatory paid day off for all employees under the Labor Code. Treatment of the remaining days depends on the collective agreement or company practice, though in practice most are observed.

The national public holidays are:

• New Year's Day (1 January)
• Easter Monday (6 April)
• Labor Day (1 May)
• Victory in Europe Day (8 May)
• Ascension Day (14 May)
• Whit Monday (25 May)
• Bastille Day (14 July)
• Assumption Day (15 August)
• All Saints' Day (1 November)
• Armistice Day (11 November)
• Christmas Day (25 December)

Easter Monday, Ascension Day, and Whit Monday fall on different dates each year, as they are tied to the Easter calendar.

Employees in the départements of Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, and Moselle (Alsace-Moselle) receive two additional public holidays: Good Friday and 26 December. These apply regionally only and are not observed across the rest of France.

What background checks are allowed in France?

France places tighter limits on pre-employment screening than many other markets. The governing principle under the French Labor Code is that any information requested from a candidate must have a direct and necessary link to the job on offer or to assessing professional capability.

Candidates must also be told in advance what methods will be used to assess them. Screening that goes beyond this exposes the employer to discrimination and data protection claims.

France’s proportionality rules mean pre-employment screening must stay directly relevant to the role, while candidates need advance notice of the assessment methods used. Applying a broad, standardized screening checklist can therefore increase discrimination and data protection exposure.

Skuad’s Background Checks platform helps coordinate candidate screening through:

• Candidate consent collection before verification begins
• Identity verification based on the required candidate information
• Previous and current employment verification
• Education and professional credential verification
• Professional reference checks
• Real-time visibility into screening outcomes and dedicated support for regional data-security requirements

Criminal record checks

Employers cannot obtain a candidate's criminal record directly from the authorities. A candidate may be asked to produce their own extract (bulletin n°3), but only where the role has a legal basis for the requirement. Certain regulated sectors, including work involving minors, security roles, and some financial positions, have statutory screening requirements that permit or mandate this.

Outside those cases, requesting criminal record information is difficult to justify, and the French data protection authority (CNIL) has been clear that employers may not systematically collect it. Check whether the specific role carries a legal screening requirement before asking.

Education and qualification verification

Employers may verify the diplomas, degrees, and certificates a candidate has claimed, and may contact the awarding institution to confirm them. The candidate should be aware that verification will take place. Verification must stay within what is relevant to assessing the candidate's ability to perform the role.

Employment history and references

Previous employment can be verified, though contacting a current employer without the candidate's consent is inadvisable. Any reference checking must relate to professional capability rather than personal circumstances.

What is not permitted?

There is no employer-accessible credit or financial history check in France. The files maintained by the Banque de France covering payment incidents and banking restrictions are available only to credit institutions, not to employers. Employers should not expect to run credit screening as part of hiring, including for finance and accounting roles.

Employers also may not collect information on health status, trade union membership, political or religious views, family situation, or ethnic origin during recruitment, per CNIL guidance on recruitment data.

How does termination work in France?

The French Labor Code sets out a structured dismissal process designed to ensure that terminations rest on justified grounds. An employer may dismiss for personal reasons or economic reasons.

Personal grounds relate to the individual employee, including inadequate performance, inability to carry out assigned duties, or misconduct. Economic grounds relate to the business, such as financial difficulty, technological change, or reorganization needed to safeguard competitiveness.

In both cases, the dismissal must rest on a real and serious cause. Dismissal without one exposes the employer to compensation set by a statutory scale.

Process requirements

The employer must invite the employee to a pre-dismissal interview by registered letter or hand delivery, giving at least five working days between receipt and the meeting. The employee may be accompanied. If the employer proceeds, the dismissal letter must be sent no earlier than two working days after the interview and must state the grounds relied on.

For economic dismissals, the employer must make genuine efforts to redeploy the employee within the company or group before proceeding.

Notice periods

Statutory minimum notice for dismissal depends on length of service. Collective agreements often set longer periods, so the applicable convention collective governs.

Notice is not required in cases of serious gross misconduct. Termination during the probationary period follows a separate and shorter regime, with notice ranging from 24 hours to one month depending on time served.

Severance pay

Employees with at least eight months of continuous service are entitled to statutory severance (indemnité de licenciement), calculated as a proportion of average monthly salary per year of service, with a higher rate applying beyond ten years. Current calculation rates are published by Service-Public.fr. Collective agreements frequently provide more. Severance is not payable where dismissal is for serious or gross misconduct.

Collective redundancies

An employer with 50 or more employees that plans to dismiss 10 or more employees within 30 days must draw up a job preservation plan, consult employee representatives, and submit the plan to the regional labor authority (DREETS). The DREETS (Regional Directorate for Economic Affairs, Employment, Labor and Solidarity) validates a plan agreed with unions or approves one adopted unilaterally, as set out in Ministry of Labour guidance on economic dismissals. Employees are notified once that step is complete.

Unemployment benefits

Unemployment insurance is administered by France Travail and funded through contributions, not paid by the employer at termination. Eligibility depends on prior contribution history and the reason for leaving, under the UNEDIC (National Professional Union for Employment in Industry and Trade) unemployment insurance rules.

Dismissals in France require justified grounds, a formal pre-dismissal process, prescribed waiting periods, and notice or severance calculations that may be increased by the applicable convention collective.

Skuad Shield supports employment-risk workflows by:

• Assisting with termination and offboarding, including notice and severance calculations where required locally
• Supporting employment contract generation aligned with local labor laws across supported markets
• Facilitating statutory contribution workflows covering applicable severance obligations
• Helping flag worker classification risk before it becomes an issue
• Helping administer outstanding statutory benefits and paid leave in line with local requirements

Book a demo to see how Skuad can support a structured offboarding process for employees in France.

Ready to hire your first employee in France?

France gives employees more protection than almost any market in Europe, and the obligations start before the first payslip. Mandatory collective bargaining agreements that vary by sector, a probation period you cannot extend without written consent, and a termination process that requires a formal preliminary meeting before any dismissal takes effect.

Skuad acts as the legal employer across 160+ countries, helping you issue contracts that meet local requirements, run payroll in 70+ currencies with the right deductions applied, meet statutory contribution obligations, and offboard people correctly when the time comes.

The next step is to map your French hiring plan against the entity question, and work out whether an EOR gets you there faster.

Book a demo to see how Skuad supports your first France hire

FAQs

1. What is an employer of record in France?

An employer of record in France is a locally registered company that becomes the legal employer of your worker holding a CDI or CDD contract, running payroll, filing DSN declarations, and paying URSSAF social contributions, while you direct the day-to-day work.

2. How much does an employer of record in France cost?

Pricing generally runs as a flat monthly fee per employee or a percentage of gross salary. The larger cost driver is employer social contributions, which average roughly 40 to 45% of gross salary before relief schemes apply, varying by salary level.

3. Can a foreign company hire in France without setting up a local entity?

Most foreign companies can typically hire through an EOR without incorporating, since the provider holds the French entity and files the DPAE registration. Registering a subsidiary is inexpensive in itself, but it brings ongoing payroll, accounting, and Labour Code obligations.

4. What are the penalties for misclassifying a worker in France?

Misclassification usually falls under travail dissimulé, a criminal offence under the Code du travail. Sanctions can reach EUR 45,000 and three years' imprisonment for individuals, and up to EUR 225,000 for companies, plus back-payment of social contributions.

5. How is an EOR in France different from portage salarial?

Most EOR providers operate through a French-owned entity that issues standard CDI or CDD contracts. Portage salarial is a separate framework already written into the Code du travail, which some providers use instead, though it suits different worker profiles.

6. How long does onboarding an employee in France through an EOR take?

Timelines vary by provider, but onboarding a French national generally takes a few business days once terms are agreed, since the EOR files the DPAE and sets up payroll. Non-EU hires needing work permits take longer.