Hire employees in France using an Employer of Record

France runs on a 35-hour legal week, a sector collective agreement for almost everyone, and a payroll split into separate contributions, each with its own ceiling. None of that stops you hiring here. It does mean a French hire needs French paperwork from the first day.

Most of what follows comes from Service-Public.fr, the French government's official rights portal, and from Urssaf, the body that collects social contributions. The full list of sources is at the end of this guide, so you can check any figure before you make an offer.

How can you hire in France?

You have three routes: open your own French company, engage a contractor, or employ through an employer of record (EOR). The right one depends on how many people you need and how you plan to work with them.

Your own entity makes sense when France is a long-term market with a large team. You register the company, then run French payroll, the monthly social declarations and the employment rules below yourself.

Contractors are fine for genuinely independent work. France decides employee status on how the work actually runs, not on what the contract calls it.

The test is subordination: if you give instructions, check the work and can sanction the person, the "contractor" label won't protect you. If the role is a real freelance engagement, Hire with Columbus can run the contractor agreement and payments from $22.50 per contractor per month.

An EOR employs the person in France on your behalf. You manage the work, and the EOR holds the French contract, payroll and filings. Hire with Columbus does this from $179/month per employee, and onboarding typically takes 2 to 3 days.

One thing to ask any provider in France: which legal arrangement do they use? Portage salarial is a separate French scheme for qualified, autonomous professionals who find their own clients, and a portage assignment with one client is capped at 36 months. It is not meant for a permanent role that you supervise.

What goes into a French employment contract?

The open-ended contract, the CDI, is the default. A full-time CDI doesn't strictly have to be written down, but you still owe the employee prescribed information about the job, so put it in writing anyway.

A written contract is required for fixed-term (CDD) and part-time work, among other cases. It must be in French. A foreign employee can ask for a translation, but the French version is the one that counts.

Fixed-term contracts (CDD)

A CDD needs a precise, lawful temporary reason, such as replacing an absent employee. It can't be used to fill a role that is part of your normal, ongoing activity. The general maximum is 18 months, with different limits for some reasons and some collective agreements.

If you aren't sure the role is temporary, use a CDI.

Probation

Probation on a CDI has a statutory ceiling that depends on the employee's category. One renewal is possible only when an extended sector agreement allows it, the contract provides for it and the employee agrees in time.

A CDD has shorter limits based on its length.

The collective agreement

Most French employees fall under a convention collective for their sector. The agreement can set higher minimum pay, longer notice, better sick pay or extra leave, and where it is more favourable than the labour code, it wins.

So before you set salary and terms, find out which agreement applies to the employer's activity. The statutory figures in this guide are the floor, not the whole picture.

Non-compete clauses

A post-employment non-compete is only valid if it protects a legitimate interest, is limited in time, place and activity, and pays the employee financial compensation after they leave. A clause with no payment attached isn't enforceable.

What has to happen before the first day?

France has a short list of steps that must be done before, or soon after, someone starts. Agree up front who handles each one.

• Pre-hire declaration (DPAE). It has to reach the social-security body before work or the trial period starts, and no earlier than 8 days before the hire.
• Right to work. Non-European hires may need a work authorisation. Where a residence permit must be checked, the request normally goes to the prefecture at least 2 working days before the start date. An EOR contract is not itself permission to work.
• Health visit. The standard information and prevention visit with occupational health is due within 3 months of starting. Night workers and under-18s need it before they start.
• Workplace health plan (mutuelle). Private employers generally have to offer collective supplementary health insurance and pay at least 50% of the premium. This sits on top of statutory contributions.

How does payroll and taxation work?

Salary is paid once a month, at the same point each month. The law doesn't fix a payment date.

There's no statutory 13th-month salary either, but a bonus or 13th month becomes compulsory once it's in the contract, the collective agreement or established company practice. So check before you promise one, or rule one out.

Minimum wage and average pay

The adult minimum wage (SMIC) is €12.31 gross per hour from 1 June 2026, which is €1,867.02 a month on the 35-hour week. Mayotte, young workers and training contracts have their own rates, and a higher collective-agreement minimum always applies first.

For context, INSEE, the national statistics office, reports average full-time-equivalent private-sector pay of €3,602 gross a month in 2024. That's a national mean, not a salary benchmark for a specific role.

The social-security ceiling

Many French contributions are charged only up to a monthly ceiling, the plafond de la sécurité sociale. For 2026 it's €4,005 a month, or €48,060 a year.

Some charges use the ceiling, some use a multiple of it, and some apply to all pay. That's why the percentage you pay changes with salary.

Employer contributions

There is no single French employer rate. Here are the main general rates Urssaf publishes for 2026, before any relief:

Accident insurance and smaller employer levies are added on top.

The compulsory Agirc-Arrco supplementary pension is separate again. For 2026 the standard rates are 7.87% on pay up to the ceiling (4.72% employer, 3.15% employee) and 21.59% on pay between one and eight times the ceiling (12.95% employer, 8.64% employee).

Since 1 January 2026, the general employer relief, the RGDU, reduces contributions on pay below 3 times the SMIC reference. So the real cost of a low or mid salary is lower than the table suggests.

If you want one number for a rough budget, the OECD estimates the average employer contribution in France at 36.3% of gross pay, in its Taxing Wages data. That's an OECD estimate across workers, not a quote for your hire. For a salary-specific figure, use the France employer cost calculator.

Employee deductions

Employees pay their own share, taken from gross pay. The basic pension alone is 6.90% up to the ceiling plus 0.40% on all pay. The CSG and CRDS social levies, the employee share of Agirc-Arrco and of the health plan come on top, each with its own base.

Income tax

France withholds income tax at source (prélèvement à la source). The employer applies a rate set by the tax administration for each employee, so you don't calculate it yourself. The rate reflects the employee's household, because French tax is assessed per family share (quotient familial).

The published 2026 scale, which applies to 2025 income per family share:

Getting to work

Employers must cover 50% of a public-transport or bike-hire pass used to get to work. Employees on less than half time get a proportional share. It's easy to miss in a budget because it isn't a payroll tax.

How does the 35-hour week work?

The 35 hours is the legal full-time reference, not a cap. People can work more, but hours above 35 are overtime, and the general limits are 10 hours a day, 48 hours in any week and an average of 44 hours over 12 weeks.

Unless a collective agreement sets something else, overtime pays 25% extra for the first 8 hours in a week and 50% after that. An agreement can lower the premium, but never below 10%.

Rest is protected too. Adults get at least 11 consecutive hours off each day and 35 consecutive hours off each week.

The forfait jours option

Autonomous managers are often hired on a forfait jours: a set number of working days a year instead of hours, normally up to 218. It needs a collective agreement that allows it and the employee's signed consent, and daily and weekly rest still apply.

What leave do employees get?

Paid holiday

Employees earn 2.5 working days of leave per month, which adds up to 30 days a year. France counts those on a six-day week, so 30 days is five weeks, or 25 working days if you count Monday to Friday. Public holidays come on top.

Public holidays in 2026

The general calendar has 11 public holidays. Alsace-Moselle and the overseas departments add more.

1 May is normally a paid day off, and if someone is allowed to work it, they get double pay. Pay for the other holidays depends on the collective agreement and statutory conditions, and a holiday date doesn't automatically give every employee an extra paid day off.

Sick pay

Social security pays 50% of capped daily earnings after 3 waiting days. Employees with at least a year's service usually also get an employer top-up after 7 days, to 90% of pay and then two-thirds, for periods that grow with service. Many collective agreements pay more.

Family leave

Maternity leave rises to 26 weeks for a third child and longer for multiple births. Parental leave needs a year's service and normally ends by the child's third birthday.

Employees also get paid days off for family events: 4 days for their wedding or PACS and generally 3 days when a spouse, parent or sibling dies, with more for the loss of a child.

How does ending employment work?

This is where France differs most from at-will countries. A dismissal needs a real and serious reason and a set procedure: a written invitation, a meeting no sooner than 5 working days later, then a reasoned letter no sooner than 2 working days after the meeting. Notice only starts once that letter is sent.

Notice and severance

Statutory notice from the employer is 1 month for service between 6 months and 2 years, and 2 months from 2 years. Below 6 months, the collective agreement or local practice decides.

Statutory severance needs 8 months' unbroken service. The minimum is a quarter of a month's pay per year of service for the first 10 years, then a third of a month per year after that.

These are statutory minimums. Gross misconduct can remove severance, and a collective agreement or contract with better terms takes priority.

Agreed termination (rupture conventionnelle)

France also has a formal way to end a CDI by mutual agreement. After signing, each side has 15 calendar days to withdraw, then the labour administration has 15 working days to review it. A minimum termination payment applies, so it isn't a free exit.

What changes as your team grows?

Some obligations depend on headcount. A works council, the CSE, is required once the employer has at least 11 employees for 12 months in a row. Mandatory profit sharing generally starts after the employer has had 50 employees for 5 years.

Through an EOR, the count that matters is the employing company's, not just your own hires. Ask your provider which thresholds apply.

What has changed recently?

• 1 January 2026: higher contribution ceiling. The monthly social-security ceiling rose to €4,005, from €3,925 in 2025.
• 1 January 2026: new employer relief. The RGDU reform replaced the former reduced health and family contribution rates for most employers.
• 1 June 2026: minimum wage increase. The SMIC went to €12.31 an hour, or €1,867.02 a month.
• 1 July 2026: additional birth leave. Each eligible parent can take 1 or 2 extra months after maternity, paternity or adoption leave.

How Hire with Columbus handles hiring in France

Hire with Columbus becomes the legal employer in France, so the French contract, the DPAE, monthly payroll, Urssaf and Agirc-Arrco contributions and tax withholding run through us. You decide who to hire and manage their work.

Pricing is from $179/month per employee, and contractors from $22.50/month. Onboarding typically takes 2 to 3 days once your candidate has accepted. See the full pricing, run a salary through the France cost calculator, or get started when you have someone in mind.