Your Guide to Hiring Employees and
Contractors in France
Capital city
Paris
Currency
Euro
Language(s)
French
Ease of doing business
Very easy
Payroll frequency
Monthly
Employer taxes
29.50% – 31.30%
Payroll
Monthly Payroll
All employee payments will be made in equal monthly installments on or before the last working day of each calendar month.
Minimum Wage Requirements:
The base minimum wage is EUR 1,602.12 per month and will vary according to the Collective Labor Agreement of the company.
For employees hired under the EOR model, the following minimum wages will apply:
Junior job position – EUR 2,400
Senior job position – EUR 2,571
Fixed day rate – EUR 2,914
Individual Income Tax:
The individual income tax ranges up to 45%. Income tax is calculated according to progressive rates. Multiple additional factors may impact overall rates, such as household status and the number of children.
Up to EUR 10,225
Tax rate: 0%
Up to EUR 26,070
Tax rate: 11%
Up to EUR 74,545
Tax rate: 30%
Up to EUR 160,336
Tax rate: 41%
Over EUR 160,336
Tax rate: 45%
Employer Cost:
The employer cost is generally estimated at between 42% to 48% of the employee salary.
- Sickness Maternity Invalidity Death: 7-13%
- Supplementary Incapacity Invalidity Death: 1.5%
- Workplace accidents-occupational illnesses: 1%
- Social Security capped: 8.55%
- Social Security uncapped: 1.90%
- Family benefits: 3.45%
- Unemployment insurance: 4.24%
- Retirement pension: 6.22%
- Other contributions: 1.59%
- Occupational Medicine: 0.41% (plus a fixed fee of EUR 9.53)
- Complementary health benefit: EUR 42.50 (the exact cost will be adjusted during onboarding)
- Medical Exam Fee
- One-time fee EUR 50
- Monthly fee EUR 4.90
- Electronic Fee
- Monthly fee EUR 3.00
Working Hours
Work Week
Monday to Friday.
Overtime Pay & Maximum Hours
All work above the standard 35 hours a week is to be paid as overtime and is regulated by collective agreements and contracts
Employment Termination
French employers in general have the following ways to terminate the employment relationship:
- Termination by mutual consent through a settlement agreement;
- Dismissal for economic reasons, for example structural, economic and technological changes;
- 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.
Probation periods
The maximum length of a probationary period is 8 months. Collective bargaining agreements also play a role here.