How to hire employees in France through an employer of record (EOR) [2024]

Hiring in France? This nation has the seventh-largest economy in the world, making it an attractive option for employers looking to expand their business internationally. However, it’s perhaps best known for its strong worker protections and strict collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) at all levels of government. The result? This makes it a great option for workers, and you’ll find an excellent and highly skilled workforce in this nation.

If you’ve decided to move on from simply working with French contractors and want to hire full-time employees, you’ll either need to establish a legal entity or hire people through an employer of record (EOR).

While registering a legal entity in France is surprisingly fast—it takes just two weeks—it’s the labor and tax laws you’ll need to watch out for. These complex pieces of legislation take years to master, and you’ll face severe penalties if you’re not in compliance. 

Alternatively, you can use an employer of record, which handles French payroll, tax, and compliance considerations. Through Rippling EOR, you can start hiring and working with employees in France quickly and compliantly.

Learn more about What is an Employer of Record (EOR)?

This step-by-step guide will explain how to hire employees through an EOR in France.

Key considerations when hiring in France

French employment law is complex, especially for first-time employers in the country. While the French Labor Code determines most employment laws, collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) also play a pivotal role in labor standards. Here are some key hiring considerations to keep in mind:

• Employment contracts: While fixed-term and part-time contracts exist, the most common type of work contract is permanent. Fixed-term contracts (or CDD) are only authorized under specific circumstances.
• CBAs: Collective bargaining agreements safeguard more than 95% of French employees. These agreements are reached between employers and unions and take place at the national, industry, and company levels. This means that employee conditions at the company level may not always reflect national French labor laws.
• Working hours: The country is known for its 35-hour workweek, and a workday can’t exceed 10 hours. Any hours above the standard must be paid as overtime and in accordance with your company’s CBA.
• Leave entitlements: France emphasizes work-life balance and offers generous leave entitlements, including six months of paid sick leave, 16 weeks of maternity leave, 11 public holidays, and five weeks of annual leave.

Step by step: How to hire through an employer of record in France

Step #1: Decide between a French EOR and a legal entity

First, you’ll need to decide if you want to hire French employees through an EOR or take the proper steps to register your own legal entity.

• Legal entity in France. Setting up a local entity from scratch usually requires registration with local authorities, selecting the right tax regime for your business, submitting a dossier to the Commercial Court, and issuing a VAT number, among numerous other steps.
• French EOR. An EOR is a third-party service that operates as an employer on a company’s behalf—meaning you don’t need to set up your own entity. As well as allowing you to hire full-time French employees, EORs handle all the legal requirements for complying with French laws for payroll, contracts, and benefits. EOR services also include calculating and withholding taxes, onboarding and managing employees, and running payroll.

Alternatively, you can use an employer of record, which handles French payroll, tax, and compliance considerations. Through Rippling EOR’s entities, you can start hiring and working with employees in France quickly and compliantly.

This step-by-step guide will explain how to hire employees through an EOR in France.

While registering a legal entity in France is surprisingly fast—it takes just two weeks—it’s the labor and tax laws you’ll need to watch out for. These complex pieces of legislation take years to master, and you’ll face severe penalties if you’re not in compliance.

Most EOR platforms are not HRISs (human resource information systems). They were built with the express purpose of hiring and paying people internationally. They aggregate local payroll providers in every country and manually transmit your payroll files to them. This approach comes with many limitations.

Normally, setting up a corporate entity abroad is a long, expensive process. But through Rippling EOR’s entities, you can start hiring and working with people abroad quickly and compliantly.

Step #3: Hiring and onboarding your French employees

The next step after selecting an EOR that works in France is onboarding your new employees. This isn’t very difficult. All you’ll need is the following:

• Name (matching the account where you’ll deposit their pay)
• Date of birth and date of hire
• Contact information
• Social Security number
• Bank account information
• Amount to be paid in Euros (EUR)

One of the most important parts of onboarding is the employment contract. This is where you’ll need to closely follow the employment laws and benefits set down by collective bargaining agreements and various French agencies.

An EOR can automatically localize and distribute employment agreements. Every French hire will have a legally compliant employment contract offering statutory requirements for probationary periods, working hours, minimum wage, benefits, and termination policies like severance pay and notice periods.

Example: Let’s say you hire a couple of full-time employees in France. After you’ve taken the necessary steps to properly classify them as an employee, you’ll need to draw up their employment contracts. These will likely include a collective bargaining agreement section, information about their position—including their job title and duties—and their expected working hours, and information about the employee benefits they’ll receive. You should also include the length of the probation period, your willingness to adhere to France’s famous 35-hour working week, and annual leave policies.

When you use an EOR in France, it will generate legally compliant employment contracts that ensure all of the strict French employment laws have been adhered to.

Rippling EOR automatically flags non-compliant sick leave policies and tells you how to fix them. If you'd like to give your employees more leave to match policies in other countries, you can do that too.

Step #4: Run payroll

For the A-to-Z on global payroll, read our comprehensive guide to running international payroll for employees in France.

After both you and the new employee have signed the employment contract, an EOR will pay your French employees in EUR and withhold the legally required taxes from their paychecks. These include, but are not limited to:

• Income tax
• Health insurance
• Maternity insurance
• Unemployment insurance
• Pension plan contributions
• Autonomy Solidarity Contribution (CSA)
• Wage Guarantee Insurance (AGS)

Keep in mind many EOR companies are payroll aggregators, meaning they pay employees via third-party vendors. This makes for slower processing times and headaches when it comes to managing international employees under the same system.

Rippling EOR, by contrast, simplifies global employment by using native payroll software to send funds and handle taxes, allowing you to pay French employees alongside your local workforce—all within a single pay run.

Below is a preview of how Rippling’s one-click global payroll system works:

Frequently asked questions about hiring through an EOR in France

How much does an EOR cost?

The prices of EORs aren’t uniform, but the methods of payment are generally one of two choices:

• Fixed monthly fee per employee
• Percentage of payroll plus applicable taxes

You should expect both methods to have additional administrative costs, charges for onboarding employees, and costs for supplemental features.

Note that you don’t need to use an EOR for your entire workforce. You can use one for just some of your employees, and you’ll only be charged for those individuals.

Why use an employer of record in France?

A French employer of record acts as the legal employer for a client company, allowing that company to hire in France without needing to set up a local entity. Not only does this streamline the hiring process and help you access top talent quickly, but you can also reduce your administrative workload. An EOR assumes responsibility for compliance tasks, such as creating employment contracts, benefits administration, calculating social security contributions, running payroll, and filing taxes—so you get more time back for high-value strategic work.

Additionally, an EOR offers a more cost-effective approach to international hiring. Since you don’t need to invest in a legal entity in France (or any other country where you hire), you can put those resources toward building out your global team.

What is the difference between an EOR and PEO?

A professional employer organization, or a PEO, will co-employ your workforce with you. They’ll take responsibility for administrative tasks, including payroll, compliance, and filing payroll taxes. You’ll be jointly responsible for your employees. With a PEO, you can’t hire workers in other countries if you haven’t registered a legal entity there.

An EOR does permit you to hire internationally without setting up a legal entity. Also, it’s the sole employer of whatever portion of your workforce you use it for, and it will assume all the associated liabilities.

Does an EOR protect your sensitive and confidential information?

You can better protect yourself and your business against data breaches by seeking out EORs that prioritize data protection. Top-quality employer of record services will be compliant with the industry-standard privacy regulations in France, have a secure infrastructure that is continuously updated and have carefully vetted all of its IT personnel.

For an additional layer of protection, establish a data processing agreement (DPA) with a payroll service. This agreement should cover you legally and mandate the service use as high-quality, secure privacy practices.

Does an EOR help with French tax filings?

An EOR can automatically calculate and file your taxes in France. Rippling, for instance, is an authorized payroll provider by the French tax authorities. It will take care of both employer and employee contributions. For the latter, it will deduct the proper income tax and social security taxes from paychecks. For the former, it will ensure you stay compliant with the winding system of French tax requirements. For employers, these include, but are not limited to:

• Health insurance, including private health insurance
• Pension insurance
• Taxable benefits
• Life insurance (prevoyance)
• Work accident insurance

Depending on where you’re located and/or how many employees you have, you may be required to pay transportation tax, declare the number of disabled workers under your employ, and an apprenticeship tax.

EORs will also ensure all full-time employees are paid monthly and that each paycheck contains the mandatory information. This includes:

• Both the employee’s gross and net payment amounts
• Tax exemption amounts
• The number of regular hours plus any overtime the employee worked during that pay period, including their rates of compensation for both
• Social tax liabilities for both the company and the employee

Employers are responsible for deducting these taxes from their full-time employees’ paychecks.

Now, let’s review some of the other contributions both you and your employee are expected to deduct from payroll.

*The amount you pay in work accident insurance will vary each year based on the company’s size, degree of risk, and other factors. The French Pension and Occupational Health Insurance Fund will tell you what your tax rate is each year.

Head spinning? French tax laws are confusing to anyone new to them, which is why it’s crucial to hire an expert. The French are known for their incredibly severe penalties for non-compliance. In some cases, French auditors have issued fines as high as 80% to 100% of the unpaid amount to companies who did not follow the complex tax laws.

What are the mandatory benefits for French employees?

French CBAs have provided generous statutory benefits for employees. These include:

• Pensions
• Healthcare
• Paid overtime
• Parental leave (including paternity and maternity leave)
• Statutory annual leave
• Statutory public holidays (there are 11 annual public holidays in France, including Bastille Day, Ascension Day, Christmas Day, and Easter Monday)
• Paid sick leave
• Unemployment insurance
• Providence fund (includes life and disability insurance)

For more information on mandatory benefits in France, read our complete guide.

Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal, and accounting advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.