France — Hiring & Payroll Setup

A foreign company hiring employees in France may create a permanent establishment (PE) — a taxable presence that subjects the company to French corporate income tax on profits attributable to the PE, even if the company has not registered a French entity. The PE determination turns on whether the foreign company "operates an enterprise in France" (exploite une entreprise en France) under Article 209-I of the Code général des impôts (CGI), read together with France's tax treaties, which follow the OECD Model Tax Convention Article 5.

## Domestic law: Article 209-I CGI and the three PE pathways

Under Article 209-I CGI, a foreign company is subject to French corporate income tax on profits realized "in enterprises operated in France" (dans les entreprises exploitées en France) or whose taxation is attributed to France by treaty. French administrative case law recognizes three pathways to a taxable presence: (1) a fixed place of business (établissement) in France; (2) a dependent agent (représentant dépendant) in France who habitually exercises authority to conclude contracts on behalf of the foreign company; or (3) a complete commercial cycle (cycle commercial complet) performed in France — all essential phases of a commercial operation (sourcing, production, sale) carried out in French territory, even if one step occurs abroad.

The French tax administration uses a bundle-of-indicators (faisceau d'indices) analysis, examining:

• physical premises regularly used in France (office, co-working space, warehouse);
• employees hired under local French contracts or seconded to France;
• French bank accounts, business cards, or email addresses;
• sales functions, marketing activities, or post-sale services performed in France; and
• contract signature, negotiation, or pricing decisions made by France-based personnel.

Hiring employees in France — especially those with commercial authority or customer-facing roles — is a strong indicator under the bundle-of-indicators test. Even without a registered entity, the French tax authorities may deem a PE to exist based on the operational reality.

## Treaty framework: OECD Model Article 5

When a tax treaty applies (France has comprehensive treaty coverage with EU/EEA states and major trading partners), the PE definition in the treaty governs. Most French treaties follow OECD Model Article 5, which defines a PE as "a fixed place of business through which the business of an enterprise is wholly or partly carried on." The U.S.–France Convention, for example, incorporates the OECD Model definition at Article 5, specifying that a PE includes "a place of management; a branch; an office; a factory; a workshop" and that a construction site or project constitutes a PE only if it lasts more than twelve months.

Fixed-place PE requires (i) a fixed location (office, branch, factory), (ii) a degree of permanence, and (iii) business activity carried on through that place. A single employee working from home can constitute a fixed place if the home office is at the disposal of the enterprise and business activity is regularly performed there.

Dependent-agent PE arises under treaty Article 5(5) if a person habitually concludes contracts, or habitually plays the principal role leading to the conclusion of contracts that are routinely concluded without material modification by the enterprise, in the name of the foreign company. France takes an expansive view: in the Conversant ruling (Conseil d'État, 11 December 2020, no. 420174), the French Supreme Administrative Court held that a French subsidiary providing sales-support services to its Irish parent could constitute a dependent-agent PE when the subsidiary's activity went beyond preparatory or auxiliary functions and effectively secured contracts for the parent.

## Practical implications: EOR vs. entity

Many foreign companies use an Employer of Record (EOR) structure to hire in France without creating a PE. Under an EOR arrangement, a third-party EOR becomes the legal employer on paper and handles payroll, social contributions, and employment-law compliance, while the foreign company directs the work. An EOR does not eliminate PE risk if the employee's activities — particularly sales, negotiation, or contract authority — are attributed to the foreign company. The French tax administration looks to economic substance: if the foreign company benefits from the employee's revenue-generating activity and exercises effective control, a PE may still be deemed to exist.

Registering a French legal entity (SAS, SARL, or branch) provides certainty and simplifies payroll setup, but triggers full French corporate income tax on the entity's profits, annual financial-statement filing, and audit requirements for larger entities. The choice between EOR and entity depends on the scale of activity, the employee's role (back-office support vs. sales), and the duration of the French presence.

## Timing and burden of proof

There is no bright-line employee count or revenue threshold. A single employee with commercial authority can trigger PE. The burden of proof in a tax audit rests on the taxpayer to demonstrate that the French activity was preparatory or auxiliary, or that contracts were concluded and negotiated outside France. French tax authorities can assess back taxes for up to six years for an undeclared PE, plus penalties of up to 80% (or 100% if profits were distributed to an unidentified beneficiary) and interest.

Source: Code général des impôts, art. 209-I Source: U.S.–France Income Tax Convention, Technical Explanation, art. 5

French employment law distinguishes sharply between the contrat à durée indéterminée (CDI) — the permanent, indefinite-term contract — and the contrat à durée déterminée (CDD) — the fixed-term contract. The CDI is the forme normale et générale de la relation de travail (the normal and general form of the employment relationship) under Article L1221-2 of the Code du travail, and French law presumes any employment relationship to be a CDI unless the parties have explicitly agreed to a CDD and satisfied strict formal and substantive requirements. The distinction is foundational: hiring on a CDD triggers mandatory written-contract rules and narrow lawful-grounds tests, while a full-time CDI may be entered into orally (though written contracts remain advisable in practice).

## CDI: no mandatory written contract for full-time employees (but written documentation now required)

Under Article L1221-1 of the Code du travail, le contrat de travail est soumis aux règles du droit commun and peut être établi selon les formes que les parties contractantes décident d'adopter — an employment contract is subject to the rules of ordinary contract law and may be established in whatever form the parties choose. For a full-time CDI, French law does not impose a mandatory written contract. The employment relationship can be created orally or implicitly, proven by any means (pay slips, emails, witness testimony).

However, since 1 December 2023, the employer must provide the employee hired under a CDI with written information about the main elements of the employment relationship. This requirement implements the EU Directive 2019/1152 on transparent and predictable working conditions. Article L1221-5-1 of the Code du travail (created by Loi n° 2023-171 of 9 March 2023) requires the employer to provide a written document — or a set of documents — containing specified information. The implementing decree (Décret n° 2023-1307 of 28 November 2023) and regulatory articles (Articles R1221-34 and following) list the required details, which include the identity of the parties, place of work, job title or description, start date, trial-period duration and conditions, components of pay and payment frequency, normal working hours, paid-leave entitlement, training rights, and termination-procedure details. The employer must provide the core information during the first week of work and supplementary information within one month. Although this is not technically a "contract," it serves a similar documentary function and is enforceable: under Article L1221-5-1, an employee who does not receive the required information may put the employer on notice (mise en demeure) and, if the employer does not comply, bring the matter before the labour court (conseil de prud'hommes).

In practice, even though a full-time CDI may be formed orally, written CDI contracts are near-universal among employers hiring in France — both French and foreign. A written contract avoids proof problems, defines the trial period (which must be in writing to be enforceable under Article L1221-23), specifies the applicable convention collective (collective bargaining agreement), and includes clauses such as mobility, non-competition, and intellectual-property assignment that must be written to be valid under French case law.

## Part-time contracts must be in writing

A part-time CDI must be in writing. Under Article L3123-6 of the Code du travail, an oral or unsigned part-time CDI is deemed to be a full-time CDI, exposing the employer to back-pay claims for the difference between part-time and full-time hours.

## CDD: mandatory written contract with precise motif, or the contract becomes a CDI

A CDD may be used only for une tâche précise et temporaire (a precise and temporary task) and only in narrowly enumerated circumstances set out in Article L1242-2 of the Code du travail, notably: replacement of an absent employee; temporary increase in activity (accroissement temporaire d'activité); seasonal work (emplois à caractère saisonnier); employment of persons without a job under government-supported programs; or, in limited sectors, work of an inherently temporary nature covered by an extended collective agreement. Article L1242-1 prohibits a CDD from being used to fill a position tied to the normal, permanent activity of the company (ne peut avoir ni pour objet ni pour effet de pourvoir durablement un emploi lié à l'activité normale et permanente de l'entreprise).

Article L1242-12 requires every CDD to be in writing (établi par écrit) and to state the precise reason (comporte la définition précise de son motif) justifying the use of a fixed-term contract. A défaut, il est réputé conclu pour une durée indéterminée — failing which, the contract is deemed to be a CDI. The written contract must be transmitted to the employee no later than two business days after hiring (Article L1242-13), and it must specify the information required by Article L1242-12 and the regulatory provisions at Articles D1242-1 et seq., including:

• the precise reason (motif précis) for using a CDD (replacement, temporary surge, seasonal need, etc.);
• the name and job title of the person being replaced, if the CDD is concluded to replace an absent employee;
• the start date and, if the contract has a fixed term, the end date (or the objective event triggering termination if the contract does not have a calendar end date);
• any trial-period duration;
• the applicable collective agreement;
• the amount of remuneration and its components;
• the job title and description of the work; and
• the workplace location.

A CDD may be renewed once, for a combined maximum term that depends on the reason for the CDD — generally 18 months, up to 24 months for certain replacement situations under Articles L1242-8 and L1243-13.

## Consequences of CDD non-compliance: requalification as CDI and criminal penalties

If the employer fails to provide a written CDD or omits the required motif précis, the employee may bring an action before the labour court to have the contract requalified as a CDI (requalification en CDI), entitling the employee to the greater protections of indefinite-term employment (including statutory notice, severance, and unfair-dismissal protection under Articles L1232-1 and L1235-1). Requalification is one of the most common grounds for labour-court litigation in France and typically results in damages awarded to the employee; the quantum varies by case but often reflects several months' salary for wrongful treatment as a fixed-term worker.

Additionally, the employer who uses a CDD or temporary-work contract (intérim) without a written agreement faces a criminal fine of up to €3,750 (€7,500 for repeat offences) under Article L1248-6 of the Code du travail.

## Language requirement: all written contracts must be in French

Whether CDI or CDD, any employment contract drawn up in writing must be drafted in French under Article L1221-3 of the Code du travail. When a job title or technical term has no French equivalent, the contract must include une explication en français du terme étranger — a French-language explanation of the foreign term. A foreign employee may request a translation of the contract into their own language, but the French version governs. If the employer relies on clauses in a contract written in breach of Article L1221-3, those clauses are unenforceable against the employee (l'employeur ne peut se prévaloir à l'encontre du salarié auquel elles feraient grief).

## Practical implications for foreign employers

For a foreign company hiring its first employee in France, the choice between CDI and CDD is strategic and compliance-sensitive. A CDD offers apparent flexibility but is hedged by strict formal requirements, narrow lawful grounds, and severe penalties for non-compliance. A CDI provides certainty, aligns with the French legal presumption, and avoids requalification risk, though it requires the employer to follow the statutory dismissal process (pre-dismissal interview, written notice with stated grounds, statutory notice period) to terminate. Most foreign employers hiring business-critical roles in France use the CDI form, reserving the CDD for genuine temporary needs such as maternity-leave replacement, a discrete project with a defined end, or a seasonal surge.

Source: Code du travail, art. L1221-1 Source: Code du travail, art. L1221-2 Source: Code du travail, art. L1221-3 Source: Code du travail, art. L1221-5-1 (LOI n° 2023-171 du 9 mars 2023) Source: Code du travail, art. L1242-1 and L1242-2 (CDD lawful grounds) Source: Code du travail, art. L1242-12 (CDD written requirement) Source: Code du travail, art. L1242-13 (CDD transmission deadline)

Before an employee may commence work in France, the employer must complete two mandatory administrative steps that together trigger social-security coverage, payroll registration, and—for a first-time employer in France—assignment of a SIRET business identifier. These are: (1) registration with URSSAF (Union de recouvrement des cotisations de sécurité sociale et d'allocations familiales), the French social-security collection agency, and (2) submission of the déclaration préalable à l'embauche (DPAE), the pre-hiring declaration that must be filed for every employee no later than the day before work begins. Failure to complete either step before the employee's start date exposes the employer to administrative penalties and criminal liability for undeclared work (travail dissimulé).

## URSSAF registration: foreign employers and the Foreign Companies Service

A foreign employer with no registered establishment in France that hires one or more employees in France must register with the URSSAF Foreign Companies Service (Service Firmes Étrangères, or SFE). Under Article L243-1-2 of the Code de la sécurité sociale, any employer whose employees are covered by the French social-security scheme is liable for the associated contributions, even if the employer has no French legal entity or fixed place of business. The URSSAF Foreign Companies Service acts as the single contact for non-French undertakings employing individuals in France, handling both social-security contribution collection and payroll formalities.

To register, the foreign employer creates an account on the Foreign Companies Service portal and completes the EO form (employer registration form). This registration triggers the assignment of a SIRET number by INSEE (the French national statistics institute). The SIRET is the employer's unique business identifier in France; it is required for the DPAE and for all subsequent payroll declarations and contribution payments. A foreign employer may not submit a valid DPAE or pay social-security contributions until it has received its SIRET.

Once registered, the foreign employer uses the Foreign Companies portal to file DPAE declarations, calculate monthly payroll contributions (which include social-security, unemployment, pension, and supplementary-pension contributions), and remit payments to URSSAF. The Foreign Companies Service consolidates all contributions and distributes them to the relevant social-protection bodies, including the health-insurance fund (Assurance Maladie), unemployment-insurance scheme (France Travail, formerly Pôle emploi), and supplementary-pension institutions (AGIRC-ARRCO). For employers with fewer than 20 employees, the Foreign Companies Service offers the Titre Firmes Étrangères (TFE) simplified system, which allows the employer to complete DPAE, register employees, and declare payroll contributions in one integrated monthly return.

A French employer with a registered establishment (branch, subsidiary, or société such as an SAS or SARL) registers with the regional URSSAF office corresponding to the geographic location of its establishment. The regional URSSAF assigns the SIRET during company-formation registration at the Guichet unique des formalités des entreprises (the one-stop business-formalities portal, formalites.entreprises.gouv.fr), which replaced the older CFE system in January 2023. The registered employer then files DPAE declarations with the URSSAF office that covers the workplace location of the employee being hired.

## Déclaration préalable à l'embauche (DPAE): mandatory pre-hiring declaration

Under Article L1221-10 of the Code du travail, "l'embauche d'un salarié ne peut intervenir qu'après déclaration nominative accomplie par l'employeur auprès des organismes de protection sociale désignés à cet effet"—an employee's hiring may not take place except after a nominative declaration by the employer to the designated social-protection agency. This declaration is the DPAE. The employer must submit the DPAE no later than the last working day before the employee's start date, and it may be filed as early as eight calendar days before the employee begins work (Article R1221-4 of the Code du travail).

The DPAE is a single administrative filing that consolidates six distinct employment formalities into one submission:

1. Employer immatriculation at URSSAF, if this is the employer's first hire in France (triggering the assignment of a SIRET and opening an employer account);
2. Employee immatriculation with the social-security health-insurance fund (Caisse Primaire d'Assurance Maladie, or CPAM), triggering the assignment or update of the employee's social-security number (numéro de sécurité sociale, also called the NIR);
3. Affiliation of the employer with the unemployment-insurance scheme (France Travail), effective automatically upon the first DPAE;
4. Enrollment of the employer with a service de santé au travail (occupational-health service), which is responsible for arranging mandatory pre-employment or in-employment health visits;
5. Notification of the upcoming occupational-health visit for the employee; and
6. Pre-establishment of the annual payroll data return (formerly DADS, now subsumed into the monthly DSN—Déclaration Sociale Nominative—electronic payroll declaration).

The DPAE must include the following information, as specified in Article R1221-1 of the Code du travail:

• employer name or company name, business activity code (APE), address, and SIRET number;
• employee's surname, first name(s), sex, date and place of birth, and social-security number (NIR) if already assigned (foreign employees may not yet have a NIR; the employer may file the DPAE without it, and URSSAF will initiate the immatriculation process);
• date and hour of commencement of work (the exact start time must be declared to the hour; this precision is required to combat undeclared work);
• for CDI and CDD contracts longer than six months: the nature and duration of the contract and any trial-period duration;
• for agricultural employees: additional details on contract type and duration.

The DPAE is filed electronically through the URSSAF employer portal (urssaf.fr for French-registered employers, or via the Foreign Companies Service portal for foreign employers), the Net-Entreprises portal (net-entreprises.fr), the government-run multi-agency business-declaration platform, or integrated payroll software that transmits the DPAE electronically on the employer's behalf.

Employers that filed more than 50 DPAE declarations in the prior calendar year must file all subsequent DPAE declarations electronically (Article D1221-12-1 of the Code du travail). Smaller employers may alternatively file by fax or registered post, though electronic filing is by far the most common practice.

After submission, URSSAF or the MSA (for agricultural employers) issues an acknowledgment of receipt (accusé de réception). The employer must provide the employee with a copy of the DPAE or the acknowledgment of receipt on or before the employee's start date (Article R1221-8). This obligation may be satisfied by including in the written employment contract a reference to the DPAE and the name of the agency to which it was sent.

## Penalties for failure to file the DPAE or late filing

Failure to file a DPAE before the employee begins work is a criminal offense under Article L8221-5 of the Code du travail, which defines travail dissimulé par dissimulation d'emploi salarié (concealment of salaried employment) to include intentionally evading the DPAE requirement. The offense is punishable by up to three years' imprisonment and a fine of €45,000 for an individual, or €225,000 for a legal entity, plus additional penalties including seizure of vehicles or equipment used in the violation and exclusion from public-procurement contracts (Articles L8224-1 and L8224-5).

Even in the absence of criminal prosecution, Article L1221-11 imposes an administrative penalty for DPAE non-compliance equal to 300 times the minimum-guarantee hourly rate (taux horaire du minimum garanti, a statutory reference wage currently set at €4.15 per hour as of 1 January 2025). The penalty is therefore €1,245 per undeclared employee. Labour inspectors (agents de contrôle under Article L8271-7) may issue the penalty notice upon discovery of an undeclared employee during a workplace inspection.

Employers required to file electronically (those exceeding 50 DPAE per year) who fail to do so face a separate administrative penalty of 0.5% of the monthly social-security ceiling (€37.50 per employee, based on the 2026 monthly ceiling of €3,864) under Article D1221-13.

## Practical workflow for foreign employers: registration, SIRET, then DPAE

For a foreign employer with no French establishment, the operational sequence is:

1. Register with the Foreign Companies Service and submit the EO form;
2. Receive the SIRET number from INSEE (typically within a few business days);
3. File the DPAE for each employee through the Foreign Companies portal, no earlier than eight days before and no later than the last working day before the employee's start date;
4. Issue the employment contract (CDI or CDD, as applicable) and provide the employee with a copy of the DPAE acknowledgment or incorporate the DPAE reference into the contract;
5. File monthly social-security declarations (via the Foreign Companies portal) and remit contributions by the 15th of the following month; and
6. Register with supplementary institutions as required by the applicable convention collective (collective bargaining agreement): AGIRC-ARRCO for supplementary pension, and any sector-specific health or provident fund (mutuelle or prévoyance) mandated by the agreement.

The Foreign Companies Service simplifies this workflow by consolidating payroll declarations and contributions into a single monthly return, but it does not eliminate the obligation to file a separate DPAE for each new hire.

Source: Code du travail, art. L1221-10 (DPAE requirement) Source: Code du travail, art. L1221-11 (administrative penalty for DPAE non-compliance) Source: Code du travail, art. R1221-1 (DPAE required information) Source: Code du travail, art. R1221-8 (copy to employee) Source: Code du travail, art. L8221-5 (criminal offense: travail dissimulé) Source: Titre Firmes Étrangères (TFE) — Foreign Companies Service registration and payroll system

French law imposes a mandatory obligation on all employers—including foreign companies hiring in France—to provide a collective and obligatory complementary health insurance scheme (mutuelle santé) for their salaried employees. This supplementary coverage reimburses healthcare costs not covered by the statutory social security system and is a persistent compliance requirement for local and cross-border employers.

Legal framework and eligibility (effective as of 2016, updated Oct 2021)

The obligation stems from the Accord National Interprofessionnel (ANI) of January 2013, implemented through Code de la sécurité sociale (CSS) art. L911-7, and reinforced by extended sectoral agreements. Every employer must provide a collective health scheme to all employees (regardless of seniority or contract type), with tightly delimited opt-out exceptions:

• Employees on fixed-term contracts (CDD) of less than three months, or with comparable private coverage, may opt out (Accord du 28 septembre 2015, art. 3).
• For CDDs of 12 months or more, employees are automatically enrolled unless providing proof of equivalent outside coverage (Accord du 28 septembre 2015, art. 3).
• Employers must maintain documentation proving compliance with these opt-out criteria.

Minimum "panier de soins" coverage and employer contribution

The contract must meet minimum statutory coverage, defined annually as the "panier de soins" (basket of care), covering hospital, dental, and optical expenses. The employer must cover at least 50% of the insurance premium (Accord du 28 octobre 2021, art. 4.2, effective October 2021); the remainder is deducted via payroll from the employee’s gross wage. Sectoral collective agreements (conventions collectives) may require enhanced coverage or higher employer shares, so always review the relevant agreement codes for any establishment.

Setup steps and required documentation

Implementing the scheme requires:

• Selecting a contract from an authorized insurer, mutual society (mutuelle), or institution de prévoyance (CSS art. L911-7, para. II);
• Formalizing scheme terms in a written instrument, usually by single-employer decision (décision unilatérale de l’employeur, DUE) or through collective agreement;
• Registering and communicating the scheme to all affected employees: sharing the DUE, insurer information, benefits summary, premium split, and all opt-out criteria;
• Collecting payroll-based employee contributions and listing them on the pay slip (bulletin de paie).

For foreign employers without a French entity, this obligation still applies once registered with URSSAF for payroll. The scheme must be instituted for French-based salaried staff, or lawful exemptions documented. Non-compliance can trigger both URSSAF recovery action for unpaid benefits and claims before the conseil de prud’hommes (labour court). Unable to confirm penalties as of 2026-06-15.

Interaction with supplementary pension (AGIRC-ARRCO) and sector obligations

The mutuelle requirement is separate from AGIRC-ARRCO supplementary pension registration (which is also mandatory but governed by different articles). Many sectors require additional group life/disability (prévoyance) insurance—review the applicable convention collective for specific industry obligations, which may raise minima or add distinct schemes.

Regulatory updates: Both the "panier de soins" minima and the employer contribution floor are subject to periodic legal/collective-agreement updates—verify rates and details each scheme year.

Source: Accord du 28 septembre 2015, art. 3 Source: Accord du 28 octobre 2021, art. 4.2 Source: Code de la sécurité sociale, art. L911-7

Every private-sector employer hiring employees in France—whether a French company or a foreign employer registered with URSSAF—is required to affiliate with the AGIRC-ARRCO supplementary pension system and withhold/pay contributions for all salaried staff. AGIRC-ARRCO (Association générale des institutions de retraite complémentaire des cadres/Association pour le régime de retraite complémentaire des salariés) is the mandatory second-pillar pension scheme for all employees except some public-sector staff and specific statutory carve-outs (such as certain internships or employees posted under international exemptions). The legal duty for employer affiliation is established by Article L921-1 of the Code de la sécurité sociale and reinforced by the extended national collective agreement (Accord national interprofessionnel du 17 novembre 2017, art. 4).

Registration process:

• For employers with a French legal entity (SIRET), registration with AGIRC-ARRCO usually takes place at employer onboarding with URSSAF. The selected or assigned AGIRC-ARRCO institution will confirm formal enrollment soon after the first DPAE declaration. According to official guidance, this process may also be initiated by the employer directly if contact is not made automatically.
• For foreign employers hiring in France via the URSSAF Foreign Companies Service, affiliation with AGIRC-ARRCO is also required for French-based salaried staff. Employers either select an AGIRC-ARRCO institution or are assigned one; this step is necessary so the employer can correctly withhold and remit the pension contribution from the first pay cycle.

Payroll and contribution base:

• AGIRC-ARRCO contributions are withheld on all French-source employment income within the relevant salary brackets, as defined each year by AGIRC-ARRCO and by reference to the statutory social-security ceiling (Plafond de la Sécurité sociale). For the current bracket/rate table, refer to the official AGIRC-ARRCO website; as of 2025, employee and employer shares are split for Tranche 1 (up to the ceiling), with at least 60% borne by the employer. The rates and brackets are subject to periodic legal and collective agreement updates. Specific, up-to-date rates are published annually: always check current official tables for details.
• Employers must remit these contributions monthly via the DSN (Déclaration Sociale Nominative) or the Foreign Companies Service payroll portal. Failing to register or remit contributions on time triggers formal recovery action by AGIRC-ARRCO and URSSAF under statutory powers, and employees may lose accruals or claim unpaid rights.

Sectoral and collective agreement overlay:

• Many sectoral collective agreements designate specific AGIRC-ARRCO group institutions or require supplementary arrangements. The employer should check the applicable convention collective (via the APE/NAF code) to ensure alignment with any sectoral requirements.

AGIRC-ARRCO reporting and payment is a recurring, non-waivable payroll compliance item for every employer in France. No exemption is available for newly registered employers or for foreign businesses employing French-resident staff, except in narrow cases set by statute or bilateral social-insurance conventions.

Source: Code de la sécurité sociale, art. L921-1 Source: Accord national interprofessionnel du 17 novembre 2017, art. 4

Every employer hiring employees in France—including foreign companies registered only for payroll—must affiliate with an authorized occupational health service (service de santé au travail, SST) and ensure employees receive mandatory medical examinations. This is a non-waivable statutory step separate from social-security and payroll registration, required under Sections L4622-1 to L4622-6 and R4624-10 et seq. of the Code du travail.

Affiliation and Scope Under Article L4622-1, all employers must contract with a local SST (inter-company occupational health service) before hiring their first employee. This applies regardless of company size, legal form, or sector—foreign employers registered with URSSAF without a permanent establishment in France are not exempt. The SST is responsible for monitoring employee health, advising the employer on workplace risks, and conducting legally required medical checks.

The employer selects an SST organization with jurisdiction over the workplace location; affiliation documents must be retained and may be audited by the labour inspectorate. The SST also assists with workplace risk assessments (Document unique d'évaluation des risques, DUER) and employer health/safety compliance.

Medical Examinations Articles R4624-10 and R4624-11 require that every new employee undergo a pre-placement health assessment (visite d'information et de prévention, VIP) within 3 months of hiring (before first exposure for designated risk roles). The SST arranges the exam and issues an attestation of completion, which must be kept in the employee file. For employees exposed to particular risks (night work, pregnancy, disability, minors, certain hazards), a medical fitness examination (examen d'aptitude) by the occupational physician is mandatory before employment begins (Article R4624-23). Follow-up visits occur at defined intervals depending on risk category.

Employer Duties and Penalties Failure to affiliate with an SST or ensure timely medical checks is a breach of Article L4741-1, punishable by a fine of up to €1,500 per employee (doubled for repeat offenses), plus risk of labour court claim if employee health is impacted. Payroll registration (URSSAF) and DPAE do not substitute for SST affiliation—the steps are cumulative. Documentation of SST registration and medical checks may be requested during a URSSAF audit or workplace inspection.

Employers must budget for annual SST service fees (typically billed per employee per year) in addition to standard payroll contributions. Many collective agreements specify a designated SST; check the convention collective for sector-specific instructions.

Source: Code du travail, art. L4622-1 Source: Code du travail, art. R4624-10 Source: Code du travail, art. L4741-1

French law tightly regulates probation periods (période d’essai) in employment contracts. The maximum duration, renewal, and enforceability rules are governed by Articles L1221-19 to L1221-26 of the Code du travail, with additional overlay from sectoral collective bargaining agreements (conventions collectives).

## Statutory maximum durations—type of contract and employee status Article L1221-19 sets maximum initial durations for open-ended (CDI) contracts:

• Non-executive employees (ouvriers/employés): Maximum of 2 months (L1221-19)
• Supervisors and technicians (agents de maîtrise/techniciens): Maximum of 3 months (L1221-19)
• Managers and executives (cadres): Maximum of 4 months (L1221-19)

Article L1221-22, amended by Law No. 2023‑171 of March 9, 2023, effective September 2023, makes these maximum durations imperative. Employers cannot provide for longer periods, even by individual agreement, unless a shorter period is specified by a collective agreement concluded after June 25, 2008, or in the employment contract or offer letter. This is a material shift: prior to September 2023, some sectors or contracts could argue for longer durations, but such arrangements are now void if they exceed the statutory maximums (unless a compliant collective agreement applies).

## Renewal rules Article L1221-21 allows renewal only once, if renewal is (a) specifically permitted by the governing collective agreement, and (b) express and written into the individual contract before work begins or, at the latest, before the original period expires. Including the initial period plus renewal, absolute maximums are:

• Non-executive: 4 months (L1221-21, L1221-22)
• Technician/supervisor: 6 months
• Executive/cadre: 8 months

## Fixed-term contracts (CDD) For fixed-term contracts (CDD), Article L1242-10 sets the trial period cap at one day per week of contract term, with maxima of:

• 2 weeks for contracts under 6 months
• 1 month for contracts of 6 months or more

## Formalities and enforceability The probation period must be explicit in the written contract, delivered to the employee at the time of hiring (L1221-23). If not expressly written, or if it exceeds the allowed duration, the period is void—making dismissals subject to full statutory notice and severance as if the probation never existed. Any renewal must be in writing and agreed before the initial period ends.

## Termination during probation Employers must give advance notice to terminate during the probation: a minimum of 24 hours (if tenure <8 days) up to 1 month (if tenure >3 months), per Article L1221-25, unless a more advantageous period is set by convention. Collective agreements may impose stricter limits or require different documentation—always verify the applicable convention collective.

## What changed in September 2023? The central change is the explicit, imperative character of the statutory maximums. Any probation period for a CDI that exceeds these limits—or purports to do so after September 2023—is unenforceable, regardless of mutual agreement, except when compliant sectoral collective agreements apply.

Source: Code du travail, art. L1221-19 Source: Code du travail, art. L1221-21 Source: Code du travail, art. L1221-22 Source: Code du travail, art. L1221-23 Source: Code du travail, art. L1242-10

Every French employment relationship is governed not only by the Code du travail (Labour Code) but also, in nearly all sectors, by a binding collective bargaining agreement—convention collective—that overlays, and often supplements, statutory rights. Determining and applying the correct convention collective is a legal obligation for every employer, including foreign companies hiring in France without a local subsidiary.

## What is a convention collective? A convention collective is a negotiated agreement between employer federations and trade unions, extended by the Ministry of Labour to cover all employers in a given sector (industry, profession, or geographic area). These agreements cover core terms of employment—minimum pay grades, bonuses, working hours, paid leave above the statutory minimum, supplementary health and pension regimes, training entitlements, dismissal procedures, and, often, industry-specific requirements. Some sectoral agreements also mandate affiliation with an identified mutual health fund (mutuelle) or occupational health service, or require posting the text of the agreement at the workplace.

## Legal obligation to identify and communicate the convention collective Article R2262-1 of the Code du travail obliges every employer to indicate clearly, in the very text of the employment contract (or, failing that, by separate written notification at hiring), the title of the applicable convention collective—citing its official denomination and ID number (IDCC, Identifiant de la convention collective). If the employer's activity falls under a convention deemed applicable by ministerial extension (common for nearly all sectors), failure to identify and implement the correct convention exposes the employer to back pay, litigation, and administrative penalties. Article R2262-3 further requires employers to make the text of the convention and most recent updates available at the work premises (or, for remote/distributed and EOR staff, to transmit the text in electronic form).

The applicable convention is determined primarily by the company's main economic activity—classified by the APE or NAF code (nomenclature statistique). Employers must select the convention whose scope (champ d'application) matches their actual French operations, not solely the legal corporate form. Placement under the wrong collective agreement is a frequent source of litigation in labour courts (conseil de prud’hommes). The official ministerial search tool (convention-collective.emploi.gouv.fr) and the extension orders published at Legifrance provide the up-to-date text and coverage.

## Notification, onboarding, and compliance steps

• The full name and IDCC of the governing convention collective must appear in the contract or in a written onboarding notice at the time of hire (Articles R2262-1 and D1237-1).
• The up-to-date text of the convention (as extended by ministerial decree) must be accessible to all employees—either posted in the workplace or, for distributed staff, made electronically available (Article R2262-3).
• Any amendments or sectoral minimum updates must be communicated promptly.
• The employer must apply all sectoral minima (pay, leave, working time) and mandatory schemes—even when the Code du travail sets a lower baseline.

Practical trap: Foreign employers using EORs must verify that their platform or partner applies the correct convention for the assigned APE/NAF code and transmits notification to the employee. Many EOR systems default to the SYNTEC or commerce conventions, which may not match the client's specific sector.

Non-compliance enables employees to claim retroactive rights under the true applicable convention, triggering back pay, indemnities, and risk of requalification litigation.

Source: Code du travail, art. R2262-1 Source: Code du travail, art. R2262-3

All private-sector employers in France—including foreign companies registered with URSSAF for payroll only—are required to affiliate with the compulsory AGIRC-ARRCO supplementary pension regime and to withhold/pay the relevant contributions for every salaried employee. This affiliation is not optional: it is mandated by both statutory social-security law and France’s interprofessional national agreement. Failure to comply with this requirement exposes the employer to back-payment risk and penalties, and places employees at risk of lost pension accruals.

Legal basis for affiliation

Article L. 922-2 of the Code de la Sécurité Sociale establishes that "L'affiliation d'un employeur à une institution de retraite supplémentaire vaut affiliation de l'ensemble des salariés relevant de l'article L.911-1"—the employer’s affiliation to a supplementary pension institution automatically affiliates all eligible employees. The legally recognized scheme for most employees is the unified AGIRC-ARRCO system, covering both managerial (cadre) and non-managerial (non-cadre) private-sector workers (except a few categories such as certain interns, posted workers covered by a bilateral agreement or excluded by ministerial decree).

Practical workflow

• When registering for payroll with URSSAF (either as a French legal entity or as a foreign firm with no permanent establishment), the employer must affiliate with an AGIRC-ARRCO member institution—usually done upon URSSAF onboarding or when completing the first DPAE (déclaration préalable à l’embauche).
• Once affiliated, the employer must withhold and remit AGIRC-ARRCO contributions for all employees alongside standard social charges. Employer and employee shares are split per the annually updated rates.

Contribution base and current rates

Contributions are calculated on all employment income subject to social-security charges, within the relevant AGIRC-ARRCO salary brackets (Tranche 1, up to the annual social-security ceiling, and Tranche 2, above the ceiling). As of January 2026, the standard split is at least 60% paid by the employer, 40% by the employee (ANI du 17 novembre 2017, art. 38). Precise rate tables and salary bands are published annually by AGIRC-ARRCO and referenced in the official scheme documentation.

Sector overlay and compliance

Many collective agreements (conventions collectives) designate a specific AGIRC-ARRCO group or impose supplementary arrangements; the employer must check their APE/NAF code to select the correct institution. Failure to affiliate, or to pay the correct contributions from the first employee, can trigger formal penalty proceedings, salary-based indemnities, and loss of pension rights for employees.

Source: Code de la sécurité sociale, art. L922-2 Source: Accord national interprofessionnel du 17 novembre 2017, art. 17 Source: Accord national interprofessionnel du 17 novembre 2017, art. 38

Every employer in France must issue a compliant payslip (bulletin de paie) to each employee for every wage payment, as set out in Article L3243-2 of the Code du travail. The payslip is a statutory right of the employee and a recurring duty for the employer. It must document core elements of the employment relationship, working hours, pay, and statutory deductions. Failure to provide a compliant payslip exposes the employer to penalties and wage-claim risk before the labour courts.

Statutory mandatory payslip content (Code du travail, art. R3243-1)

Article R3243-1 lists the information that must appear on every payslip:

• Name and address of the employer
• Reference to the applicable collective agreement (convention collective) or, if none, statutory rules
• Name, employment classification, and position of the employee
• Period and amount of pay (gross base salary and, where applicable, overtime hours and rates)
• Nature and amount of all wage supplements: bonuses, paid leave, benefits in kind
• Total amount and nature of employee social-security contributions, as well as a line indicating total employer social contributions
• Net salary payable
• Date of payment

The payslip must use the French language. Items may be stated in addition in another language, but the French text is always authoritative (Code du travail, art. R3243-4). The payslip must present certain items in a simplified manner since the 2018 decree (Décret n° 2016-190 du 25 February 2016) on payslip streamlining; detailed calculation bases and rates are made available to employees on request.

The APE/NAF code and SIRET number are often included in practice and may be required by implementing decree or sector rule, but they are not strictly explicit in Article R3243-1. The same applies to the reporting of annual paid leave balance, references to URSSAF, and AGIRC-ARRCO deductions—these appear in the standard template for many payroll providers and by sectoral or regulatory overlay but are not in the core statutory article.

Electronic and paper delivery, retention

Payslips may be delivered electronically with the employee’s consent (L3243-2). The electronic system must provide confidentiality and access guarantees, but the statute does not specify a precise duration for mandatory employee access. In the absence of consent, a paper payslip is required. The employer must keep a copy for five years (L3243-4).

Employee recourse and penalties

If an employer omits any mandatory item or fails to provide a payslip on time, the employee may request correction or bring a claim before the conseil de prud’hommes (labour court). Labour inspectors may issue a fine of up to €450 per payslip under Article R3246-2. The Code du travail only provides for this administrative fine; other consequences such as back pay or wage claim eligibility are determined by the courts, and potential criminal penalties or tax deduction issues are not expressly stated in the cited sources.

Source: Code du travail, art. L3243-2 Source: Code du travail, art. R3243-1 Source: Code du travail, art. R3246-2

A foreign company hiring in France faces a threshold decision: must it establish a French legal entity (SAS, SARL, branch) or can it register for payroll only as a "non-established" employer with URSSAF? The answer depends on operational substance, tax exposure, and employment structure. French law distinguishes between (a) creating a local company or branch—subject to full commercial, registration, and tax rules—and (b) payroll-only onboarding with URSSAF via the "Foreign Companies Service" (Service des Firmes Étrangères), which allows a foreign employer with no fixed place of business to withhold/pay French social charges for local staff without forming a local legal entity (Code de la sécurité sociale, art. L243-1-2).

Payroll-only route (no permanent establishment):

• Foreign employers with no fixed place of business and no local commercial activity in France may register with URSSAF's Foreign Companies Service. This triggers payroll-only obligations—the company pays all statutory social, unemployment, and supplementary pension contributions on French-source wages, files DPAE, and issues French payslips, while remaining non-resident for corporate registration, tax, and VAT purposes. This structure is available when there is no local office, warehouse, or dependent commercial presence. See the URSSAF official guidance, which references Code de la sécurité sociale L243-1-2 and matches European coordination rules for non-resident employers.

Entity formation (SAS, SARL, branch):

• If the foreign company establishes a permanent establishment (établissement stable) in France—for example, by renting/owning premises, employing commercial or management staff with authority to act for the company, or conducting sustained business operations locally—it must form a French legal entity (most often an SAS, SARL, or, for an extension of the parent, a registered branch). This entity is registered at the guichet unique des formalités des entreprises (one-stop formalities portal, formalites.entreprises.gouv.fr), which triggers SIRET assignment, full accounting, and annual reporting duties under the Code de commerce (arts. L210-1 et seq. for companies, L123-1 for branch registration). The French entity is subject to corporate income tax, local business taxes (CFE/CVAE), and VAT registration, and must comply fully with the Code du travail and sectoral collective agreements.

The permanent establishment test follows Art. 209-I of the Code général des impôts (see PE section above) and OECD Model Art. 5. The practical triggers: sustained local operations, a fixed business location, or commercial/signature authority exercised by French staff. When these conditions are met, URSSAF payroll-only registration is not sufficient; company or branch formation is required.

Practical workflow:

• For back-office hires, fully remote work, or early market entry with no sales function, payroll-only registration with URSSAF Foreign Companies Service is generally accepted.
• For any commercial, client-facing, or management staff, or if physically present in France beyond remote work, register a French branch, SAS, or SARL via the national portal—this unlocks compliance for both employment and commercial law. Not doing so when required exposes the employer to risk of tax reassessment, liability, and potential requalification as a concealed establishment (travail dissimulé by evading establishment duties).

Key sources:

• French social-security code L243-1-2 (rules for non-resident employers)
• official formalities portal (décision aide) and urssaf.fr for registration differences
• Code de commerce L210-1 et seq. (company forms and requirements)
• Code général des impôts art. 209-I (PE definition)

Source: Code de la sécurité sociale, art. L243-1-2 Source: Guichet unique pour les formalités d’entreprise Source: Code de commerce, art. L210-1

French law imposes a non-waivable duty on every employer—including foreign companies registered only for French payroll via URSSAF—to enroll and pay contributions for the statutory work-accident and occupational-disease insurance (Accidents du travail et maladies professionnelles, AT/MP). This obligation applies from the first hire and covers all salaried staff, regardless of contract type or sector. It is distinct from standard social-security and AGIRC-ARRCO pension contributions.

## Statutory framework and registration AT/MP contributions are established and governed by Articles L411-1 et seq. and L242-5 of the Code de la sécurité sociale. Once an employer is onboarded via URSSAF (triggered by filing the DPAE for a new employee), registration for AT/MP is automatic. The regional CARSAT (caisse d’assurance retraite et de la santé au travail) will classify the employer by industry risk and communicate the applicable rate. For multiple establishments or distinct work activities, each APE/NAF code and site may be assigned its own risk rate (L242-5 III).

## Contribution calculation and payment process The AT/MP premium is paid entirely by the employer. Employees bear no share. Each year, CARSAT sets the rates based on risk class and sector for the calendar year by ministerial decree. These are published annually; individual employer rates may also be influenced by prior claims history, as addressed in L242-5. For small employers, a pooled rate may apply, but statutory language does not set a numeric threshold for this default treatment. Contributions are calculated as a percentage of total gross payroll (subject to social-security law), reported on the monthly DSN (Déclaration Sociale Nominative), and paid to URSSAF. The annual CARSAT notification process on rates is mandated by law (L242-5), with timing and detailed communication governed by implementing decrees.

## Penalties and compliance Failure to register or pay AT/MP contributions subjects employers to recovery actions and exposes them to risk of being directly liable for compensation in case of uncovered workplace accidents. Article L242-5 provides the legal anchor for these obligations and rate assessments. Formal criminal penalties and administrative sanctions are set out in other sections (not directly cited here).

This AT/MP obligation applies regardless of whether the employer is operating with a formal French entity or as a non-resident employer using payroll-only registration through URSSAF; there is no statutory carveout for foreign employers, and the obligation attaches as soon as French social-security liability is triggered.

Documentation and communication requirements may also exist under sectoral collective agreements—common in French practice—but these overlay, rather than substitute for, the statutory minimum duty described above.

Source: Code de la sécurité sociale, art. L242-5 Source: Code de la sécurité sociale, art. L411-1 et seq.

French law distinguishes between statutory mandatory social insurance (health, pension, AT/MP work accident) and sectorally-mandated employer coverage for disability, incapacity, and death—collectively referred to as "prévoyance". Every private-sector employer in France must check if their applicable convention collective (industry collective bargaining agreement) requires them to put in place a group “prévoyance” plan covering salaried employees. Coverage typically includes minimum lump-sum and/or income-replacement benefits in the event of death, long-term sickness, or incapacity to work, and is separate from both statutory social security and the compulsory mutuelle health plan.

## Legal structure There is no single article of the Code de la sécurité sociale or Code du travail that universally mandates prévoyance coverage for all private-sector employees. Instead, most sectoral collective agreements imposed at the national, regional, or local level require group prévoyance as a payroll condition—for example, for all "cadres" (managers/executives) under the 1947 national collective agreement, and for many non-cadres (employees) in industrial, service, and commerce sectors. The Code de la sécurité sociale, art. L911-1 & L911-2 grant legal effect to such agreements and bind all covered employers and their French-salaried employees.

Sectoral update: Services à la personne (IDCC 3127), effective 1 May 2026

Effective 1 May 2026, employers in the "Services à la personne" sector (IDCC 3127) are required by new sectoral agreement to provide compulsory group prévoyance cover for non-cadres as well as cadres. This marks a material expansion from prior coverage, which was typically limited to cadres or not universally mandated for non-cadres across all sectors. Employers must now ensure qualifying contracts are in place for both employee categories, and update onboarding documentation, benefit summaries, and payroll reporting to reflect the new legal requirement. The applicable agreement was signed 6 February 2025 and extended by ministerial order in April 2026; further details on baseline cover are codified in the convention’s published extension.

National framework for cadres and variable sectoral rules for other employees

Core duties include:

• Identifying the relevant convention collective by APE/NAF code (see Onboarding the collective agreement section)
• Reviewing the convention’s extended text for “garanties prévoyance” or similar headings
• Setting up a qualifying contract with an authorized insurer, mutual, or institution de prévoyance, and covering the minimum level of benefits (lump-sum on death, annuity on incapacity, etc.)
• Paying at least the contractually required share of premiums (often 100% for death cover for cadres, as per the 1947 agreement; variable for other sectors)

For management staff (cadres), the ANI (Accord national interprofessionnel du 14 mars 1947, art. 7), extended nationwide, imposes a mandatory minimum "death benefit" (capital décès) funded exclusively by the employer. This is now implemented through Code de la sécurité sociale, art. L912-1 and the annually extended ANI agreements. For non-cadres, requirements depend on the convention collective. The agreement text and list of extensions are published by the Ministry of Labour and available via Legifrance.

## Penalties and compliance Failure to implement required prévoyance exposes the employer to claims for coverage, payroll audit risk (URSSAF), and civil damages. If an employee suffers qualifying loss (disability/death) and no plan is in place, the employer may be held directly liable for the missing benefit. Routine payroll audits examine prévoyance affiliation documents for category and sector compliance. Contribution rates, minimum benefits, and sector triggers update periodically; always check the latest convention text and extensions for each APE/NAF activity code.

## Practical onboarding Step-by-step: (1) identify the sector agreement; (2) confirm prévoyance trigger; (3) select authorized insurer; (4) register the contract with employee onboarding and share benefit summaries with new hires; (5) withhold and report contributions via payslip. Employer contributions to mandatory sectoral prévoyance are excludable from taxable salary within specified ceilings (CSS art. L242-1, II).

Source: Code de la sécurité sociale, art. L911-1 & L911-2 Source: Accord national interprofessionnel du 14 mars 1947 (garanties décès pour cadres) Source: Arrêté d’extension, Services à la personne, 2026

Under both the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)—Regulation (EU) 2016/679—and the French Loi Informatique et Libertés (Law No. 78-17, as amended), employers must meet specific obligations when collecting and processing employee personal data during the hiring and onboarding process. Every employer (including foreign businesses registered with URSSAF for payroll) processes significant employee data in the context of recruitment, onboarding, and payroll management. Failure to comply exposes the employer to sanctions by the French data protection authority (CNIL) and can lead to damages claims from employees.

Key requirements at onboarding:

1. Information/notification right (GDPR arts. 13–14, French Art. 32): Upon hiring, the employer must provide the employee with clear, accessible information on:

• the identity and contact details of the data controller (the employer),
• contact for the Data Protection Officer (DPO) if appointed,
• the purpose and legal basis of processing (usually contract performance, legal obligation, or legitimate interest),
• types of data processed,
• recipients or categories of recipients (payroll, social-insurance, IT providers, CNIL if required),
• how long the data will be retained,
• the employee’s rights (access, rectification, erasure, objection, restriction, complaint to CNIL),
• whether data will be transferred outside the EU and on what safeguards.

This notice normally features in the onboarding welcome pack, contract annex, or HR portal at or before the first collection of data for payroll/HR.

1. No broad consent required: For standard HR/payroll processing, employer does not need to seek explicit employee consent (GDPR art. 6), since processing is grounded in contract/legal duty. Consent may only be needed for optional/unusual processing (e.g., biometrics for timekeeping, certain monitoring).

1. Records of processing and CNIL documentation: Employers must inventory all employee data processing activities in a register (GDPR art. 30), kept available for CNIL inspection. Recording is mandatory for businesses with more than 250 employees or processing sensitive data (health, union membership, etc). Most onboarding does not require prior CNIL registration, but some “risky” processing—especially large-scale biometric or surveillance—may require a privacy impact assessment (AIPD) and possible CNIL consultation (Loi Informatique et Libertés art. 35). Prior CNIL registration, once needed in France, is now generally eliminated post-GDPR, except in these special cases.

1. Employee access and rectification rights: Employees can exercise their GDPR rights at any time and must be told how at hiring (GDPR arts. 15–22, Loi art. 48–51). Employers must respond within one month and may not retaliate for requests.

Practical workflow: Draft an onboarding privacy notice fulfilling GDPR art. 13/14, incorporate into the standard employment contract or HR policy annex, and document all processing in the organization’s register. Foreign businesses using EOR or payroll vendors in France remain data controllers for their French staff under GDPR.

Source: GDPR, arts. 13–14 (duty to inform) Source: Loi Informatique et Libertés, art. 32 Source: CNIL guidance—employer data obligations

French law requires every employer hiring staff in France—including foreign companies registered via URSSAF—to participate in the statutory unemployment insurance scheme (assurance chômage). The foundation of this duty is Article L5422-9 of the Code du travail, which makes affiliation with assurance chômage compulsory for nearly all private-sector employers from the first French-based salary paid. Employees covered by this scheme are entitled to chômage benefits if their employment ends and they meet qualifying conditions.

Affiliation process and workflow:

• Under Article L5422-9, all employers must register for unemployment insurance. In practice, this obligation is fulfilled automatically when the employer submits its first DPAE (déclaration préalable à l'embauche) via URSSAF or, for non-resident employers, through the Foreign Companies portal. Once registered, the employer becomes liable for contributions on all covered employees.
• There is no requirement in the Code for a separate manual registration with France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi); the administrative process as of 2026 coordinates this through the payroll onboarding system. Employers receive log-in details for France Travail's employer portal, necessary to generate the official employment certificate (attestation employeur) for departing workers—a document required to claim unemployment benefits (Code du travail, art. R1234-9).
• Exceptions to compulsory coverage exist for certain diplomatic and international organizations, but all standard employment relationships—including those managed by an Employer of Record registered with URSSAF—fall within the statutory scheme.

Contribution base and payment:

• Article L5422-11 of the Code du travail provides that the contributions (cotisations d'assurance chômage) are based on all wage elements subject to social security charges, within the statutory base.
• As of March 2026, the applicable contribution rates—the split between employer and employee—are set by separate ministerial orders and Unédic regulation, not embedded in the Code du travail. Unable to confirm as of 2026-06-18 the exact rates from a primary statutory or regulatory text.
• Payment is made monthly, bundled with other payroll social contributions via the DSN (Déclaration Sociale Nominative) process (or Foreign Companies Service for nonresident employers). The employer is liable for timely deduction and remittance; failure triggers enforcement and penalties akin to other social-insurance debts (Code du travail, art. L5422-15).

This assurance chômage system is foundational to legal payroll compliance and employee protection in France. Statutory requirements prevail over payroll provider or EOR arrangements: if a foreign firm hires salaried staff with a French place of work, registration with unemployment insurance is non-negotiable from the first euro of pay.

Source: Code du travail, art. L5422-9 (employer obligation: unemployment insurance) Source: Code du travail, art. L5422-11 (contribution base and rates) Source: Code du travail, art. R1234-9 (attestation employeur)