Hire in France vs Germany, a 2026 compliance and cost guide

1. Step 1

   Agree on market and role

   Tell Teamed the country (France, Germany, or both), the role, the start date, and the target salary. Teamed sends back the full employer cost model: France's 42 to 45% contributions breakdown, Germany's 20%, FX rate shown against mid-market, and the compliance considerations specific to each market. No surprises after you sign.

2. Step 2

   Issue the employment contract

   Teamed issues a compliant local employment contract under its French or German entity. For France, the contract is issued by a Teamed SAS with real HR and legal experts who hold French employment-law credentials, including forfait-jours structuring where relevant. For Germany, a Teamed GmbH with German-law expertise handles the contract. Both are reviewed by your team before the employee signs.

3. Step 3

   Run payroll and statutory contributions

   Teamed runs payroll, remits employer contributions at cost (42 to 45% for France, approx. 20% for Germany), and handles all local tax filings. The FX applied to the fee is shown against the mid-market reference on every invoice for any non-EUR base currency. For French employees, CSE notification obligations and forfait-jours day tracking are included where applicable.

4. Step 4

   Model the crossover to your own entity

   As your headcount grows, Teamed models the month your own French SAS or German GmbH gets less costly than EOR. When that point arrives, Global Entity and Employment Operations (GEMO) sets up the entity on the same system with no re-onboarding of existing employees. French SAS setup: 2 to 4 weeks. German GmbH: 4 to 8 weeks.

Frequently asked questions

• Is it less costly to hire in France or Germany?+

  Germany is materially less costly for most companies. French employer social contributions total approximately 42 to 45% of gross salary. German employer contributions total approximately 20% of gross salary. On a 70,000 EUR gross salary in France, employer contributions add roughly 29,000 to 31,500 EUR per year. On a comparable 80,000 EUR gross German salary, contributions add roughly 16,000 EUR. The gap is approximately 20 to 25 percentage points in Germany's favour on employer on-costs. Salary benchmarks differ by market and role, so a like-for-like cost model matters before the final decision.
• What is France's 35-hour working week and how does it affect my hire?+

  France's Code du Travail sets 35 hours as the durée légale hebdomadaire (legal weekly working time). Any hours above 35 in a week are overtime: a minimum 25% pay premium applies for hours 36 to 43, rising to 50% from hour 44 onwards, unless a sector or company agreement sets different rates. In practice, many professional and managerial employees are placed on forfait-jours contracts, counted in annual working days (capped at 218 per year) rather than hours. This gives more scheduling flexibility but requires specific contract clauses and, where a CSE exists, a Works Agreement. Teamed's French HR and legal experts structure the contract correctly for the role from day one.
• What is France's CSE and does it affect my first French hire?+

  The Comité Social et Économique (CSE) is France's statutory employee representative body. It becomes mandatory in any company that reaches 11 or more employees for at least 12 consecutive months. Below that threshold, there is no CSE obligation. At 11 to 49 employees, the CSE has advisory and health-and-safety powers; from 50 employees it gains full economic consultation rights and the employer must contribute to its operating budget. For a first or second French hire, the CSE is not an immediate concern. It becomes material as you approach 11 employees. Teamed's French entity and HR and legal experts handle the CSE threshold, the election process, and ongoing consultation obligations.
• How do French and German termination rules compare?+

  Both require documented cause for individual dismissal, but the procedure differs. France mandates a written pre-dismissal meeting invitation, the meeting itself, then written notification stating the cause réelle et sérieuse. The Barème Macron scales unfair-dismissal compensation from 0.5 months' salary (under one year) to 20 months (at 30 years). Germany's KSchG requires documented cause from 6 months in companies with more than 10 employees; Labour Court settlements typically run roughly half a month per year of service. Both frameworks reward proactive performance documentation from the start of employment. Teamed's HR and legal experts in each market run that documentation process.
• Can I hire in both France and Germany at the same time via Teamed?+

  Yes. Teamed runs French and German EOR in parallel on the same system. Each country has its own payroll calendar, statutory contribution schedule, and invoice line. Both payrolls are in EUR, so there is no FX conversion between them. If your company pays from a USD or GBP base, Teamed shows the applied FX rate against mid-market on the same consolidated invoice. Most clients start with one market and add the second when their next hiring decision is made.
• When should I set up my own entity in France or Germany?+

  The crossover point depends on headcount and salary mix. As a rough guide, EOR stays less costly than running your own entity below roughly 10 to 15 full-time employees. Above the crossover, the cumulative EOR per-seat fee approaches the fixed cost of a local director, bookkeeping, annual filings, and employer contributions on the entity payroll. Teamed models the crossover month and flags it proactively. A French SAS takes 2 to 4 weeks to incorporate (minimum €1 share capital). A German GmbH takes 4 to 8 weeks (minimum €25,000 share capital, €12,500 paid in at formation). Both are set up via Global Entity and Employment Operations (GEMO) on the same Teamed system with no re-onboarding.
• Is Teamed the right EOR for France and Germany hiring?+

  Teamed delivers both markets through its own entities with real HR and legal experts. The French entity covers CSE consultations, forfait-jours contract structuring, and the cause réelle et sérieuse termination process. The German entity covers Betriebsrat consultations, KSchG terminations, and Works Agreements. Teamed is G2 #1 EOR for service, four years running, rated 4.8. FX on both payrolls is absorbed at zero markup on the fee and shown against mid-market on every invoice. Teamed is particularly well suited to growing companies that want direct access to real HR and legal experts without unlocking a higher-tier plan, and that expect to evaluate the entity crossover in either market within 12 to 24 months.

• Should I hire my first employee in France or Germany?+

  For most rapidly growing companies, Germany is the lower total-cost option for a first continental European hire. German employer contributions total approximately 20% of gross salary; French contributions total approximately 42 to 45%. Germany also has a deep tech and engineering talent pool in Berlin, Munich, and Hamburg. France is the right first market if your candidate, customer, or product requires it, or if the role demands French-language or French-market expertise. Both are reachable on day one via Teamed EOR, no entity required.
• How do French employer costs compare to German employer costs?+

  France carries employer social contributions of approximately 42 to 45% of gross salary. Germany carries approximately 20%. On a 70,000 EUR gross French salary, employer contributions add roughly 29,000 to 31,500 EUR per year. On a comparable 80,000 EUR gross German salary, contributions add roughly 16,000 EUR. The gap is approximately 20 to 25 percentage points in Germany's favour. France funds health insurance, family allowances, complementary pension (AGIRC-ARRCO), training levies, and housing contributions largely through employer charges. Germany's system distributes these costs differently, with a lower aggregate employer share.