--- title: "Hiring in France | Employer of Record + 2026 Guide" description: "From $599 a month flat, Teamed hires in France through its vetted partner-entity network. Employer social charges add 42 to 47% on top of gross salary." canonical: https://www.teamed.global/country-hiring-guides/france --- France · Depth grade Served by Teamed's vetted partner-entity network in France # Hire in *France* through Teamed's vetted partner-entity network $599 a month, flat. Built for a market where dismissal protection starts on day one and the convention collective rewrites the contract. Last reviewed 13 July 2026 · France guide ## How Teamed handles France hiring for you Teamed becomes your legal [employer of record](/employer-of-record) in France through a vetted partner entity in its network, with real HR and legal experts managing every hire from the French CDI contract to off-boarding. An actual person, not a chatbot or a pooled queue, handles your France team's compliance on one platform alongside EOR, contractor onboarding, and entity payroll. Run the [Crossover Calculator](/tools/crossover-calculator/france) to see when the model flips. ![La Grande Arche at La Défense, Paris's business district, with the French tricolore and EU flags flying in the foreground and people seated on the steps.](/cluster-assets/country-hiring-guides/france/images/hero.webp) Three things you won't find on any other France EOR guide - **Contractor misclassification is a criminal offence in France.** Where *travail dissimulé* is established, URSSAF can reclaim contributions going back 5 years with a majoration, an added percentage, on top, and the worker is owed a fixed indemnity of 6 months' salary. - **The SMIC rose mid-year, on 1 June 2026.** The floor is now €1,867.02 per month gross (€12.31 per hour), set by arrêté dated 22 May 2026. Any contract paying at or near the floor needed payroll updated from June 2026. - **A 25-day leave offer looks below market to French candidates.** They benchmark total time off as 25 days of annual leave plus RTT days plus 11 public holidays, not the statutory leave figure alone. Hiring in France runs to roughly 134 to 142% of gross salary on illustrative models, once employer social contributions covering pension, health, unemployment, and family allowances are added; the exact load depends on pay level, sector, and applicable reductions. Teamed runs French payroll, CDI contracts, and compliance through its vetted partner-entity network from **$599 per employee per month flat** with no FX markup. From **1 June 2026**, the SMIC minimum wage is €1,867.02 per month gross (€12.31 per hour). At a glance · verified 13 July 2026 EUR · French · Monthly payroll Currency EUR € Employer tax 42 to 47% composite of roughly a dozen levies, no single rate Pension 8.55% employer, on earnings up to the €4,005/month PSS ceiling Annual leave 25 days plus 11 public holidays, not bundled in Working week 35 hrs no individual opt-out; absolute max 48 hrs in any week Public holidays 11 mainland France; Alsace-Moselle adds 2 Minimum notice 1 month from 6 months' service; 2 months from 2 years 13th salary No not statutory; some conventions collectives require one France · per employee · per month · flat $ 599 Zero FX. No setup fees. 24-hour onboarding.* No exit fees. Every French employer charge passed through at cost, itemised on every invoice. *Typical once terms are confirmed. Some jurisdictions take longer where local registration or work permits apply. Zero FX Fixed No setup fee No exit fee* Fast onboarding ## How much does it cost to hire an employee in France in 2026? A €50,000 France hire costs roughly **€67,000 to €71,000** fully loaded. That's around **134 to 142% of gross salary**, an illustrative range computed from verified rates, once employer social contributions covering pension, health, unemployment, and family allowances are added. The exact load depends on pay level, sector, and applicable reductions. Where does the extra cost go? The capped pension contribution runs at 8.55% on earnings up to the monthly ceiling of €4,005 (the Plafond de la Sécurité Sociale). Health, family, unemployment, and work-accident levies sit on top at their own rates, all collected through URSSAF, taking the employer total to roughly 42 to 47% of gross. Add 25 days of paid annual leave, 11 public holidays, and a 13th-month payment where the sector's convention collective requires one. Teamed's France fee is $599 per employee per month flat, charged alongside and itemised on every invoice. Teamed's France price is one number: **$599 per employee per month, flat**. Zero FX in any currency pairing. No setup fees. No exit fees. Salaries, social contributions, and benefits passed through at cost on every invoice. Drop a salary into the form below to open the full Employee Cost Calculator, pre-set to France, and the full [France cost breakdown](/country-hiring-guides/france/cost-breakdown) itemises every levy. ↓ Honesty, made visible ### One price. Zero FX. Same headline rate as Deel. Every line itemised on every invoice. FX absorbed by Teamed. No markup, no spread, no FX line in any currency pairing. Fixed Rate · Zero FX $599 / employee / month · flat No FX line on the invoice. Same rate, same-currency or cross-border. #### What's included - Local employment contract - Payroll & tax withholding - Statutory benefits administration - Named country specialist - Line-by-line invoices - No setup or exit fees* Industry average FX 3 – 5% Where it shows up Hidden in the rate Teamed FX 0% Where it shows up Absorbed. No FX line. No setup fees. No deposits. Cancel any month. *No offboarding fee applies after a 3-month minimum employment term. [Read the full France cost breakdown →](/country-hiring-guides/france/cost-breakdown) Try it with your numbers ## Drop a France salary in. See the full loaded cost. Opens the full Employee Cost Calculator, set to France, modelling the 8.55% capped pension contribution up to the €4,005 monthly ceiling, the health, family, unemployment, and work-accident levies that take the employer load to roughly 42 to 47% of gross, the 25-day paid-leave entitlement, and the Teamed fee against your salary. ## Do you need a France entity to hire employees in France? No. An Employer of Record runs French payroll and employment contracts from day one, through a vetted partner entity in Teamed's network. Your own France entity, an SAS or SARL, only starts to pay off once you have a settled team in France, and exactly where that line falls depends on your own costs, not a fixed headcount. Run the [Crossover Calculator](/tools/crossover-calculator/france) to see your number. Stage 1 Contractor First France hire, project-based, no entity needed. → Stage 2 EOR with Teamed $599/mo. A vetted partner entity in Teamed's network is the legal employer. Day-one compliance. → Stage 3 Your France entity (SAS or SARL) Same platform, same specialist. Tenure preserved. Crossover · a planning point, not a cut-off | | EOR (Teamed) | Your own France entity (SAS/SARL) | | --- | --- | --- | | Setup time | Days, not months | 4–8 weeks | | Setup cost | $0 | €8,000–€18,000 | | Ongoing monthly cost | $599 per employee, flat | A fixed monthly overhead + payroll that pays off as you add people | | Tenure portability | Preserved on Graduation | Continuous from EOR | Setting up a French SAS or SARL takes roughly 4 to 8 weeks and €8,000 to €18,000 in formation costs all-in. The commercial court registry fee itself is under €300; the real cost is professional fees, URSSAF registration, banking, and identifying the convention collective that governs your sector. Once live, expect €3,500 to €5,500 per month for the outsourced payroll bureau, bookkeeping, and monthly DSN filings, plus complémentaire santé cover that must be in place from day one. An [Employer of Record](/employer-of-record) is faster and cheaper at low headcount, and Teamed runs French payroll, contracts, and benefits from the day you sign. The crossover point isn't a fixed number. It moves with the EOR fee you actually pay, the entity quote you receive, and how fast you're growing, so the honest answer is to model it rather than quote a headcount. Salary doesn't move it either: both paths carry the same salary and the same 42 to 47% social charges, so they cancel out of the comparison. Run the [Crossover Calculator](/tools/crossover-calculator/france) for your figure and we'll model it with you. Most EOR providers won't tell you when you've crossed it. We do, and we'll help you move. You progress from Contractor to EOR to your own entity on one platform under Teamed's Graduation Model, with tenure preserved, no re-onboarding, and the same France specialist on both sides. Contracts are novated to your new SAS or SARL on a single date, and complémentaire santé and prévoyance cover transfer without a lapse. Tom Price-Daniel · Co-founder, Teamed Of the 1,000 customers we've worked with, only three have ever gone to work with a competitor after us. [Read the full France EOR vs entity guide →](/country-hiring-guides/france/eor-vs-entity) ## What changed in France employment law in 2026? The SMIC minimum wage rose to €1,867.02 per month gross (€12.31 per hour) on 1 June 2026. France has no single headline employment statute: rights are codified in the *Code du travail* and updated continuously by decree and by sector collective agreements. Unfair dismissal protection under the barème Macron applies from day one, with no qualifying period. ### The 2026 SMIC uplift, and the standing rules that catch foreign employers - **SMIC minimum wage** · rose to €1,867.02 per month gross (€12.31 per hour) on 1 June 2026, set by arrêté dated 22 May 2026. Any contract paying at or near the floor needs payroll updated from June 2026. - **Unfair dismissal** · protected from day one under the barème Macron scale (*Code du travail* art. L1235-3). No qualifying period. Awards are capped at 20 months of gross salary for the longest-serving employees. - **Defective procedure** · a dismissal with a valid reason but a defective procedure can still attract an award of up to 1 month of salary. The registered letters and the pre-dismissal interview (*entretien préalable*) are not optional. - **CSE works council** · mandatory in companies with 11 or more employees. A collective redundancy of 10 or more employees within 30 days triggers formal CSE consultation, and courts can nullify a redundancy round for procedural failure. - **Sick pay** · paid by the state through IJSS, not the employer, after a 3-day waiting period, at 50% of base daily salary. Once the employee has qualifying service, the Code du travail requires the employer to maintain salary above the IJSS floor, and collective agreements often improve on that minimum. - **Family leave** · maternity leave is 16 weeks for a first or second child. Paternity and child-welcoming leave is 25 days for a single birth, of which 4 days are mandatory. - **Social security ceiling** · the 2026 monthly ceiling (PSS) is €4,005. ### Working hours and overtime French working time is governed by the *Code du travail*. The legal working week is 35 hours (art. L3121-27), the lowest statutory cap in the EU, and there is no individual opt-out: employers cannot ask workers to waive the limit. Overtime starts at the 36th hour and carries a 25% premium under the default statutory regime through the 43rd hour, rising to 50% from the 44th. The absolute ceiling is 48 hours in any single week and 10 hours in a normal working day. Rest entitlements are a 20-minute break when working more than six consecutive hours, 11 hours between workdays and 35 hours of continuous weekly rest, usually Sunday. The [France working time and leave guide](/country-hiring-guides/france/working-time-and-leave) covers annual leave and the *forfait jours* regime for senior cadres. ### Employment contracts Every permanent hire in France needs a written CDI contract in French; verbal contracts have no force. The contract must state the applicable *convention collective*, the position, the base salary and the probation period, and any trial period must be written in at signing because it cannot be added later. Before the first day of work, the employer must file the DPAE (Déclaration Préalable à l'Embauche) with URSSAF and affiliate the employee to the AGIRC-ARRCO supplementary pension and any applicable *prévoyance* scheme. Teamed handles the French CDI contract and every day-one filing as part of its [Employer of Record service](/employer-of-record). ### Probation periods France caps the trial period (*période d'essai*) by classification. Workers and administrative staff get 2 months. Agents de maîtrise get 3 months, renewable once to 6. Cadres get 4 months, renewable once to 8, and any renewal needs the employee's written agreement before the initial period expires. Ending a trial requires notice scaled by time in post, reaching 30 days once the employee has served more than 3 months, and letting the period lapse without notice converts the contract into a confirmed CDI. Sector agreements can shorten these caps but never extend them. The [France probation guide](/country-hiring-guides/france/probation-and-onboarding) covers the full procedure. ### Collective agreements (conventions collectives) France runs on sector-level collective bargaining agreements that apply automatically to every employer in the sector, regardless of union membership. The applicable *convention collective* often sets notice periods, severance rates, paid leave and salary scales above the *Code du travail* floor. It can shorten probation caps, and vary overtime premiums against the statutory default rates. Identify the applicable CBA before making any offer: it shapes the contract whether you know about it or not, and the employee must be told which convention applies and given access to its text. Teamed Legal Operations In France, the Code du travail is only the floor. The convention collective for your sector applies whether you have read it or not, and it usually rewrites the terms you thought you had agreed. For US and UK-headquartered buyers, the practical shift is that there is no qualifying window to plan around. Dismissal protection, discrimination law and whistleblowing cover all apply from the first day, and procedure carries as much weight as substance: a fair reason delivered through a defective process still costs money. Build the written CDI, the pre-day-one DPAE filing and the sector CBA check into your hiring flow from the start, or use an [Employer of Record](/employer-of-record) that has already done it. [Read the full France compliance and day-one rights guide →](/country-hiring-guides/france/compliance-and-day-one-rights) ## What benefits must you provide France employees in 2026? France mandates **25 days of paid annual leave** plus 11 public holidays, state sick pay at 50% of base daily salary after a 3-day wait, 16 weeks of maternity leave, 25 days of paternity leave, a complementary health plan (mutuelle) with the employer paying at least half the premium, and an 8.55% employer pension contribution on earnings up to the social security ceiling. From 50 employees, profit-sharing (participation) becomes a legal requirement, not a perk. ### Annual leave French statutory annual leave is 25 days per year under the Code du travail. That is the floor, not the market. The 35-hour week is the statutory standard, and most salaried professionals work more than this under an annualised hours arrangement. In return they earn RTT days: additional paid days off on top of the 25-day floor. A professional on a forfait jours contract (typically 218 working days per year) accrues 10 to 15 RTT days in practice, with the exact count set by the sector's collective agreement (convention collective). ### Sick leave France runs a state sick pay system (IJSS). Assurance Maladie, the state health insurer, pays 50% of the employee's base daily salary from day four of an absence; there is a 3-day waiting period. Most collective agreements require the employer to top up IJSS to full salary for a period the agreement sets. In practice many employers use subrogation: they pay full salary, reclaim the IJSS from the state, and the 3-day wait disappears for the employee. ### Parental leave Maternity leave is 16 weeks for a first or second child (6 weeks prenatal, 10 weeks postnatal). Paternity and child-welcoming leave is 25 days for a single birth: 4 mandatory days plus 21 optional days. Cash benefits for both are paid directly by Assurance Maladie, not by the employer; your obligation is to grant the leave and protect the employee's position. Many conventions collectives require the employer to top up the state payment to full salary during maternity leave. ### Public holidays Mainland France has 11 legal public holidays. French candidates benchmark total time off as annual leave (25 days) plus RTT days plus the 11 public holidays, not the statutory leave figure alone. An offer that shows only the 25-day statutory figure looks below market to a candidate who knows the French system. [Read the full France benefits guide](/country-hiring-guides/france/benefits). [Read the full France benefits guide →](/country-hiring-guides/france/benefits) ## What are payroll taxes in France in 2026? France has no single employer social-security rate. Employer charges are a composite of roughly a dozen levies that typically add **42 to 47%** on top of gross salary. Employees pay around 22% of gross in social contributions, plus income tax withheld at source across five bands reaching 45% above €181,917. ### Employer social charges There is no single rate to quote. The main employer levies: health insurance at 13% of gross salary, capped pension at 8.55% up to the PSS ceiling of €4,005/month plus an uncapped 2.11% on total salary, unemployment insurance, family allowances at 3.45% (5.25% above 3.5 times the SMIC), a sector-specific workplace accident rate set annually, and the mandatory AGIRC-ARRCO complementary pension. The composite typically lands at 42 to 47% on top of gross. The Réduction générale phases in for earnings below 1.6 times the SMIC and can eliminate most of the employer health and family charges for a worker on the SMIC of €1,867.02/month; at higher salaries it has no effect. ### Individual tax and contributions Employees pay around 22% of gross in social contributions. The main components include capped pension at 6.90% up to the €4,005/month PSS ceiling plus 0.4% uncapped, CSG at 9.2% on 98.25% of gross salary, CRDS at 0.5% on the same base, and the employee share of the AGIRC-ARRCO complementary pension. Income tax uses five bands for 2026: 0% up to €11,600, 11% to €29,579, 30% to €84,577, 41% to €181,917, and 45% above €181,917. Tax is withheld at source each month via the PAS system, at a rate the tax authority (DGFiP) communicates to the employer through the DSN. That rate already reflects the employee's quotient familial, so family status is priced in before payday. ### The monthly DSN filing Everything runs through one monthly filing: the DSN (Déclaration Sociale Nominative), which replaced more than 40 older social declarations. Large employers (50 or more employees) file by the 5th of the month following the pay period; smaller employers have until the 15th. Pension participation is not voluntary: every private-sector employee is enrolled in the CNAV base pension and the AGIRC-ARRCO complementary scheme from day one, with no opt-out. The SMIC minimum wage is €12.31 per hour from 1 June 2026, which is €1,867.02/month at the standard 35-hour week. [Read the full France tax and payroll guide](/country-hiring-guides/france/tax-and-payroll). [Read the full France tax and payroll guide →](/country-hiring-guides/france/tax-and-payroll) ## How do you terminate an employee in France? French statutory notice under Code du travail art. L1234-1 is **1 month** from 6 months' service and **2 months** from 2 years' service. Statutory severance (*indemnité légale de licenciement*) is owed on every non-gross-misconduct dismissal from **8 months of service**, and the barème Macron caps wrongful-dismissal awards at **20 months' salary** at the top of the scale. Every individual dismissal in France needs a *cause réelle et sérieuse*, a real and serious cause, under the Code du travail. The procedure is strictly step-by-step: a written convocation to a preliminary interview (*entretien préalable*), the interview no sooner than five working days after the letter is received, a two-working-day reflection period, then a dismissal letter stating the precise grounds. There is no qualifying period. Any dismissed employee can challenge the dismissal at the Conseil de prud'hommes from day one, with awards capped by the barème Macron under art. L1235-3. | Length of service | Statutory minimum notice | | --- | --- | | 6 months to under 2 years | 1 month | | 2 years or more | 2 months | | Faute grave or faute lourde (gross or wilful misconduct) | None | | Where the convention collective sets a longer period | The higher CBA period applies | Severance (*indemnité légale de licenciement*) is owed on every dismissal except faute grave and faute lourde, once the employee has completed **8 months of uninterrupted service**. The formula under Code du travail art. R1234-2 pays a fraction of one month's reference salary per year of service, with a lower fraction for the first ten years and a higher fraction for each year beyond ten. The reference salary is whichever is higher: the average gross monthly salary over the last twelve months or over the last three. There is no overall statutory cap, and conventions collectives frequently set higher rates than the statutory floor; the employer applies whichever is more favourable. The statutory portion is fully exempt from income tax, and supra-statutory amounts can benefit from a further exemption, subject to a 2026 ceiling of €288,360. The procedure is where French dismissals fail. Skip the five-working-day gap before the *entretien préalable*, shorten the two-day reflection period, or leave a ground out of the dismissal letter, and a valid reason becomes a procedurally flawed dismissal at the Conseil de prud'hommes; only grounds stated in the letter can be relied on later. For a mutual exit, the *rupture conventionnelle* is the standard clean route: agreed in writing, subject to a fifteen-day cooling-off for both parties, validated by the DREETS, and paying at least the statutory severance. The full sequence, from convocation letter to *solde de tout compte*, is covered in the [France termination and severance guide](/country-hiring-guides/france/termination-and-severance). [Read the full France termination and severance guide →](/country-hiring-guides/france/termination-and-severance) ## What should you know before hiring in France? Two surprises hit foreign buyers hiring in France. Any dismissed employee can claim at the Conseil de prud'hommes from **day one**, with statutory severance owed from 8 months of service, and contractor misclassification (*travail dissimulé*) is a **criminal offence** with a five-year URSSAF lookback. Both are meaningfully stricter than most buyers expect. **Termination cost is a formula, not a contingency.** There is no qualifying period for dismissal claims in France: any dismissed employee can go to the Conseil de prud'hommes from day one, with barème Macron awards reaching 20 months' salary at the top of the scale. Statutory severance is owed on every non-gross-misconduct dismissal from 8 months of service, and the dismissal procedure itself is strictly step-by-step. Price the exit before you make the hire. See the [France termination and severance guide](/country-hiring-guides/france/termination-and-severance). **Contractor misclassification is a criminal offence in France.** A registered freelancer starts out presumed self-employed. That presumption falls the moment the working facts show a *lien de subordination*, the legal-subordination link. Where concealed work is established, URSSAF can reclaim contributions going back 5 years with a majoration, an added percentage, on top, and the worker is owed a fixed indemnity of 6 months' salary. The contract label carries no weight; the conditions of the work carry all of it. See the [France misclassification guide](/country-hiring-guides/france/misclassification). [Read the full France contractor misclassification guide →](/country-hiring-guides/france/misclassification) ## Frequently asked questions How much does it cost to hire an employee in France? Employer social contributions vary with pay level, sector, and applicable reductions. On an illustrative model computed from verified rates, a €50,000 hire costs roughly €67,000 to €71,000 fully loaded, around 134 to 142% of gross. Teamed's France fee is $599 per employee per month flat (Zero FX) in any currency pairing, with salaries and social charges passed through at cost. Can a US company hire in France without an entity? Yes. An Employer of Record like Teamed runs French payroll, CDI contracts, and compliance through a vetted partner entity in its network. You direct the work; the partner entity is the legal employer. Onboarding takes days, against the 4 to 8 weeks and €8,000 to €18,000 it takes to form your own SAS or SARL. What changed in France employment law in 2026? The SMIC minimum wage rose to €1,867.02 per month gross (€12.31 per hour) on 1 June 2026, set by arrêté dated 22 May 2026. France has no single annual employment statute: the Code du travail is updated continuously by decree and by sector collective agreements. Unfair dismissal protection under the barème Macron applies from day one, with no qualifying period. What is the employer social charge rate in France in 2026? There is no single rate. Employer charges are a composite of roughly a dozen levies: health insurance at 13% of gross salary, capped pension at 8.55% up to the €4,005 monthly ceiling, unemployment insurance, and family allowances at 3.45%, plus the mandatory AGIRC-ARRCO complementary pension. The composite typically adds 42 to 47% on top of gross salary. When does a French entity become cheaper than EOR? There is no fixed headcount. The crossover moves with the EOR fee you pay, your entity quote, and how fast you grow, so the honest answer is to model it rather than quote a number. Salary does not change it, because both paths carry the same salary and the same 42 to 47% social charges. Run Teamed's Crossover Calculator for your figure; Teamed flags the crossover and runs the Contractor to EOR to entity transition on one platform. What are the French statutory notice periods? Statutory minimum notice under Code du travail art. L1234-1 is 1 month for employees with six months to under two years of service, and 2 months from two years. No notice is owed for faute grave or faute lourde. Conventions collectives frequently set longer periods, and the higher CBA period applies. A note from Tom Price-Daniel EOR is the right hiring model in France. Until it isn't. When you outgrow it, we'll tell you, and graduate you to your own entity. That's the only honest version of this business. Tom Price-Daniel · Co-founder, Teamed ## Keep reading - [How to hire in France, step by step](/country-hiring-guides/france/hiring-guide)child - [Termination and severance in France](/country-hiring-guides/france/termination-and-severance)decisive - [Contractor misclassification in France](/country-hiring-guides/france/misclassification)decisive - [Permanent establishment risk in France](/country-hiring-guides/france/permanent-establishment-risk)child - [What a French employee really costs](/country-hiring-guides/france/cost-breakdown)cost - [EOR vs your own French entity](/country-hiring-guides/france/eor-vs-entity)Crossover host - [Employer of Record overview](/employer-of-record)cluster 2a - The Graduation Modelcluster 2a - [Teamed pricing: Zero FX Fixed](/pricing)commercial - [Crossover Calculator](/tools/crossover-calculator/france)tool - [Talk to an expert](/contact)CTA