France is home to millions of skilled workers in the banking, telecommunications, energy, and health industries. It’s also the home to some of the world’s most comprehensive labour laws. If you’re considering hiring a worker in France or establishing a local entity, it’s vital that you’re familiar with French labour laws and the norms of French work culture.
In particular, French laws regarding compensation, working hours, worker classification, work-life balance protections, employers’ position in the labour hierarchy, contract language, and restrictions on monitoring are all critical to employing successfully in République Française.
Below, we’ll explain everything you need to know across these fronts.
1. Pay and Benefits for French Workers
First and foremost, employers looking to add French talent to their companies need to pay those workers fairly per French Labour Law. As of 1 November 2024, the minimum wage in France and the majority of French territories is €11.88 per hour or €1,801.80 per month.1
This recent change was a 2% increase over the previously established rates, which had just been set in January of 2024. This is an important detail to keep in mind because France’s minimums are dynamic, changing frequently relative to other countries you may be employing across.
And, as with all other employment contexts, minimums are far from the only consideration. You’ll want to consult median and average wages for roles in competitor companies in your industry and construct offers that will be competitive to attract and retain the best talent.
French Workers’ Entitlement to Benefits
In addition to baseline pay, French workers enjoy a robust package of indirect compensation and other benefits that you’ll need to account for when employing top talent in the country.
The benefits French workers enjoy include but are not limited to:
- Health and life insurance contributions
- Retirement savings (pension) contributions
- Partial coverage for worker transportation costs
- Paid time off (vacation, sick, parental leave, etc.)
These entitlements are rights French employers are compelled to protect. Failure to do so can mean breaking the law and incurring criminal charges, penalties, and other consequences.
2. France’s 35-Hour Work Week
France has had a 35-hour work week since 2000. However, that figure is misleading because many individual workers will spend more time working than that—completely legally. What’s critical for your business to know is what the regulations are beyond 35 hours a week.
For work done beyond 35 hours, employees are entitled to overtime pay. The specific rate of overtime pay typically depends on the applicable collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), but overtime rates will always be at least 110% of the worker’s hourly rate.
If no CBA applies to the French worker, they’ll be entitled to:
- 125% of their hourly rate for hours 36-43 in a week
- 150% of their hourly wage for hours 44-48 in a week
This shows that, far from being a maximum number of hours an employee can work in a week, 35 is a marker of when they need to be paid extra for work performed within a given week. Many French workers work more than 35 hours per week.
In France, 48 hours per week is the absolute maximum an employee may work in a single week. However, businesses can’t expect their teams to work 48-hour weeks regularly. Employees can only work an average of 44 hours per week over a 12-week period.
Rest Periods and Breaks
Complying with rest periods in France is just as important as complying with working hours. Employees must have at least 11 hours between shifts each day, meaning that one exceptionally long day typically cannot be followed by another. In addition, workers are entitled to a full day without work each week. Including the required 11 hours between shifts, this all adds up to 35 hours of rest that need to be accounted for. However, there may be exceptions for workers in the hospitality, tourism, and entertainment industries, where shift irregularity is common.
During the workday, French workers are entitled to a minimum of 20 continuous minutes of rest every six hours. Keep in mind that a long lunch (around an hour) is common in France. If you’re building a global team, embracing your team’s local culture and allowing for a longer lunch can demonstrate your cultural awareness and respect for their way of life. On the other hand, neglecting or refusing to accommodate this could result in worker dissatisfaction, poorer work quality, and difficulties retaining workers—especially if competitors are more understanding.
Night Work Regulations
French laws regarding working hours extend beyond the amount of time worked. They also regulate when employees work. Work done between 9 P.M. and 6 A.M. can’t exceed eight hours in a day or 40 hours over the course of a week. Employees may be considered night workers if:
- They work at least 3 hours per night on two or more occasions each week
- They work 270 hours or more at night each year
Asynchronous remote work is more than achievable for global businesses, but real-time virtual meetings can still be necessary at some times. If you’re thinking about hiring in France, be aware that scheduling meetings at certain times could potentially lead to your employee being classified as a night worker if meetings happen regularly enough or are completely mandatory.
3. Classification for French Workers
To avoid an unwanted night designation for a worker, it’s also worth noting that French labour laws (like many other countries’) place great emphasis on classification. Workers need to be given an accurate classification to ensure their rights are upheld.
The French Labour Code stipulates conditions under which a worker is not an employee, including registration as a commercial agent and working in specific niches such as school transportation. The biggest factor is independence with respect to work performed.2
While much of this is similar to some other countries’ classification laws, France places a unique emphasis on subordination. If it can be established that a given worker is subordinate to the company in the ways that an employee would be, then that worker might be considered deserving of a contract. And, in the worst cases, failing to provide one and give the worker employee status (and protect all the rights that come with it) could constitute a crime.
Worker Misclassification Penalties in France
If a French worker does not meet the narrow criteria for non-employment relationships, then they will be considered an employee in the eyes of the law. They need to be treated as such and provided the pay, benefits, working hours, and other rights detailed above and below. Failure to do so may be considered concealed work as defined by French Labour Code L8221-3 and can lead to misclassification penalties.3
Concealed work can lead to consequences for the employer, including but not limited to4:
- Lump sum payments equal to 6 months’ salary
- Fines of up to €225,000 (plus representation costs)
- Imprisonment of up to 3 years for responsible managers
If anything about a contractor’s work relationship with the company changes such that they need to have a new classification, that adjustment needs to be made as swiftly as possible.
4. French Employees’ Right to Log Off
Our modern conception of remote work has largely been shaped by businesses adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the truth is that many have been working remotely—at least some of the time—much longer. Reviewing a proposal after you get home, taking a phone call just before dinner, and checking your email first thing in the morning have all been commonplace long before fully-remote work was mainstream.
When work creeps into our lives, it eventually becomes a form of wage theft, and it ultimately damages workers’ mental health. France was the first European country to formally address this issue facing modern workers. Since 2017, employers have been obligated to negotiate with unions to form ‘Right to Disconnect’ agreements. These agreements come to fruition when workers have clear boundaries on when they are expected to check work-related emails.
Time zone differences often make for a scenario where you’re online while your team across the world is offline. Regulations like the right to disconnect can be frustrating when you urgently need to connect. That said, understanding how such agreements can impact your business is crucial. Not only does it matter for compliance, but it also impacts the productivity and mental health of your teams.
5. Employers’ Position in the French Labour Hierarchy
If French employment law protects workers' rights as employees, it also limits employers’ influence over relationships based on their status as employers. While employers of French workers are not completely without power or say, their interests come after those of the French government (via its labour laws) and workers (via bargaining units).
Labour regulations for workers and employers are organised in the following hierarchy—
The French Labour Code (Code du Travail)
The French Labour Code is the highest-level authority on labour in France. It dictates rules for employees, employers, and contractors. Items covered by the Code du Travail include:
- The minimum wage
- Working hours
- Workplace safety
- Discrimination
- Termination rights for employees and employers
In practice, this means that the French government—not employers operating in France—has the first say on all of the most important matters regarding French employment relationships.
Collective Bargaining Agreements (Accord de Performance Collective)
Beneath the French Labour Code sit collective bargaining agreements (CBAs). They’re typically negotiated between national or industry-wide labour unions and employers’ associations. CBAs have a broad impact, often touching workers and groups outside of their industry. And they will typically apply to employers regardless of whether they’re a part of an employer’s association.
Collective bargaining agreements are often even more favorable to employees than the French Labour Code. And, if there’s a conflict between the two, employees will receive whichever is more beneficial to them—as interpreted by employees and/or their bargaining units.
Likewise, CBAs automatically supersede the contents of individual employment contracts.
Individual Employment Contracts
The French Labor Code and CBAs are exceedingly thorough. They can be seen as two filters through which employment relationship particulars need to pass before employers have a direct say and overt influence over them. If any detail isn’t already covered by the French government and/or a given bargaining unit, it may be negotiated on an individual basis by the employer.
In practice, employers in France are not without power. It’s just that their interests tend to play second (or third) fiddle to those of workers. This is in stark contrast with other labour markets’ dynamics, both in Europe and globally, where employers’ positions carry more weight.
When employing in France, it’s important to keep in mind that employees are entitled to whatever is most beneficial when their individual contract conflicts with labour laws or CBAs.
6. French-language Contract Requirements
France famously has a rich culture. It boasts world-renowned architecture, food, and art. Central to this culture is the French language, which is a national point of pride, and even extends to employment contracts. The French Labour Code requires that labour contracts must be written in French, or your business’ primary language accompanied by a French translation.5
Why does it matter?
First, because employment contracts are complex. Even if a worker is fluent in another language, the technical nature of employment contracts can lead to misunderstandings. Providing contracts in French ensures they’re fully aware of what they’re agreeing to.
Secondly, failing to provide contracts in the French language could potentially put your business at risk. For example, consider a contract that promises a bonus if the worker meets certain goals. A worker could ultimately claim to be entitled to the bonus even if the goals weren’t met because they didn’t understand the non-French version of the contract.
A contract provided to a French employee may be unenforceable if it's not written in or translated into French. This holds true even if the employee communicates exclusively in another language for the purposes of work and is in fact fluent in that language.6
If you’re building a global team, it’s important to be sensitive to the local culture. Taking the time to provide necessary documents to your global team in their native tongue isn’t merely a good way to protect yourself legally. It also can show that you respect their culture.
7. Employee monitoring and GDPR compliance
Some companies have started to monitor their remote workers’ screens or require them to be constantly at their desks.7 However, such activities are illegal in France and monitoring in general is heavily regulated.
For example, employment contracts often give employers complete access to an employee’s company email. However, that’s not quite the case in France. Employers can’t view emails marked ‘personal’ or ‘private’ without the consent of their workers, even if stored on a company email account.
Additionally, monitoring such as tracking internet connections may be allowed, but only when such surveillance is appropriately justified by the business’s needs.8 For instance, your business might monitor a worker’s internet connections to ensure that the company isn’t vulnerable to cybersecurity risks.
If you must monitor your global team, French workers must be informed that you’re taking those steps. They’ll also be entitled to know why you’re doing so, your legal grounds for doing so, who will have access to their data and for how long, and their rights as far as objecting or filing a complaint.
