France Employer of Record Services
France Statutory Leave
Employer of Record France
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France Maternity Leave
In France, maternity leave duration is adjusted according to family size:
- 16 weeks of leave for a single birth with one or two children. This includes 6 weeks before the birth and 10 weeks after.
- 26 weeks of leave for a single birth with one or two children. This includes 8 weeks before the birth and 18 weeks after.
- 46 weeks of leave for multiple births. This includes 24 weeks before the births and 22 weeks after.
Maternity pay is provided through the national social security system. If you are employed and expecting a child, you are entitled to maternity leave and pay.
During the maternity leave, you’ll receive maternity pay which is typically equal to your average monthly salary before your leave began. The amount is capped at 90% of the French minimum wage (SMIC), which is around 1,200 euros per month. If you earn more than the SMIC, you may receive additional compensation from your employer or a private insurance plan.
To be eligible for maternity pay, you must have worked for at least 150 hours in the three months before your leave began. If you’re self-employed, you may also be eligible for maternity leave and pay through the social security system.
Paternity Leave in France
Fathers are entitled to 11 consecutive days of paid paternity leave following the birth or adoption of a child. The leave must be taken within four months of the birth or adoption. In addition, fathers may also take three days of unpaid leave during the mother’s hospitalization or during the seven days following the birth.
During paternity leave, fathers receive a daily allowance from the social security system, which is equivalent to the daily sickness benefit rate. The current rate is around 56 euros per day.
Adoption Leave in France
Employees are entitled to 16 weeks or 22 weeks if adopting multiple children. It may be greater if there are already children in the family, or if the leave is shared between parents.
France Annual Leave
All employees, whether full-time or part-time, accumulates paid time off at a rate of 2.08 days per month, giving 5 weeks for a full-time employee. Paid time off is not transferable to the following year.
The 25 days cannot be taken together, with 5 days off needing to be taken separately. All employees must take at least 12 days off between May 1st and October 31st, at a time determined between themselves and their employer.
Employees in France who have worked for their company for a certain number of years may be eligible for additional paid leave for family-related events and service milestones under French law and collective agreements.
If the company so chooses, they can place the worker on an annualised work schedule. Rather than receiving overtime pay, these workers receive additional paid time off, or “reduction du temps de travail”, in addition to their accrued paid time off and public holidays.
Public Holidays in France
There are 11 public holidays in France, including the following:
- New Year’s Day - Jan 1st
- Easter Sunday and Monday – March or April
- Ascension – the sixth Thursday after Easter
- Labour Day – May 1st
- Whit Monday – 7th Monday after Easter
- Victory Day – May 8th
- National Day – July 14th
- Assumption – August 15th
- All Saints – November 1st
- Armistice – November 11th
- Christmas Day – December 25th
France Sick Leave
In France, the initial three days of sick leave are not compensated, and a doctor’s note is required after 2 days. From day 4 onwards half of the regular daily wage is paid by social security, for a maximum of 360 days over 3 consecutive years.
The length of employment, the employment contract, and any applicable collective agreements may all play a role in the potential for additional compensation, and employer contributions.
Other Statutory Leave in France
The French labour code and collective agreements provides for a variety of paid and unpaid leaves of varying durations, including but not limited to:
- Time off for your or your child’s wedding/civil union
- Bereavement leave
- Carers leave
- Childcare leave
- Sabbatical leave
Wondering if expanding
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We are France Employer of Record experts
We have extensive experience helping businesses expand their workforce in the France. Take a look at our areas of expertise below:
Find out how payroll works in France and what you can expect when it comes to salaries, bonuses and tax
We will take care of all Payroll, HR and Legal processing with a fully-manged EOR service in France.
Learn more about how you can attract and retain staff in France with both statutory and enhanced employee benefits
Unsure about what’s required when employing staff in France? Find out about French Work Permits and Visas here
Wondering what it’s like to live and work in France? We’ve got you covered in our extensive guide, including the do’s and don’ts
Without Agility EOR, our ability to move quickly and scale would be extremely limited. Superb work from A to Z.
Carol Oliveira
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Frequently Asked Questions
Payrolling the employees is a key part of the service offered by an Employer of Record company. The Employer of Record will calculate and remit all taxes, social securities and similar payments, on behalf of both employer and employee. The client will be invoiced in advance by the EOR company, for the total cost of the payroll.
Yes. Our clients are free to dictate the structure of the employees’ remuneration including any bonuses or commissions they wish to offer. In some countries, there is a statutory requirement to provide “bonuses”, for example in the form of Christmas or holiday allowances.
Yes. Agility EOR will calculate what pay is due upon termination of an employee, factoring in such things as any untaken leave entitlements.
We find that most of our clients are in the Tech, IT, Finance, NGO (Not for Profit) and Professional Services industries. However, we have acquired the skills, knowledge and experience to help all industries across the globe.
As a private company, we’re not beholden to shareholders Private Equity targets. We aim to build long-term relationships with our clients. At Agility EOR, our approach is that we never forget that our business is all about people. Our Employer of Record solutions are tailored to each requirement, not a one-size-fits-all tech platform. We do the right thing by our clients and by the laws of each country we operate in. And we believe in openness; if we don’t feel we can offer you the best solution for a specific territory, we’ll say so.
We pride ourselves on our personable-approach so once you enter your new employees details into our dedicated platform, we’ll arrange a call with you to go through the details of the employment contract where together we can review and amend to your requirements. We liaise directly with your employee to build a rapport and obtain the necessary information to hire them compliantly, and set them up ready for their first payroll.
We never stop delivering! Even if you’re employee has been onboarded and is happily working for you and being paid each month, we’re here to partner with you whenever you or your employees need us. Even your ex-employees may need our assistance for tax documents, proof of employment requests etc… Our service never stops!