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France Hiring Employees Guide (Embauche de Salariés)

hiring employees in France. The guide covers: the employment contract (the "contrat de travail" — the mandatory French-language written contract: the CDI (Contrat à Durée Indéterminée) — the permanent contract, the default contract type; the CDD (Contrat à Durée Déterminée) — the fixed-term contract, limited to 18 months (renewable twice, maximum 18 months total); the temporary agency work (intérim); the part-time contract (temps partiel)); the employer registration — every employer must register with the URSSAF (Union de Recouvrement des Cotisations de Sécurité Sociale et d'Allocations Familiales) and obtain a SIRET number; the payroll taxes — the employer social security contributions (cotisations sociales patronales) — approximately 25–42% of the gross salary (depending on the salary level, the type of contract, and the applicable reductions); the employee social security contributions (cotisations sociales salariales) — approximately 20–25% of the gross salary; the total tax wedge (the "coin fiscal et social") — the sum of employer and employee contributions plus the income tax — is approximately 46–50% of the total labour cost (one of the highest in the OECD); the social security contributions include: (a) health insurance (assurance maladie), (b) old-age pension (assurance vieillesse), (c) family allowances (allocations familiales), (d) unemployment insurance (assurance chômage), (e) supplementary pension (retraite complémentaire — AGIRC-ARRCO), (f) occupational health (médecine du travail), (g) housing contribution (participation à l'effort de construction — the "1% logement"), (h) transport contribution (versement mobilité — for companies with 11+ employees in certain urban areas); the social tax reductions — the "réduction générale des cotisations patronales" (the former "réduction Fillon" — a reduction of the employer contributions for low and medium salaries, up to 1.6 times the SMIC (minimum wage)); the minimum wage — the SMIC (Salaire Minimum Interprofessionnel de Croissance) — approximately €11.88 per hour (2026), i.e., approximately €1,801 per month for a full-time employee; the mandatory benefits — the meal vouchers (titres-restaurant), the employer contribution to health insurance (mutuelle — mandatory since 2016, the employer pays at least 50% of the cost), the employee savings plan (PEE — Plan d'Épargne Entreprise; the PERECO — Plan d'Épargne Retraite d'Entreprise Collectif), the transport cost contribution of 50% of public transport season tickets (the "remboursement des frais de transport en commun"); the working time — the legal working week is 35 hours (the "durée légale du travail" — 35 hours per week, 1,607 hours per year); overtime hours (the "heures supplémentaires") are paid at 125% (first 8 hours) and 150% (beyond); the overtime is exempt from income tax (the "exonération des heures supplémentaires" — the net amount of overtime is tax-free up to a certain limit); the paid leave — 5 weeks of paid annual leave (congés payés) — 2.5 working days per month of work; the public holidays — 11 public holidays (jours fériés) in France; the termination of employment — the CDI termination (licenciement or rupture conventionnelle): (a) individual dismissal for personal reasons (licenciement pour motif personnel), (b) collective dismissal for economic reasons (licenciement économique — mandatory consultation of the works council (CSE)); the notice period (préavis) is 1–3 months depending on the employee's seniority and the category; the severance pay (indemnité de licenciement) is mandatory after 8 months of service (1/4 of monthly salary per year of service); the unemployment benefit (allocation chômage) — the employee must have worked at least 6 months in the last 24 months to qualify.

France has one of the most regulated labour markets in Europe. All amounts in Euros (EUR). For related reading, see our Payroll Tax Guide → and Employment Benefits Guide →.

Employer Contributions (Charges Patronales)

• Total employer cost: The employer social contributions are approximately 25–42% of the gross salary. Main contributions: (a) health insurance (assurance maladie) — 13% (with reductions), (b) old-age pension (assurance vieillesse plafonnée) — 8.55% on the salary up to the Social Security ceiling (€3,666/month), (c) old-age pension (déplafonnée) — 1.90% on the full salary, (d) family allowances — 5.25% (reduced to 3.45% for salaries below 1.6 SMIC), (e) supplementary pension (AGIRC-ARRCO) — approximately 4–8%, (f) unemployment insurance (assurance chômage) — 4.05%, (g) accident insurance (AT-MP) — variable by industry (0.5–8%).
• Reduction générale (Fillon): The "réduction générale des cotisations patronales" reduces the employer contributions on salaries below 1.6 times the SMIC (approximately €2,882/month in 2026). The reduction is calculated using the formula: (maximum coefficient × 1.6 × SMIC / gross salary) — the coefficient varies by year (approximately 0.32 for 2026). The reduction can bring the effective employer rate down to approximately 10–15% for minimum wage employees.

Employee Contributions (Charges Salariales)

• Total employee deduction: The employee social contributions are approximately 20–25% of the gross salary. Main contributions: (a) health insurance — 0%, (b) old-age pension (plafonnée) — 6.90% on salary up to the ceiling, (c) old-age pension (déplafonnée) — 0.40% on full salary, (d) supplementary pension (AGIRC-ARRCO) — approximately 3–6%, (e) unemployment insurance — 0%, (f) CSG (Contribution Sociale Généralisée) — 9.20% on 98.25% of the gross salary (non-deductible portion: 2.40% is deductible for income tax), (g) CRDS (Contribution au Remboursement de la Dette Sociale) — 0.50% on 98.25% of the gross salary (non-deductible).

For the payroll tax return and the monthly social declaration (DSN), see our Payroll Tax Guide →. For the employee benefits taxation, see our Employment Benefits Guide →.