🇫🇷 Hire in France: cost, rules and best EOR options
Large, well-educated talent pool, strong engineering and design, and generous statutory protections. Employment costs are high and dismissal is complex, but the EU market access and Paris ecosystem are strong.
- Employer on-costs: 25–45% of gross salary (on a $60,000 salary, about $75,000–$87,000 total)
- EOR onboarding: not verified; own entity: not verified
- Probation: CDI: 2 months (workers/employees), 3 months (supervisors), 4 months (managers/cadres); renewable once if the agreement allows (to 4, 6 and 8 months) (general knowledge).
- Currency: Euro (EUR)
- Data confidence: medium, verified 2026-10-05
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What it costs to employ someone in France
Employer on-costs run roughly 25–45% on top of gross salary. PwC: on average the employer's share of contributions is about 45% of gross salary, with various ceilings. Secondary sources give 38-42% for non-cadre staff and 42-45% for cadres, and note that the general reduction of employer contributions (applying up to 3x SMIC from 1 January 2026) cuts the effective rate to a few percent near the minimum wage. The 25% lower bound is an approximation for low-to-mid salaries and is NOT sourced precisely; treat 38-45% as the typical range for mid and higher salaries.
| Contribution | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Employer social security (sickness, family, old-age, accidents, unemployment, supplementary pensions) | ~45% on average (PwC); about 38-45% by salary | Includes health, maternity, disability, family allowances, work accident, old-age, unemployment and mandatory complementary retirement (AGIRC-ARRCO). Reduction generale reduces the burden up to 3 SMIC. |
| Mandatory complementary health (mutuelle) | employer pays at least 50% of premium | General knowledge; not fetched. |
Employer withholds employee social contributions (about 22-25% of gross per PwC for 2026) and, since 2019, the income tax (prelevement a la source) at the rate supplied by the tax administration.
Mandatory benefits
- 5 weeks' paid leave (30 working days)
- Mandatory complementary health insurance with at least 50% employer funding
- 50% reimbursement of public-transport pass
- Paid public holidays (11)
- Sick pay supplements under collective agreements
- Maternity (16 weeks+) and paternity (28 days) leave
Employment rules at a glance
| Payroll | Monthly (payslip required) |
|---|---|
| Probation | CDI: 2 months (workers/employees), 3 months (supervisors), 4 months (managers/cadres); renewable once if the agreement allows (to 4, 6 and 8 months) (general knowledge). |
| Notice & severance | Notice depends on the collective agreement (commonly 1-3 months; statutory minimum for dismissal 1 month after 6 months' service and 2 months after 2 years if no better agreement). Statutory dismissal indemnity: 1/4 of a month's pay per year up to 10 years and 1/3 beyond, after 8 months' seniority. Both general knowledge, not fetched. |
| Working time | 35 hours per week legal duration; overtime at +25% for the first 8 hours and +50% after (can be altered by collective agreement); annual caps on overtime and forfait jours for managers. |
| Paid leave | 2.5 working days per month, i.e. 30 working days (5 weeks) per year, plus up to 11 public holidays (general knowledge; collective agreements may add days). |
| Minimum wage | SMIC: EUR 12.02 gross per hour, EUR 1,823.03 gross per month (35 hours) from 1 January 2026 (info.gouv.fr) - https://www.info.gouv.fr/actualite/le-smic-revalorise-au-1er-janvier-2026 |
Termination
Dismissal requires a real and serious cause with a formal procedure (convocation, interview, letter). Unfair dismissal damages are capped by a statutory scale (barème Macron). Rupture conventionnelle allows mutual exit. Economic dismissals have strict rules.
Employee or contractor in France?
A contractor (independent worker or micro-entrepreneur) is requalified as an employee if subordinated; penalties for dissimulated work (travail dissimule) include 6 months' pay and criminal liability. High risk where integration is deep.
Compare contractor vs employee cost →
Hiring through an EOR in France
Foreign companies need a French entity (SAS/SARL) or a branch, or an EOR (portage salarial is a distinct French regime). Collective agreements (conventions collectives) apply by sector and can raise costs. Timelines not verified.
Typical onboarding: EOR not verified; own entity not verified. CET, UTC+1, and CEST, UTC+2 in summer; 6 hours ahead of US Eastern (5 during brief DST mismatches).
Providers worth shortlisting
| Provider | Best for | EOR pricing | Coverage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deel | Companies that want one platform for contractors, EOR and a US PEO, with transparent per-seat list prices. | $599 per EOR employee per month (public list price, checked 2026-10-05) | 150+ countries (vendor claim, per Deel's own and third-party descriptions) | Visit Deel |
| Remote | Teams that want a published price for each product (EOR, global payroll, contractors, contractor of record, US PEO) and an affiliate program with 12-month revenue share. | $699 per employee/month (public list price, checked 2026-10-05) | 90+ countries for EOR (vendor pricing page claim) | Visit Remote |
| Rippling | Companies already running (or willing to adopt) a unified HR, IT and finance platform who want global hiring as an add-on module. | — | Visit Rippling | |
| Oyster | Distributed teams that want published EOR and contractor prices and a long-running affiliate program with tiered revenue share. | $699 per employee/month (public list price, checked 2026-10-05); annual discounts available; refundable deposit required | 120+ countries EOR; contractors in 180+ countries (vendor claim) | Visit Oyster |
| Papaya Global | Mid-size and larger companies that need multi-country payroll orchestration and workforce payments, and will go through a sales process. | 160+ countries (vendor claim as repeated on FlexOffers listing and third-party pages) | Visit Papaya Global | |
| Multiplier | Cost-conscious teams that want EOR priced below $500 per employee with an annual discount. | Third-party summary of Multiplier's pricing: EOR from $459/employee/month on annual contracts and $499 on monthly contracts (not confirmed; multiplier pricing page returned 403 to our fetch) | — | Visit Multiplier |
| Remofirst | Small teams that want the lowest published EOR starting price and a free contractor tier. | Starting at $199 per person/month (public list price, checked 2026-10-05); 'no hidden fees, setup fees, or minimum contract terms' per vendor page | 185+ countries for EOR (vendor claim) | Visit Remofirst |
| Pebl (formerly Velocity Global) | Companies that want an EOR with a tiered reseller/partner program and are comfortable with a recently rebranded vendor. | Third-party reports a flat $399 per employee/month (not confirmed on vendor page; hellopebl.com/pricing returned 404) | 185+ countries (third-party report) | Visit Pebl (formerly Velocity Global) |
Paying and covering your team in France
Related
FAQ
How much are employer social charges in France?
PwC says about 45% of gross salary on average; the effective rate is lower for salaries near the SMIC because of the general reduction.
How long can probation last?
2 to 4 months for permanent contracts depending on category, renewable once to a maximum of 4, 6 or 8 months.
How many vacation days must employees get?
Five weeks (30 working days) a year.
What is the minimum wage?
SMIC of EUR 12.02 per hour gross (EUR 1,823.03 monthly) from 1 January 2026.