France: Self-employed workers
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While some professions have traditionally been carried out by self-employed workers, the practice of outsourcing in a certain number of sectors is helping to increase the number of self-employed workers. Self employment also seems to be increasing in professions using the new information and communication technologies (ICT). Besides, umbrella companies have developed significantly since 1995. They are currently the subject of a legal battle. A first sector agreement was signed on 15 November 2007 in research units, engineering consultancies and consultant agencies From January 2008, a unique regime for self-employed workers replaced the three existing bodies. This reform secures the long-term future of an independent social security system for the self-employed. In terms of working conditions monitoring, self-employed are like a kind of blind spot in France.
1. Legal provisions and social security
Please provide the definition of self-employed workers which is applicable in your country.
Self-employed non-agricultural workers fall into various legal categories. INSEE (the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies) differentiates between:
Craftspeople, who are registered on the Chamber of Craft Trades’ register.Traders, who are registered on the Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s commercial register.Craftspeople-traders, who are registered on both the above registers.The professions.Managing partners.Other legal categories.
In this definition, no specific distinction is made for self-employed workers with no employees. They can belong to any of the categories listed above.
Agricultural workers are included in the self-employment category. The self-employment category is made up of self-employed workers with no employees, employers and those working in family businesses (people who without being employees help a member of their family who is a self-employed worker).
Important notice: the available data do not always give the split between self-employed with and without employees. When this distinction is possible, we shall indicate it in the document.
Briefly indicate the main differences, if any, in the social security regime of self-employed workers with no employees compared with: a) employees; b) self-employed with employees.
There is no specific scheme for self-employed workers with no employees. In the same way as self-employed workers in general, they are covered either by the self-employed workers’ regime, the general regime or the agricultural regime.
Prior to 2005, there were three social security schemes for non-agricultural self-employed workers:
- ORGANIC for traders and CANCAVA for craftspeople. These schemes managed their basic pensions, occupational pensions and invalidity and death insurance.
- National Independent Professions' Sickness Insurance Fund (Caisse Nationale d'Assurance maladie des Professions Indépendantes, CANAM) managed health insurance, maternity benefits and daily allowances for traders, craftspeople, manufacturers and the professions.
In 2006, the Régime Social des Indépendants (RSI – Social Security Regime for Self-Employed Workers) replaced these three bodies (with the only exception being old age and invalidity / death insurance for the professions). This reform secures the long-term future of an independent social security system for the self-employed. The main objective of the new system is to simplify administrative procedures for those paying social security contributions. From 1st January 2008, the Interlocuteur Social Unique (ISU – Social Security One Stop Shop) system is set up. With the ISU, the RSI manages social security for close to 4 million people.
A craftsperson’s regime depends on the legal form of his or her company: if the company is a one-person company, or if s/he is the director with a majority shareholding of a limited liability company (SARL), s/he is covered by the RSI, which is the regime for self-employed workers who belong to the non-agricultural professions. If the person is the director of a limited company (SA) or the director with a minority shareholding of a limited liability company (SARL), s/he is covered by the general social security regime.
The authors of literary, musical, graphical, visual art, cinematographic, audiovisual and photographic works are a special case:
- If they fulfil certain conditions, they are covered by a specific regime for performing artistes and authors, which is linked to the general regime. Their benefits are calculated using a special method. Depending on their work, performing artistes and authors are managed by either the Association pour la gestion de la sécurité sociale des auteurs (AGESSA) or the Maison des Artistes (MDA).
- If they do not fulfil the set conditions, the performing artists / authors are covered by the scheme for self-employed workers.
- When writing / performing is their secondary activity, and is carried out at the same time as a salaried post, they are covered by the general regime.
Finally, agricultural workers fall into a specific category and their social security is provided by the Agriculture Welfare Mutual Society (Mutualité Sociale Agricole, MSA).
Please indicate the existence of any particular legal forms of employment which cover contractual relationships which are commonly regarded to be mid-way between dependent employment and self-employment (if necessary, see for a longer discussion of the concept the EIRO comparative study ‘Economically dependent workers', employment law and industrial relations’).
whether they are commonly considered as economically dependent employment;specify the main features of such forms of employment and whether they enjoy specific social security regime and, if relevant, the basic features of such special regime (please refer this illustration to the answer given to question 1.2 above).indicate any rules which generally apply to this kind of employment as for: a) working time and vacation; b) maternity and parental leave; c) sick pay and leave for sickness
For the past twenty years, a form of employment has existed which is not covered by the Labour Code (Code du Travail): umbrella companies (portage salarial).
A worker wins and negotiates an assignment with a client.S/he then signs an employment contract with an umbrella company, which then agrees a service provision contract with the client.The client pays the umbrella company for the service. The umbrella company then pays part of this amount (after deducting administrative costs, social security contributions - both employer’s and employee’s contributions - so about half of the amount) in the form of a salary to the “umbrella employee” (salarié porté).The worker does not receive a salary between assignments. After a certain period of time without an assignment, the employment contract is broken.
The “umbrella” worker is covered by the general social security scheme. Unlike workers in the entertainment industry without steady employment (FR0612039I), these workers do not have a special unemployment benefits system. The ASSEDIC (bodies responsible for managing local unemployment funds) may refuse to pay out unemployment benefits for contributions made when working as the employee of an umbrella company. This refusal is based on the lack of subordination. Since spring 2007, ASSEDICs have frequently refused to pay unemployment benefits on these grounds.
2. Recent trends in self-employment with no employees
Please provide data on recent trends in self-employment (since 2000):
The self-employed (including self-employed agricultural workers) make up 10% of total employment.
The number of self-employed workers in the non-agricultural professions rose by 6.3% between 2001 and 2004. The latest ACOSS (Central Agency for Social Security Bodies) figures (available from December 2007) show that this increase continued in 2005 and 2006.
thousands
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | % women | Total | % Women | Total | % Women | Total | % Women | |
| Self-employed (no.) | 1,846 | 1,856 | 1,892 | 1,963 | 30.3 | |||
| Self-employed with no employees (%) | 61.1 | |||||||
Source: ACOSS-URSSAF (2006), non-agricultural sectors.
Please report, according to available research and studies,
the distribution of self-employment without employees across sectors and occupations;whether self-employment without employees has either increased or decreased significantly in recent years (since 2000) in specific:Sectors and activities.Occupations (International Standard Classification of Occupations – ISCO 88, at one digit).and in specific groups of workers defined by:Gender (men/women).Age groups (younger/older; 14-24, 25-54, 55-64; 65 and over).Nationality (nationals/foreign nationals).Other relevant dimensions to be specified.
Self-employment without any employees is a particularly common phenomenon in the professions (78.3%) and in the artistic and sports sectors, in health, accountancy and consultancy, and other tertiary activities.
| Sectors | Number | Evolution 2004/2001 (%) | % of self-employed with no employees | % women |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catering industry | 108,600 | 0.9 | 44.2 | 21.8 |
| Industry | 92,500 | 4.6 | 60.2 | 18.9 |
| Construction industry | 264,900 | 9.4 | 50.4 | 3.1 |
| Transport | 59,100 | 1.7 | 68.5 | 11.8 |
| Caring professions | 91,800 | 7.8 | 56.0 | 73.7 |
| Other tertiary activities | 121,300 | 15.3 | 72.2 | 28.9 |
| Wholesale | 114,100 | 10.1 | 57.6 | 15.6 |
| Non-food retail | 227,100 | 6.4 | 66.9 | 41.7 |
| Hotels, cafes and restaurants | 167,100 | 4.6 | 39.7 | 37.1 |
| Property | 57,800 | 16.8 | 67.3 | 26.3 |
| Pharmacies | 27,700 | 1.9 | 16.2 | 53.4 |
| Heath | 326,200 | 2.8 | 76.3 | 47.2 |
| Legal | 53,000 | 10.2 | 67.7 | 41.3 |
| Accountancy and consultancy | 98,500 | 14.9 | 72.4 | 18.6 |
| Financial and insurance | 26,600 | 1.3 | 54.2 | 14.9 |
| Artistic and sporting | 54,200 | 8.0 | 86.5 | 28.9 |
| Other sectors | 72,600 | - 7.6 | n/a | 20.9 |
| All | 1 963,100 | 6.3 | 61.1 | 30.3 |
Source: ACOSS-URSSAF (2006), non-agricultural sectors.
While some professions have traditionally been carried out by self-employed workers (translating and interpreting, for example), the practice of outsourcing in a certain number of sectors is helping to increase the number of self-employed workers. This is the case in publishing, the press and the media (proofreaders and local press correspondents, for example). Self employment also seems to be increasing in professions using the new information and communication technologies (ICT). According to INSEE, 8.5% of those working in the IT sector in 2005 were self-employed, making for a total of 31,100 people (up 26% in relation to 2003). Numbers have risen sharply in the equipment maintenance and repair sectors.
Based on existing research and studies, please provide any available data on the diffusion and recent trends of:
All legal forms of employment indicated in section 1.3 above (contractual relationships mid-way between dependent employment and self-employment and economically dependent employment), specifying whether they concentrate in any sectors and/or occupations.
Created in 1985 by two associations, umbrella companies (see 1.) played a peripheral role until 1995, but have developed significantly since then. However, there are no official statistics on this form of employment. Estimations on the number of people working for umbrella companies vary from 10,000 to 25,000. A study on this form of employment carried out in 2007 on the request of Gérard Larcher, the former minister of state for employment, put forward figures of 15,000 people in 2005, and 18,000 in 2006. The companies who are members of the National Union of Umbrella Companies (Syndicat national des entreprises de portage salarial, SNEPS) have experienced an average growth rate of 30% per year over the past two years.
Traditionally, the ‘employees’ of umbrella companies are usually ‘older’ executives aged 45 . However growing numbers of newcomers are young and females employees.
‘Bogus self-employment’, i.e. formal self-employment which is fraudulently used to disguise contractual relationships which should be properly registered as dependent employment, in order to avoid the protections and costs (both wage and social contributions) connected with the latter, specifying whether it concentrates in any sectors and/or occupations.
No data available.
3. Collective representation and collective bargaining
NCs are requested to indicate the main collective representation organisations of employed workers with no employees or of the workers with the special contractual relationships illustrated above in section 1.3. In particular, they should provide information on:
The type of associations (trade associations or trade unions).The associational domains of each of such associations: territorial, sectoral, occupational, professional, etc.Membership and membership rates.Any forms of social dialogue or collective bargaining these associations engage in, specifying:
The levels at which such activities take place (national, sectoral, territorial, company).The actors they engage in these activities with (public authorities, employers associations, single employers).The topics typically covered by these activities.The typical outcomes of such activities (joint documents and declarations, guidelines, agreements, etc.)A brief description of the content of some (two or three) of the main and most recent of such documents.
There are no organisations that specifically represent self-employed workers with no employees as a whole. SICFOR, which represents self-employed consultants and trainers, is the only trade union found. There is no information available about its membership rates.
Even if it does sometimes give rise to debate, some unions represent those who are frequently called “independent professionals”. They may be:
De facto employees who have self-employed status. This is the case for press correspondents (according to SIMP-CNT, the press and media trade union, there are thought to be 30,000 with 5,000 journalists working in the local press).Employees working for umbrella companies. Their status – whether they are in fact employees or self-employed – raises questions.
The issue of the actual status and attachment of these workers is debated by trade unions such as the Confederal Union of Managerial Staff of the French Democratic Federation of Labour (Union confédérale des cadres- Confédération française démocratique du travail, UCC-CFDT), the French Confederation of Professional and Managerial Staff (Confédération française de l’encadrement – Confédération générale des cadres, CFE-CGC), journalists’ trade unions and consultancy sector trade unions.
In the umbrella company sector, there are three employers’ organisations:
The National Union of Umbrella Companies (Syndicat national des entreprises de portage salarial, SNEPS) founded in 1998. Its 15 member companies make around two-thirds of the sector’s turnover. The National Federation of Umbrella Companies (Fédération nationale du portage salarial, FNEPS) founded in 2004, with 30 member companies.The National Union of Specialised Umbrella Companies (Union nationale des entreprises de portage specialisé, UNEPS), created in 2005, has 11 member companies which operate in one or more sectors.
These organisations advocate a different approach to this form of employment. FNEPS in particular considers that umbrella companies have an inter-trade scope. On the other hand, SNEPS believes that this form of employment is not a trade, but is a way of organising employment. It should be limited to consultancy, professional training and intellectual services with high added value. SNEPS also joined the Chambre des Ingénieurs Conseils de France (CICF), the employers’ organisation for IT, engineering and consultancy, in 2006.
Moreover, SNEPS is seeking to standardise its practices, and to bring ‘umbrella’ employees into line with ‘standard’ employment, with a few modifications. While FNEPS wants to work within the existing legal framework, it also believes that collective guarantees are not necessarily right for people with a self-employment ethos.
As of 1998, the SNEPS founder companies adopted a first version of an ethics charter in order to formalise undertakings made to employees and clients, and to limit the scope of umbrella companies. In particular, this charter states that the umbrella company should pay at least the minimum wage for the sector in question to the employee at the end of the month worked, without waiting for the client to settle the invoice. When the client settles, a bonus calculated on the basis of the assignment’s margin is added.
In 2004, ITG, a SNEPS member company, signed an agreement with CFDT applying these rules, paying the "umbrella employee" one to three days of new customer development time per month, and paying a profit-sharing. Since then at least 10 agreements have been signed using the Ethics Charter as a basis.
In 2006, SNEPS and the F3C-CFDT, FIECI-CGC and UJICA-FSCV-CFTC trade unions for the consultancy sector created a Joint Umbrella Facility Research and Monitoring Institute (Observatoire paritaire du portage salarial). The CGT, which was calling for an inter-trade agreement, did not join this body.
FNEPS also created its own Ethics Charter.
An agreement on umbrella companies in research units, engineering consultancies and consultant agencies was signed on 15 November 2007 by the SNEPS and the CICF, on the one hand, and the CFDT, the CFE-CGC and the CFTC, on the other. It was the first sector agreement on this topic and covers a period of two years. According to the CFTC federation, it provides consultants with 'substantial guarantees', notably regarding minimum pay, 20 hours per annum of individual rights to training (with a minimum of 7 hours for those working part-time) after 6 months' service, as well as the introduction of a provident fund.
4. Employment and working conditions
Wage levels, of self-employed workers without employees compared with the national average.
Self-employed workers’ incomes may include several components, notably a "salary" component. Self-employment and employment are not mutually exclusive statuses, and it is possible to be both: 10% of self-employed workers simultaneously earn a salary and income from self-employed work, particularly in the health sector (20%) and in other professions, and in the agricultural sector (10%). The share of wages in their overall income is significant: in 2002, it made up 25% for farmers, one-fifth for healthcare professionals, 45% in commerce and local services, and more than a third in industry, construction, goods transport and wholesale trade.
According to INSEE, the average overall income in 2002 ranged from € 14,100 pa in the agricultural sector to € 54,400 for the professions and similar categories (€ 61,300 for the healthcare professions). Apart from the agricultural sector, where self-employed workers earn a little less than private sector employees, self-employed workers have significantly higher incomes than their counterparts in the private sector (up to 280% for healthcare professions).
| Groups of sectors | Average overall net taxable income /of the self-employed per year (in €) | Self-employed earning wages and other incomes | Average overall net taxable income of employees in the private sector /year(in €) | |
| Share in the self employed population (%) | Share of the wages in the total income (%) | |||
| Agriculture | 14,083 | 9.5 | 25.6 | 14,835 |
| Industry, construction, goods transport, wholesale | 31,823 | 7.7 | 36.7 | 21,665 |
| Local shops and services | 22,447 | 7.3 | 44.7 | 15,304 |
| Services provided by the professions and similar categories | 54,405 | 16.4 | 22.4 | 23,132 |
| among which health professions | 61,306 | 19.5 | 20.0 | 16,145 |
| Total | 30,396 | 10.3 | 29.4 | 21,019 |
Field: self-employed and managers of their own company (except family help) compared to employees of private sector. People declaring negative or null incomes were excluded along with those having begun their activity at a later date at January 2002. Same for the employees in the private sector.
Source: Fiscal Incomes Survey, 2002
According to ACOSS, in 2004 the average income of non-agricultural sector self-employed workers ranged from around € 21,000 pa for craftspeople / craftspeople-traders and for traders/ sales representatives to € 50,000 for the professions. The sharp rise in the numbers of self-employed workers since 2004 has been combined with a slowdown in the increase of the average annual income.
According to INSEE, in 2002 the income disparity between self-employed men and women (on average 32%) was more marked than amongst employees, especially in agriculture (57%), and in the professions and similar categories (56%). There was an income gap of 17% in industry and in construction (where the numbers of female workers are lower).
ACOSS’s data, just like that of INSEE, establishes that income also varies with age: the average incomes of those in their forties are higher than younger workers’ incomes, and this gap is greater amongst the self-employed. However, the income of self-employed workers over the age of fifty tends to drop, while the incomes of employees are still increasing at that age.
The 2007 survey on umbrella companies highlighted the widely differing situations of the “umbrella” employees:
20% of the "umbrella" employees carry out 80% of the assignments.In 2005, 82% of the umbrella employees earned less than the annual French SMIC (minimum wage). 50% of female umbrella employees earned over € 2,850 per year, and half of male umbrella employees earned over € 4,100.
The incidence of low-paid jobs (that is, according to the OECD definition, jobs which pay less than two-third of the median wage) among self-employed workers without employees compared with the national average.
No data available.
Working hours, of self-employed workers without employees compared with the national average:
The working hours of self-employed workers are characterised by an unclear demarcation between working time and non-working time.
Average hours actually worked per week.
The self-employed work long weekly hours, higher than those worked by private sector employees in the same sector (over 55 hours on average per week for those working full-time, as opposed to the 39 hours worked by their counterparts in the private sector).
Self-employed workers in the agricultural sector work the most hours. Owners of local shops and services work almost as many hours as the farmers (58 hours per week on average). Bosses of small companies in industry, construction and wholesale also work relatively long hours (an average of 52 hours per week), as do self-employed people in the professions and similar categories (on average 51 hours per week).
| Group of sectors | Hours worked on average per week (self-employed) | Difference in relation to employees |
| Agriculture | 60 | |
| Industry, construction, goods transport, wholesale | 52 | 33% |
| Local shops and services | 58 | 50% |
| Services provided by the professions and similar categories | 51 | = |
| Average | Over 55 | 41% |
Source: INSEE PREMIERE number 1084 (2006)
Diffusion of long working hours (more than 10 hours a day).
In 1991, over half of self-employed workers stated that they worked eleven or more hours per day.
Furthermore, as per the following diagram (1999), it can be seen that apart from those working in family businesses, there is a considerably lower share of part-time working amongst self-employed workers than amongst employees.
Graph 1. Evolution of the part time employment rate
In 2005, 30% of self-employed women worked part-time, while 46% of female employees worked part time (see table 5). Only 5% of self-employed men worked part-time, while 6% of male employees worked part time.
Source: INSEE, employment surveys.
Diffusion of work at unsocial hours (night, weekend).
In 1999, the percentage of workers working non-standard hours was a lot higher amongst self-employed workers than employees (at least 40% of the self-employed are affected, irrespective of their sector). Either systematically or on an occasional basis, over 90% of self-employed workers work on Saturdays, and close to 61% work on Sundays, and over 25% work at night (between midnight and 5am).
Graph 2. Working time for employees and self-employed
(left side : total average working time by occupation ; right side : share of workers not having usually regular working times ; top of the graph : employees ; bottom : self-employed)
Farmers are most affected by unsocial hours due to the inherent nature of their jobs: three-quarters work every Saturday and over half work every Sunday. Over 50% of non-agricultural sector self-employed workers systematically work on Saturdays and one-fifth on Sundays. Traders are the most in demand.
Emergencies, duty periods and night on-calls mean that self-employed workers in the professions, especially doctors, sometimes work on Sundays or at night.
| Workers with variable schedules from one day to another, or shift work | On Saturday | On Sunday | Night work(1) | ||||
| Usual | Occasional | Usual | Occasional | Usual | Occasional | ||
| Independent (without family help) | 54.4 | 58.0 | 32.6 | 26.7 | 33.3 | 3.9 | 23.3 |
| Independent (including family help) | 52.9 | 59.6 | 31.1 | 28.8 | 32.1 | 3.8 | 22.9 |
| Farmers | 60.0 | 74.0 | 24.0 | 53.7 | 36.1 | n.s | 46.3 |
| Other independent non-agricultural | 52.8 | 53.7 | 34.9 | 19.4 | 32.6 | 4.8 | 17.2 |
| Craftspeople | 53.3 | 49.4 | 38.6 | 13.5 | 27.4 | 6.5 | 12.1 |
| Tradespeople | 44.5 | 71.3 | 20.6 | 35.1 | 23.3 | 4.9 | 14.6 |
| Business owners (10 employees or more) | 56.1 | 36.6 | 41.1 | 10.0 | 35.5 | n.s | 16.3 |
| Highly qualified professions | 57.8 | 41.7 | 46.8 | 6.6 | 53.8 | n.s | 37.9 |
| Intermediate professions | 65.3 | 41.7 | 45.4 | 18.3 | 45.7 | n.s | 18.8 |
| All employees | 35.7 | 17.3 | 30.2 | 5.4 | 19.5 | 4.5 | 12.6 |
| Executives and intermediate occupation of private sector | 39.5 | 12.9 | 29.6 | 2.2 | 18.6 | n.s | 8.3 |
| Other employees | 35.0 | 18.2 | 30.3 | 6.1 | 19.7 | 5.3 | 13.5 |
| Self-employed and employees | 38.0 | 23.1 | 30.3 | 8.6 | 21.2 | 4.4 | 14.0 |
Field: total workers in full-time employment, except teachers
(1) Between 00:00 and 05:00
(2) Non significant population (less than 50)
Source: Employment Survey 1999, INSEE
Place of work of self-employed workers without employees compared with the national average:
Home/office distribution.
No data available.
Exposure to risks and accidents at work of self-employed workers without employees compared with the national average:
Work accident rates.
See 6.
Health outcomes, work-related health problems and occupational illnesses of self-employed workers without employees compared with national average:
Occupational illness rates.Work intensity and stress at work
The response is mainly based on data from the 1991 "Conditions de Travail" survey.
The inherent nature of self-employment means that workers are able to organise their work in a different way (independence, time management, deadlines and responsibilities.) However, self-employment does not always play a key role when these workers are questioned about working conditions: environment, physical difficulties and occupational risks seem to depend more on the trade in question than employment status. The profession’s working conditions are the determining factors, and therefore as regards exposure to risk, conditions are relatively similar to those experienced by employees.
At first sight, self-employed people state more frequently than employees that they have difficult working environments, and experience physical difficulties and occupational risks. Indeed, self-employed workers work in socio-professional categories where these problems are very prevalent. In general, compared with equivalent professions, differences between employees and the self-employed are very small for the main risks: dust, injuries caused by tools or materials, the risk of a serious fall, injuries caused by machines etc.
For example, farmers and agricultural workers state that they have a similar working environment and experience similar physical difficulties (dirt, draughts, humidity linked to bad weather, sometimes very low or very high temperatures, and physical effort). Craftspeople also experience numerous physical difficulties: they spend a lot of time standing up and carry heavy loads, making for a difficult working environment.
On the other hand, employed nurses state more frequently than their self-employed counterparts that they spend a lot of time standing and have to carry heavy loads. In hospitals, working as a nurse involves lifting and moving patients (more often than for self-employed nurses who work in private individuals’ homes).
Exposure to road accidents is a lot higher amongst the self-employed, who have to travel in order to go and see their clients, suppliers or patients.
Finally, the independence of the self-employed goes hand-in-hand with isolation, which makes it difficult to exchange information or obtain help or social support. 25% of self-employed workers state that their work is hampered by the fact that they are unable to work with others, whereas this issue only affected just over 10% of employees.
Work patterns:
The work patterns of the self-employed (excluding farmers) are very closely linked to external demand, with almost all of them stating that this is the case. For over 80% of traders, company directors and professionals, this demand needs to be immediately satisfied.
Whether this demand requires an immediate response or not, it goes hand-in-hand with relations with customers or the public. In a third of these cases, the self-employed workers in contact with the public experience tensions. This constraint is based on a trade ethos rather than being based on the status itself, as customers must be satisfied as quickly as possible.
This ethos is particularly apparent for doctors and nurses for whom emergency situations occur relatively frequently and demands require an immediate response. In these professions, employees seem to be more exposed to tensions with the public than the self-employed, as they have to manage several cases at the same time, whereas the self-employed usually only see one patient at a time.
Company directors are also subject to a great extent to customer-related constraints and a lot more so than company executives, with whom they could be compared.
It appears that the self-employed have greater room for manoeuvre than employees in how they organise their work: in 1991 only 30% had to respect standards or meet short deadlines, compared with 40% of employees, and a little more than half of manual workers. Many said that they do not have to meet short deadlines or if they do, they are able to change them. This is particularly the case for craftspeople as opposed to craftspeople-type manual workers.
Regarding work patterns, differences between employees and the self-employed are greater in the craft industry: in 1991, twice as many craftspeople as manual workers said they had work patterns connected with external demand. The status of self-employment plays a key role in this case, as bosses, rather than their workers, are more directly exposed to demand.
Manual workers report to their bosses, while craftspeople report to their customers (for example, in the construction industry where craftspeople are a lot more exposed to external demand than manual workers).
Fear of sanctions
Employment status seems to play an important role as regards sanctions and in financial terms: in comparable professions, employees state a lot more frequently than self-employed workers that a mistake at work could lead to sanctions. In this instance, the concept of sanctions covers job loss or a pay cut. The self-employed speak more of financial risks.
Stress
90% of company directors and members of the professions state that they have to retain a lot of information. This indicator is more related to the socio-professional category than to employment status.
Slightly more than 50% of the self-employed state that they frequently have to abandon a job in order to carry out another non-scheduled job.
All in all, the working conditions of the self-employed are characterised by stronger demand, and a relatively high level of independence, but weak social support.
Lifelong learning of self-employed workers without employees compared with the national average:
Participation rates in continuous education and training.
We do not have any statistics on the initial training of self-employed workers.
Due to the professions, self-employed workers are slightly more qualified than private sector employees as regards the proportion of who have passed the French baccalaureate (44% compared with 39% in 2004). They do nevertheless make up a heterogeneous whole. In 2004:
Self-employed workers in the agricultural sector had a low level of qualifications (the highest level of qualifications held by 70% of them in 2004 was a CAP – vocational training certificate or BEP – technical school certificate.)Self-employed workers in industry, construction, transport and wholesale had a similar level of qualifications to farmers, but had often undertaken professional training, as almost 50% of them have a CAP, BEP or equivalent professional qualification.A third of owners of local shops and services had at least passed the French baccalaureate, another third had a BEP or CAP, and the others had no qualifications or just a BEPC (exam taken at the age of fifteen). Finally, 80% of self-employed people working in the professions or in similar categories had a baccalaureate plus two years of formal study (Bac 2).
| Group of sectors | > Bac 2 | Bac 2 | Baccalaureate or professional training certificate | CAP, BEP or equivalent qualification | BEPC or no qualifications | Total |
| Agriculture | 1.9 | 8.2 | 18.5 | 38.6 | 32.8 | 100 |
| Industry, construction, goods transport, wholesale | 9.7 | 6.9 | 11.4 | 46.1 | 25.9 | 100 |
| Local shops and services | 4.7 | 7.4 | 18.8 | 36.4 | 32.7 | 100 |
| Services provided by the professions and similar categories | 55.8 | 24.1 | 8.5 | 5.2 | 6.5 | 100 |
Interpretation: 55.8% of self-employed people working in the professions or in similar categories have a baccalaureate plus two years of formal study (Bac 2).
Scope: Self-employed workers and company directors (excluding those working in family businesses).
Source: On-going Employment Survey INSEE 2004
The percentage of self-employed people in accordance with the level of qualifications increases over time after leaving initial training. In 2005, amongst people with a job who had left after 1- 4 years of initial training, the self-employed represented 4% of graduates of long higher education courses, little more than the other levels of qualifications. This proportion rises with the number of years since leaving initial training: amongst people with a job who had left after 11 or more years of initial training, the self-employed represented 18% of graduates of long higher education courses.
Whatever the level of qualifications, the percentage of self-employed workers increases in conjunction with years of experience.
| Long higher education courses | Short higher education courses | Baccalaureate and equivalent qualifications | CAP – BEP and equivalent qualifications | School leaving exam, CEP and no qualifications | Total | |
| Left after 1 – 4 years of initial training | ||||||
| Self-employed | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Employees | 96 | 96 | 96 | 98 | 98 | 97 |
| Left after 5 – 10 years of initial training | ||||||
| Self-employed | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| Employees | 93 | 93 | 94 | 96 | 96 | 94 |
| Left after 11 years of initial training | ||||||
| Self-employed | 18 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 13 |
| Employees | 82 | 88 | 87 | 86 | 89 | 87 |
BEP: Brevet d’études professionnelles (Technical school certificate).
CAP: Certificat d’aptitude professionnelle (Vocational training certificate).
CEP: Certificat d'études primaires (Primary school leaving certificate).
Scope: Mainland France, workers who have left initial training.
Source: Employment Surveys (annual average), data revised using demographic estimates in 2005.
Work-life balance of self-employed workers without employees compared with the national average:
Presence and take up rates of maternity/parental leave (according to the applicable social security regime).Presence and take up rates of long-term leave (according to the applicable social security regime). If possible, please indicate the reasons for long-term leave.Degree of control of personal working time.Degree of consistency of personal working time with family and social commitments.
No data available.
Job satisfaction of self-employed workers without employees compared with the national average:
Degree of satisfaction with employment conditions.Degree of satisfaction with working conditions.
No data available.
5. The social partners’ positions
Self-employed workers’ membership of trade unions is not a new issue. The question has already been raised for lorry drivers, for example, due to their shuttling between employee and self-employed status, and the similar nature of their working conditions. In practice, membership is open if need be to self-employed workers when they are considered as de facto employees. The trade unions also support the reclassification of their contract into an employment contract as part of legal action concerning the self-employed or “umbrella company” employees.
Moreover, in terms of social security, several links have been forged between the employees' regime and the self-employed regime. The January 2001 UNEDIC (National Union for Employment in Industry and Commerce) agreement maintained unemployment benefits for 36 months for any employee who was made redundant or who resigned, and who goes on to create or buy a company. Since March 2002, self-employed workers who were employed until after the age of 50 can receive their ARRCO and AGIRC occupational pensions from the age of 60, just like employees.
Umbrella companies are currently the subject of a legal battle centred around two main points:
The distinction between employment and self-employment.Are umbrella companies actually subcontracting labour or illegally supplying workers (Article L125-1 of the Labour Code)? If so, this form of employment would be illegal.
Employers’ organisations and trade unions are taking a stance either in favour of the creation of a specific system which would cover a wide range of activities, or in favour of standardisation based on the existing rules (for example, by considering this form of employment to be like temping), with recognition of a main activity. The CGT union for research consultancies believes that umbrella companies ‘give rise to unfair competition as regards service and computer engineering companies’ In the eyes of the CFDT, ‘umbrella companies should be limited to consultancy work’. Supporting company-level agreements, a sector-wide agreement, or an inter-trade agreement, would provide collective guarantees for ‘umbrella’ employees.
6. NC Commentary
The distinction between self-employment and employment, and its impact in terms of social security in particular, is a very important issue in the light of labour market transitions. While some regard ‘umbrella companies’ as a way into self-employment, others see them as a long-term form of employment.
While waiting for labour law to recognise this form of employment, the case of umbrella companies is far from being resolved. Currently, this form of employment is not covered by a specific collective agreement. Many companies voluntarily apply the collective agreement which corresponds to the trade to which the ‘umbrella’ employees who make the biggest turnover belong (particularly the SYNTEC – CICF agreement) (IT, engineering and consultancy). Nevertheless, when an umbrella company ‘employs’ workers from different trades, any collective agreement applied may not be very relevant to some of these employees. At the same time, the inter-trade nature of umbrella companies means that some collective representation procedures for ‘umbrella employees’ in companies are uncertain.
In terms of working conditions monitoring, self-employed are like a kind of blind spot in France. For instance, although the 1991, 1998 and 2005 working condition surveys included self-employed in their sample population, no data regarding self-employed has been published, nor analysed since 1991.
Annie Jolivet, IRES, Anne-Marie Nicot and Daniel Depoisier, ANACT