Working life country profile for France
This profile describes the key characteristics of working life in France. It aims to provide the relevant background information on the structures, institutions, actors and relevant regulations regarding working life.
This includes indicators, data and regulatory systems on the following aspects: actors and institutions, collective and individual employment relations, health and well-being, pay, working time, skills and training, and equality and non-discrimination at work. The profiles are systematically updated every two years.
‘Individual employment relations’ refers to the relationship between the individual worker and their employer. This relationship is shaped by legal regulation and by the outcomes of social partner negotiations over terms and conditions. This section looks at the start and termination of the employment relationship and entitlements and obligations in France.
Requirements regarding an employment contract
The minimum working age is 18 years, with derogations for those aged 16 and above for certain roles in the workplace, such as apprenticeships. An employment contract exists from the time when an individual (the employee) commits to working for and under the management of another person (the employer). Employment contracts should be issued in written form.
Dismissal and termination procedures
The employment contract implies a state of subordination for the employee and grants the employer the right to take disciplinary action against misconduct. Under Article 1232-1 of the Labour Code, dismissal must be justified by a ‘real and serious cause’. The employer has to comply with strict procedures. This must begin with hand-delivering or sending by registered post a letter to the employee’s home address inviting them to attend a preliminary meeting. The grounds for considering dismissal must be clearly stated and the meeting must be held on a date at least five days after the letter is due to be delivered to the employee. The letter must also inform the employee that they are entitled to be accompanied at the meeting by a fellow employee or an employee representative. The 2017 labour law reform simplified, clarified and solidified the procedural rules that apply to redundancy. For instance, a new regulation proposed the use of a pro forma dismissal template and allows the employer to provide additional information before the court. The goal is to reduce the number of cases where an employer has to pay compensation for a dismissal that is deemed to be unfair but is in fact based on a legitimate cause.
Other termination procedures are resignation (an employee must demonstrate a clear and unequivocal wish to resign); retirement (at the employee’s initiative before they are 70, or at the employer’s initiative after the employee’s 70th birthday); and mutual termination (rupture conventionnelle), which involves an agreement between both parties and is subject to the Labour Inspectorate’s approval.
The rupture conventionnelle is a form of termination of an employment contract that has become very common, as it provides legal certainty for the employer and enables a termination by mutual agreement. According to the latest available data, approximately 502,000 mutual termination agreements were approved in 2021 (compared with 284,000 in 2012).
Parental, maternity and paternity leave
In practice, almost all employed and unemployed mothers take maternity leave, and, in 2013, 7 out of 10 eligible fathers used their paternity leave (Antunez and Buisson, 2019). Paternity leave was doubled from July 2021. Before July 2021, fathers enjoyed 11 days’ paternity leave with an allowance paid by the social security system, plus the three days of leave for the birth of a child provided for by the Labour Code and remunerated by the employer. The aim was to add a further 14 days, financed by the social security system, in order to reach a target of 28 days, 7 of which were compulsory.
Statutory leave arrangements
| Maternity leave | |
| Maximum duration | Mothers are required to take a minimum of 8 weeks’ maternity leave but are entitled to 16 weeks of leave (usually 6 weeks prior to the expected date of delivery and 10 weeks after). Two additional weeks prior to delivery may be awarded in the case of a pregnancy with complications. On a doctor’s recommendation, the mother may also take part of the prenatal leave after the birth. For a third child, leave is extended to 26 weeks (8 prenatal and 18 postnatal). Mothers expecting twins or triplets (or more babies) are entitled to 12 weeks and 24 weeks of prenatal leave, respectively, and 22 weeks of postnatal benefits. In the case of premature births (more than six weeks before the expected date of delivery), the period of maternity leave is increased by the number of days between the date of delivery and the date six weeks before the expected date of birth. |
| Reimbursement | 100%, but not more than €95.22 per day, since 1 January 2023. |
| Who pays? | Covered by national health insurance (Assurance maladie), unless a sectoral collective agreement obliges the employer to pay. |
| Legal basis | Social Security Code, sectoral collective agreements (if applicable). |
| Parental leave | |
| Maximum duration | The basic duration of parental leave for one child is one year, which is renewable twice – that is, up to three years in total. The period may not exceed the third birthday of the child. For more than one child, the period may be extended up to the time when the child goes to school. For three or more children born or adopted at the same time, the maximum period is six years and may not exceed the sixth birthday of the children. Both mothers and fathers may take parental leave. |
| Reimbursement | Employees do not receive a salary during parental leave, but may use time saved on their working time account. |
| Who pays? | Not applicable. |
| Legal basis | Labour Code. |
| Paternity leave | |
| Maximum duration | From 1 July 2021, for a single child, fathers may take 4 consecutive days immediately after the birth of the child, in addition to the 3 days’ ‘birth leave’ provided by the Labour Code. The father is entitled to take another 21 days of leave in the 4 months after the birth. In total, a father can take up to 28 days of leave. For more than one child, the second period of leave consists of 28 days. |
| Reimbursement | 100%, but not more than €95.22 per day, since 1 January 2023, if the father has contributed a sum above a certain threshold to social security for at least 10 months. The father must also have worked at least 150 hours in the 3 months prior to the start of the leave (or have contributed at least €11,692.28 in the 6 months prior to the start of the leave) and have ceased all paid employment, even if he works for several employers. |
| Who pays? | Covered by national health insurance. |
| Legal basis | Labour Code, Social Security Code. |
Sick leave
The employment contract of an employee who is on leave due to illness is considered suspended. Absence due to illness cannot form the basis of a termination. However, in cases of extended or repeated sick leave, the employer may (under certain conditions) be entitled to terminate the employment contract on the grounds that the employee’s absence hinders the proper functioning of the company, and the company is consequently required to permanently replace the employee. The employee will continue to receive their salary during their absence if they fulfil certain conditions set by the Labour Code, or by the applicable collective bargaining agreement, if more favourable. During sickness, after a three-day period of grace, salaries are paid by the national health insurance system.
Retirement age
Since the pension reform in 2023, the retirement age has been 64 for employees born after 1 January 1968. It is 62 for those born before 1 September 1961. It then increases gradually from 62 years and 3 months (for employees born between 1 September 1961 and 31 December 1961) to 63 years (for people born in 1963) and finally 64 years (for those born in 1968). Early retirement is possible. Employees may take retirement with full pension before the legal age if they started to work at 16, 18, 20 or 21 years old. The retirement age is also related to the number of years of social security contributions paid (between 161 and 172 quarters of contributions are required, depending on the employee’s date of birth, to obtain a full pension). A recognised disability also gives the employee a right to early retirement. There is no difference in the legal retirement age for men and women.
