France (FR)
France is a unitary semi-presidential republic and the EU's most visited country, renowned for its world-class cuisine and wine, the iconic City of Light that is Paris, the French Riviera, iconic Alpine ski resorts, and a generous social state offering universal healthcare, extensive family benefits, and strong worker protections.
Employment Rights
Sick leave, dismissal protection and red flags in France.
France has among the strongest employee protections in Europe. The Code du travail is extensive and case law via the Cour de cassation is pro-employee. The Conseil de prud'hommes (Labour Court) handles disputes. Every salarié has access to a CSE (Comité Social et Économique) in companies of 11+ employees, and conventions collectives (industry-wide agreements) often grant rights above the legal minimum.
Sick leave
Rules: Call your employer the morning of the first day of absence. Obtain an arrêt de travail from a médecin within 48 hours and send: copy 1 & 2 to CPAM, copy 3 to your employer. Since 2022, electronic arrêts (e-AT) can be sent directly by the doctor to CPAM and employer.
Doctor note: Within 48 hours of the first day of sickness. Non-compliance can reduce daily benefits by 50%.
Employer pay: Indemnités journalières (daily allowances) from Assurance Maladie: 50% of base salary (capped at 1.8× SMIC) from day 4 (délai de carence of 3 days for first arrêt in 3 years). Most employers, under the convention collective or loi mensualisation, top up to 90% of gross from day 8 for up to 30 days, then 66% for up to 30+ days based on tenure.
Long-term: After 6 months of arrêt: possible invalidity pension (pension d'invalidité) category 1 (30%), 2 (50%) or 3 (50% + MTP for third-party assistance) of base salary. Covers until retirement age. Prévoyance collective usually adds 20–40% on top.
Dismissal protection
Law: All licenciements must have a "cause réelle et sérieuse" — Code du travail articles L1232-1+. Licenciement for économic reasons requires formal procedure, reclassification attempt and notification to the DREETS. Wrongful dismissal compensation is framed by the barème Macron (tables in L1235-3) based on tenure.
Deadline to sue: 12 months to contest a licenciement at the Conseil de prud'hommes (article L1471-1). 3 years for wage claims and heures supplémentaires. 5 years for discrimination or harcèlement.
Probation
Période d'essai: 2 months for non-cadres, 3 months for agents de maîtrise/techniciens, 4 months for cadres. Renewable once if provided by the convention collective and written into the contract — doubling the period. Can be terminated by either party with a short délai de prévenance (24 hours if under 8 days service, 48 hours if 8 days–1 month, 2 weeks if 1–3 months, 1 month if 3+ months).
Notice periods
Preavis (notice period) after probation: 1 month for non-cadres <2 years' service, 2 months >2 years; 3 months for cadres. Check your convention collective — it may be longer. In case of licenciement, employer pays notice even if you are dispensed from working it. Rupture conventionnelle (mutual termination agreement) is common: negotiated severance + full unemployment rights with France Travail.
Working time
Max hours: 35 hours/week legal. Max 10 hours/day, 48 hours/week (44 over 12 consecutive weeks). Cadres au forfait jours: max 218 days/year with no daily cap but minimum 11-hour rest.
Min rest: 11 consecutive hours between shifts (minimum). 35 consecutive hours once a week (repos hebdomadaire, usually Sunday). Break: 20 min after 6 hours continuous work.
Overtime: Heures supplémentaires above 35h: +25% for 35h–43h, +50% beyond. Annualised via RTT (Réduction du Temps de Travail) for 39h-contracts — typically 12–15 RTT days/year. Forfait jours cadres are exempt from hourly counting but must have a convention individuelle de forfait signed.
Vacation
Congés payés: 2.5 days per month worked = 30 jours ouvrables (Mon–Sat counted) = 25 jours ouvrés (Mon–Fri counted) = 5 weeks/year. Additional: congé d'ancienneté (1–2 days per convention collective), fractionnement (1–2 bonus days if some leave is outside 1 May–31 Oct), pont (bridge day), RTT for 39h workers.
Anti-discrimination
Code du travail articles L1132-1+ and Loi du 27 mai 2008 prohibit discrimination on 25 grounds: origin, gender, family situation, pregnancy, appearance, name, place of residence, health, disability, genetic features, lifestyle, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, political opinion, union activity, religion, etc. Report to the Défenseur des droits (free, defenseurdesdroits.fr) or file at the Conseil de prud'hommes.
Contract red flags
- !Clause de non-concurrence without financial compensation (minimum typically 30–50% of salary per month of restriction) — unenforceable
- !Clause de mobilité with a geographic zone too vague ("France entière") — courts routinely strike these down
- !Convention de forfait jours without a convention collective authorisation or without specific individual convention — void
- !Période d'essai beyond the legal cap (and any renewal not expressly foreseen by the convention collective) — void
- !Minimum salary below SMIC (€1,823.03 gross/month from 1 January 2026; updated again from 1 June 2026 — check service-public.fr for the current rate) or below the minimum of your convention collective — illegal
- !Contract not in French for a role executed in France — employee can reject and invoke French version
- !Travail dissimulé / faux indépendant / requalification risk if a freelance relationship has characteristics of employment (subordination, regular hours, sole client, provided tools). URSSAF can requalify retroactively up to 3 years.
- !Clause exonératoire unilatérale (limiting company liability or employee rights below legal floor) — unenforceable
Employment Rights
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