Hiring in France: three routes and what each needs
EREditorial team · Updated 14 Oct 202610 min read20 providers compared across EOR, COR and global payroll25 sources
€8,303 employer cost a month before the EOR fee, €70,000 salaryNot all-in: what it leaves out is under the cost table.
≈42% employer contributions on a €70,000 salary, employer with 50+ staff
€12.31 SMIC per hour, gross, since 1 June 2026
30 days paid leave a year, in jours ouvrablesStated in jours ouvrables, the Code's working-day count, not weekdays.
Three routes lead to someone working for you in France, and the first, your own employer account, is open to a foreign company with no French entity. For an employer with 50 or more staff, contributions on a €70,000 salary come to ≈42%.
Short answer
A foreign company with no French establishment can employ directly once the Urssaf foreign firms service opens its employer account.
Before any EOR fee, a €70,000 hire costs an employer with 50 or more staff about €8,300 a month; provider fees are listed apart.
Dismissal needs a real and serious cause and a set procedure, and after 8 months' service a statutory severance payment is owed.
The minimum wage (SMIC) is €12.31 an hour gross, the rate in force since 1 June 2026.
None: a services contract with a registered self-employed person
When the contract is signed
On the contract's own terms
For a French-registered contractor and a contract of €5,000 or more, the contractor hands over an Urssaf vigilance certificate.
Employing someone directly does not wait for a French subsidiary. A company with no establishment in France files a creation declaration with the INPI one-stop shop and a pre-hire declaration, then receives a Siret number and an employer account at the Urssaf foreign firms service.[1] The payroll page follows that sequence step by step. An Employer of Record has to live with the rules on lending staff, which forbid lending labour for profit where that lending is the operation’s sole object;[2] the EOR page explains where a provider’s set-up meets that ban and the exceptions with their limits. A contractor stays outside employment only while they do not work in permanent legal subordination to you,[3] as the contractors page explains.
What one hire costs
Monthly cost of an employee on €70,000 a year: the cost before the EOR fee.
Assumes: an employer with 50 or more staff (for an EOR, the provider's French entity), pay above 3× SMIC (about €65,600 a year) where the 2026 general reduction no longer applies; accident rate varies.
Cost before the EOR fee, a month€8,303
Gross salary€5,83370%
Employer contributions€2,46930%
Percentages are shares of the total, not of salary.
What one hire costs
Item
Rate
EUR / month
Gross salary
—
5,833
Health insurance (maladie, maternité, invalidité, décès)[4]
13%
758
Old-age insurance, capped part (vieillesse plafonnée)[5][6]
AGIRC-ARRCO technical balancing contribution (CET), due only above the PASS[9]
0.21%
12
Cost before the EOR fee
8,303
Plus the EOR fee, not in this total. Published fees per employee: €299 a month (one provider, EUR); US$99 to US$699 a month (17 providers, USD). We add a fee to the total only when at least 3 providers publish one in EUR, and we do not convert currencies.
Excludes the work-accident rate (notified to each employer by the Carsat), the versement mobilité (a local transport levy for employers with 11 or more staff, rate set by the local authority), the Apec levy for cadres (0.036% employer share, up to 4 times the PASS), any forfait social, disability-employment levy or supplementary apprenticeship levy, the employer's share (at least 50%) of the compulsory complementary health plan, and any death-and-disability cover set by a collective agreement. The PASS (annual social-security ceiling) is €48,060 in 2026; the AGIRC-ARRCO tranches run to 1 and 8 times it. The CET applies to the whole salary up to 8 times the PASS once pay exceeds the PASS. The PEEC is assessed on the previous year's payroll. Below 50 staff the FNAL is 0.10% up to the PASS and there is no PEEC; below 11 staff the training contribution is 0.55%. Pay below about 3 times the SMIC also earns the RGDU reduction, which these lines do not apply.
30 days[12]Stated in jours ouvrables, the Code's working-day count, not weekdays.
Public holidays
11 days[13]The 11 legal holidays of the Code du travail.
Probation, notice and severance
Maximum probation
4 months[14][15]For cadres; 2 months for workers and employees, 3 for supervisors and technicians. Renewable once where an extended branch agreement allows it, up to 4, 6 or 8 months in total.
Minimum notice
1 month[16]Statutory minimum employer notice on dismissal without gross misconduct, for 6 months to under 2 years of service; 2 months from 2 years. A contract, collective agreement or custom may be more favourable.
Severance
At least a quarter of a month's salary per year of service for the first 10 years, and a third of a month's salary per year from the tenth year.[17][18][19][20][21]Owed on dismissal from a permanent contract after 8 months' unbroken service, except for gross misconduct. A dismissal for a personal reason needs a real and serious cause, a preliminary interview held at least 5 working days after the invitation letter, and a registered letter stating the reasons, sent at least 2 working days after the interview.
Income tax
Top income tax rate
45%[22]Progressive scale from 0% to 45%; the 45% rate applies to income above €181,917 per tax share (2026 scale, on 2025 income).
Contract of at least 6 months and gross annual pay of at least €59,373 (1.5 times the average gross annual reference salary), with a qualifying degree or professional experience.
The RGDU replaces the former general reduction and the reduced health and family-allowance rates with one degressive reduction, applying to pay below 3 times the SMIC instead of 1.6 times.[24][25]
The annual social-security ceiling (PASS) for 2026 is €48,060.[6]
The SMIC rises from €12.02 to €12.31 an hour gross (order of 22 May 2026).[10]
Who can employ for you in France
All 20 EOR providers we track that cover France, ranked by our EOR score. How we score
Startups, growing companies and enterprises, the three segments Pebl writes a page for
Not for
Buyers who need a Contractor of Record: we list Pebl for contractor management, not COR
Top pro
Own SOC 2 Type 2 report and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certificate, both on Pebl's security page
Top con
No live support channel named: Pebl lists its Alfie AI assistant, in-house experts and a Help Center; its pages say 24/7 support and do not say who answers
Own French entity, Multiplier Technologies France, found in the French company register.
7.4Our score 7.4 of 10Limited dataOur EOR score
EOR price from
US$459per employee a month, billed annually
Entity in France
Own entity
EOR countries160 claimed, 106 documented
Onboarding2–3 days
ServicesEOR · COR · Contractors · Payroll
Best for
Companies from startups to enterprises, going by Multiplier's segment pages
Not for
Buyers who need the deposit amount before signing: Multiplier calculates it per contract
Top pro
Own SOC 2 (Type I and II), SOC 3 and ISO 27001:2022 on its security page; the AWS certifications listed there are kept apart as the host's
Top con
The "from" prices assume an annual contract. Monthly EOR costs $499 on Core and $559 on Growth, about 11% of countries are priced differently, and compliance-mandated add-ons come on top of EOR and COR
Companies from startups to enterprises: Playroll has pages for each, and its case studies include startups under 100 staff and mid-market firms of 100 to 1,000
Not for
Contractors who want to be paid other than through Payoneer, the only payout route Playroll uses
Top pro
Its own country pages document EOR hiring in 151 countries + 6 territories, against a claim of 180+
Top con
A refundable deposit of one month's salary per EOR employee; the unused part comes back within two months of the last working day, or once claims are settled if that is later
Enterprise teams and small and growing businesses (SMEs), in RemotePass's own words
Not for
Buyers who must review EOR contract terms up front: no EOR agreement is public
Top pro
EOR from $349 per employee a month with tax included; 13 of 20 other EOR prices in dollars start higher
Top con
No EOR agreement is public: the Terms say EOR runs under a separate Consultant Agreement "available on the Site", which we did not find. The public legal documents are the Terms, the Privacy Policy and the Acceptable Use Policy
Prices France from $599 a month; local payroll, benefits and taxes come on top.
6.6Our score 6.6 of 10Our EOR score
EOR price in France from
US$599per employee a month
Entity in France
Own entity
EOR countries180 claimed, 151 documented
Minimum termNone
ServicesEOR · Contractors
Best for
A first hire in one new country or a team spread over many, at a startup, mid-market firm or enterprise (G-P has a page for each)
Not for
Buyers who rank EOR providers mostly by the monthly fee
Top pro
G-P claims EOR in 180+ countries; its Globalpedia country guides document 148 countries + 3 territories one by one
Top con
EOR from $599 per employee a month; 15 of 20 other EOR prices in US dollars that we compare start lower; volume discounts are offered but not quantified
Startups, scaling companies and enterprises, the three groups Native Teams writes for
Not for
Buyers who want to read the EOR or COR agreement before talking to sales: the terms of service are the only contract text online
Top pro
EOR from $99 per employee a month, below all 20 other per-employee EOR prices in USD we compare
Top con
The terms of service are the only contract text online. The EOR and COR agreements are not published, and the terms say a separate signed contract takes precedence
Small businesses, including teams under 10 employees, startups and enterprises: the segments Rippling has pages for
Not for
Buyers who want to compare an EOR price before a sales call
Top pro
Contractor onboarding in 185+ countries and payments in 50+ local currencies, per its contractor page; 160 countries + 2 territories are documented here
Top con
No price for EOR, contractor management or global payroll: the pricing page asks for a custom quote
The $599 a month is a platform fee; local employer services, currency conversion and benefits are billed on top.
5.8Our score 5.8 of 10Our EOR score
EOR price from
US$599per employee a month
EOR countries160 claimed, 146 documented
ServicesEOR · AOR
Best for
Enterprise-level companies, the audience Atlas's enterprise page names
Not for
Buyers who need a Contractor of Record: under Atlas's AOR the contract stays between the client and each contractor
Top pro
EOR in 141 countries + 5 territories documented here, against a claim of 160+ with wholly owned entities
Top con
At $599 per employee monthly, the EOR price is above 15 of the 20 other USD EOR prices we compare and equal to 4; local employer services, FX and benefits premiums are billed on top
The first Contractor of Record providers from the contractors page, which also covers the employee test, tax and how to pay.
The first 3 of 13 COR providers we score: those working in France first, each by our COR score. Working in France: 9 (1 by their COR coverage list, the rest inferred from their EOR coverage). How we score
The first global payroll providers from the payroll page, which also covers set-up, registrations and filings.
The first 3 of 14 global payroll providers we score: those working in France first, each by our global payroll score. Working in France: 11 (2 by their global payroll coverage list, the rest inferred from their EOR coverage). How we score
Enterprise teams and small and growing businesses (SMEs), in RemotePass's own words
Not for
Buyers who must review EOR contract terms up front: no EOR agreement is public
Top pro
EOR from $349 per employee a month with tax included; 13 of 20 other EOR prices in dollars start higher
Top con
No EOR agreement is public: the Terms say EOR runs under a separate Consultant Agreement "available on the Site", which we did not find. The public legal documents are the Terms, the Privacy Policy and the Acceptable Use Policy
€12.31 an hour gross from 1 June 2026. From 1 January to 31 May 2026 the SMIC was €12.02 an hour.
Can you dismiss an employee freely in France?
No. A dismissal for a personal reason needs a real and serious cause, a preliminary interview and a registered letter stating the reasons. After 8 months' unbroken service the employee is owed statutory severance, unless dismissed for gross misconduct.
What notice does an employer give on dismissal in France?
Without gross misconduct, 1 month for 6 months to under 2 years of service and 2 months from 2 years. These are minimums: a contract, collective agreement or custom can give more. Notice on resignation follows other rules.
How much paid leave do employees get in France?
Up to 30 days a year, counted in jours ouvrables, the Code du travail's working-day count, not in weekdays. On top come 11 legal public holidays.
Which work permit does a non-EU hire need in France?
Usually a talent card, and the two main ones differ. The EU Blue Card asks for €59,373 gross a year on a contract of 6 months or more; the skilled-employee card needs a French master's-level degree and €39,582.
Own entity — company register
