Secondment conditions: Your guide to assigning staff in France
- DEFINITION OF THE SECONDMENT
A secondment is when companies (whose head office is based outside of France) post their employees in France on a temporary basis to carry out his work in France.
The secondment is always temporary and the terms & conditions agreed in advance.
You can assign employees in case of provisions of employees for temporary work, intra-group mobility, service provision…several scenario are possible.
- EMPLOYER OBLIGATIONS
You will have to deal with many issues such as compulsory administrative procedures and several French Employment law provisions to comply with.
Completion of Formalities
- Compulsory pre-declaration
Before providing the service, the employer must send a pre-secondment declaration to the “Unité territoriale” (local Work Administration) of the place where the service will be provided (or the first place of business if the service will be provided in several places) in French.
Failure to comply with this compulsory declaration can lead to the condemnation of a fine of 750 euros maximum.
- Work authorization application for employers based in a third State
Only employers based in a third State (outside of the EU, EEA and Switzerland) wishing to post their native employees to France are required to apply for a work authorization on their behalf for the duration of their assignment in France.
French employment law provisions to comply with
During the secondment, employers are submitted to specific French rules as:
- Working hours provisions
- Minimum wages & compensation for overtime
- Health & safety,
- Illegal work
- Individual and collective liberties in the Labor relationship,
- Child work,
- Discrimination and professional equality between men and women
- Protection during maternity and paternity leave
- Right to strike
- SOCIAL SECURITY COVERAGE
Under European legislation, any person seconded to France and insured in another EU Member State, is entitled to maintain their health insurance and to receive coverage for medical treatment received in France.
For third State country, the coverage will depend on the existence of a bilateral agreement between the 2 countries (for ex. An American employee can benefit from his US insurance for 5 years during his secondment – an extension is however possible)
- LABOR ADMINISTRATION CONTROL
The Labor Administration can ask for the communication of a wide range of papers dealing with for ex. the social security situation of the employee posted, the work authorization if applicable, the payslips etc…
Failure to send these papers to the Labor Administration can lead to a 450 euros’ fine and/or to another fine of 3,750 euros for obstructing the Labor Inspector in his duties’ execution.
