Employment Contracts in France

Understand what to expect from the system after accepting a position in France...

French employment contracts should stipulate the following:

• Employee's job title and professional qualification
• Salary and bonus
• Convention Collective relative to the employment (an agreement between employers' associations and trades unions regarding work conditions and agreements)
• Notice period in case of resignation (unless otherwise stipulated in the Convention Collective)
• Place of work
• Duration of the contract
• Trial period
• Notice period

Job contracts often include:

• Clause de mobilité: A mobility clause which states that the employee agrees to accept any future job transfer. Not agreeing to do so at the time of transfer can be cause for dismissal
• Clause de non-concurrence: This clause, a non-compete agreement, states that an employee cannot work for a competitor or a company in the same sector for a limited time-period following dismissal or resignation

The contract must be in French; however, a foreigner has the right to have the contract translated into his language.

There are different types on employment contract in France, depending on whether the employee is being hired for a fixed or open-ended term, and whether the position is full or part-time. Details of the various contract types are given on the next page.

Ending an Employment Contract

Regardless of the type of job contract, when it comes to ending employment the employer has to give the following documents to the employee at the end of the contract:

• Certificate stating position held (certificat de travail)
• A document for the Assédic (attestation Assédic), allowing the person to claim unemployment benefits
• A document stating everything the employer need to pay the employee (solde de tout compte)

Further Information

• The French government website, Service-Public has comprehensive information: Click here (in French)
• Ministère de Travail, Cohésion Sociale et Logement (Ministry of employment)
• French unemployment organisation Pôle Emploi