Posting workers

A three-day job follows the same rules.

Sending a technician to a French customer is a posting, whatever the length. Two files open at once, with two authorities that do not talk to each other: social security on one side, employment law on the other. Confusing them is the most common mistake, and the most expensive.

See the two files

Two files with nothing to do with each other.

The first is a social security matter. The question is which system the employee stays in during the assignment, and the answer sits in the European coordination regulations. The document that records it is the “A1” certificate.

The second is a French employment law matter. It depends neither on the “A1” certificate nor on the duration. From the first day of work on French soil, an employer established abroad must have filed a prior declaration and appointed a representative in France, and the employee has the benefit of a core of French rules.

Nothing in the first file excuses the second. A valid “A1” certificate has never covered a missing declaration, and a filed declaration says nothing about which social security law applies.

To that must be added the tax question, which stands on its own: a long or repeated assignment on the same site eventually raises the matter of a permanent establishment.

Two files, two authorities

Formalities triggered when a company established abroad posts an employee to France
File	Basis	What has to be produced
Social security	Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004	“A1” certificate, applied for in the sending state before departure
Employment law	French labour code	Prior declaration through the SIPSI service and appointment of a representative in France
Building and civil engineering	article L. 8291-1 du code du travail	Professional identification card for each employee concerned
Tax	The applicable tax treaty	A separate question: a site lasting more than twelve months, or repeated presence

Before departure: the declaration

An employer posting workers files a declaration with the labour inspectorate for the place where the work begins, before the posting starts. It is made in French, through the labour ministry’s SIPSI online service.

The employer also appoints a representative of the company on French territory, responsible for liaising with inspectors for the duration of the work. The declaration gives that person’s email address and telephone number, together with where the documents are kept or how they can be reached from France.

The core of French law

Whatever law governs the employment contract, article L. 1262-4 du code du travail subjects the posted employee to eleven areas of French law. They cover among other things:

individual and collective freedoms in the employment relationship, non-discrimination, equal treatment at work
maternity protection, maternity leave, paternity leave, leave for family events
the conditions for supplying temporary workers, the guarantees owed to them, the exercise of the right to strike
working time, compensatory rest, public holidays, paid annual leave, the rules protecting young workers
remuneration within the meaning of article L. 3221-3, payment of wages, overtime premiums
health and safety at work, the minimum age for employment, the employment of children
undeclared work, and the reimbursement of professional expenses: transport, meals, accommodation

Pay is what catches people out most often. The comparison is made item by item: pay that is perfectly lawful in the home country does not guarantee compliance in France.

The “A1” certificate

The durationStaying in the system of the sending state rests on article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004. The anticipated duration of the work must not exceed twenty-four months.
The handoverThe employee must not be sent to replace another posted person. A poorly prepared handover ends the link to the home system.
Beyond two yearsContinuity is not automatic. It requires an agreement between the institutions of the two states, on the basis of article 16 of the same regulation.

Penalties

article L. 1264-3 du code du travail sets the frame. The administrative fine is at most 4 000 euros per posted employee, and 8 000 euros where the breach is repeated within two years of notification of the first fine. The total cannot exceed 500 000 euros.

The authority takes into account the circumstances and seriousness of the breach, the conduct of the person responsible and in particular their good faith, and their means and commitments.

Who does what

Your side

The assignment, its length and the people on it
The representative in France you appoint
Hours, pay and the other minimum conditions on site
The documents to produce if an inspection calls

FRADECO

Settling what the assignment triggers, before anyone sets off
Filing the prior declaration of posting on SIPSI
Assembling what an inspection asks for, including the “A1” certificate
Applying for the professional identification card in construction
Being there when the labour inspectorate calls

Our part

Preparing in four steps.

1Classify the assignmentProvision of services, intra-group mobility, supply of staff: the category decides the obligations and what goes in the declaration.
2Run both files in parallelThe “A1” application on one side, the SIPSI declaration and the appointment of the representative on the other.
3Check the pay dueThe French core applies to remuneration and premiums, item by item.
4Prepare for inspectionTranslated documents, reachable from France, and someone contactable throughout the assignment.

The organisational decisions are of course yours. We classify the assignment, file the declaration and keep the papers ready before the person sets off.

When it pays off: before departure, not on the day. The declaration is prior by definition, and an inspection on site leaves no time to put it right.

Frequently asked

What we are asked about posting workers.

The answers cover the usual assignments: work at a customer’s site, installation, maintenance, intra-group mobility.

The declaration

Does a two-day assignment have to be declared?

Yes. The prior declaration has no minimum duration. It is due before the work begins, including for a short visit.

Does the “A1” certificate replace the declaration?

No, and this is the most widespread confusion. The “A1” certificate concerns social security. The declaration belongs to employment law. Both are due, and they go to different authorities.

Who can be appointed representative in France?

Someone present on French territory during the work, responsible for liaising with inspectors. It may be a director who is present, a posted employee or the customer; in other cases the declaration also gives the representative’s SIRET number.

Which documents must be available?

Those that allow compliance with the applicable French rules to be checked, kept in France or reachable from France as set out in the declaration. Where they are kept is itself a declared item.

Pay and duration

What pay is due?

What follows from the French core, including overtime premiums. The comparison is made item by item, not by lining up gross figures: pay that is perfectly lawful in the home country does not guarantee compliance in France.

How long can a posting last?

For social security purposes the anticipated duration must not exceed twenty-four months for article 12 of the European regulation to apply. Beyond that, continuity requires an agreement between the institutions of the two states.

Can one posted employee be replaced by another?

Not under article 12. The text expressly excludes sending someone to replace another posted person. A poorly prepared handover ends the link to the home system.

Inspection and penalties

What is the fine for a breach?

At most 4 000 euros per posted employee, and 8 000 euros where the breach is repeated within two years of notification of the first fine, capped at 500 000 euros in total.

Can the site be shut down?

The labour inspectorate has powers of its own where a breach is serious. One more reason to complete the file before the first day rather than after the first visit.

Does a long assignment create a permanent establishment?

That question arises separately and is governed by the tax treaty. A building or installation site becomes a permanent establishment once it lasts more than twelve months. Other arrangements can get there sooner, as our page on remote work and permanent establishment sets out.

Do the rules differ for agency workers?

Yes. A separate declaration applies to temporary work agencies, and the user company has obligations of its own. The chain then has three parties rather than two.

Related work

A posting is prepared on the payroll side and on the tax side. Two services take it on.

Payroll and HR

Prior declaration, “A1” certificates, checking the pay due and keeping the documents.

See the service

Cross-border advisory

Length of sites, permanent establishment risk and the split between the two states.