Global employment briefing: France, May 2015

• France

28-05-2015

New duties involving posted workers aimed at preventing ‘social dumping’

New legislation has recently come into force affecting arrangements between a foreign employer and a French employer for the use of employees who are posted from the country where they are usually employed to work, temporarily, in France.

From 1^st April 2015, employers who enter into such arrangements must comply with new obligations, which are aimed at the prevention of so called ‘social dumping.’

Obligations of the foreign employer

The foreign employer must notify the French Labour administration in the area in which the services will be provided of certain matters. That notification must include the following information in particular:

• the identity of both the foreign employer and a person who will act as its representative in France for the duration of the services;
• the identities of the employees posted to France;
• the identity of the French employer;
• the place where the services will be provided;
• information about working hours and rest days;
• mention of the social security bodies which are in charge of collecting social contributions for the entity where the individual performs his/her services;
• information about terms and conditions relating to expenses incurred in connection with the work in France (travel, food, housing, etc.).

The notification must be accompanied by a document confirming the appointment of the foreign employer’s representative, which must be translated into French and include certain mandatory information.

In addition, the foreign employer must keep certain documents on site (in France) and produce them for inspection if requested by the Labour administration. Those documents include, in relation to each employee:

• evidence that wages due have been paid;
• a record of hours worked;
• evidence of the place of hire and the legislation applicable to his/her employment contract.

The foreign company’s appointed representative must assist in complying with these obligations and ensure that the appropriate documents are available for inspection.

Obligations of the French employer

The French employer has a duty of vigilance. In exercising that duty the French employer must obtain from the foreign employer a copy of the notification it sent to the Labour administration and a copy of the document confirming the appointment of its representative in France.

Sanctions

Both the foreign and the French employer can incur administrative sanctions if they do not comply with their obligations, as can the representative of the foreign company in France.

The penalty is EUR 2,000 per employee posted to France, rising to EUR 4,000 if there is a further breach within a year. If, following an inspection, the labour administration is considering imposing a penalty, it will give the parties concerned a 15 day opportunity to make representations before any decision is taken.