You have set up your French company from London, New York, Dubai or Singapore. The Kbis (the official registration certificate issued by the trade court registry, called the greffe) is in your inbox, the bank account works, and now you need hands on the ground: a first employee in France. This is the moment when many foreign founders discover that French employment law plays by rules very different from at-will employment. Hiring one person triggers a chain of mandatory declarations, payroll charges collected by URSSAF (the social security collection agency), a written contract with strict formal requirements, monthly payslips with compulsory mentions, and, if things go wrong, a dismissal procedure where a single missing letter can cost you months of salary before the conseil de prud’hommes (the specialised labour court). The good news is that the process is entirely manageable from abroad if you follow it in the right order. This guide explains which contract to use, which declarations to file before day one, what the hire truly costs, how the trial period works, and how to part ways safely. For the incorporation steps that come before hiring, see our pillar guide on setting up a company in France as a foreign founder.
I. How do you hire your first employee in France when you live abroad?
A. Which contract should you sign and which declarations must be filed before the first day?
French law starts from a simple default: the permanent contract is the norm. Article L. 1221-2 of the Labour Code states that “Le contrat de travail à durée indéterminée est la forme normale et générale de la relation de travail.” In plain English, the CDI (contrat à durée indéterminée, the open-ended employment contract) is the standard form of employment, and any fixed-term arrangement is an exception that must be justified. For a first hire, this usually means you should offer a CDI, especially if the role is meant to last. A CDI can be full-time or part-time, it does not have to be in writing to be valid, but in practice you must put it in writing anyway: without a written contract you will struggle to prove a trial period, working hours, place of work, or confidentiality duties, and some formalities such as part-time schedules legally require writing.
The CDD (contrat à durée déterminée, the fixed-term contract) is tempting when you want to test the waters, but it is a legal minefield for a newcomer. Article L. 1242-2 of the Labour Code provides that “un contrat de travail à durée déterminée ne peut être conclu que pour l’exécution d’une tâche précise et temporaire, et seulement dans les cas suivants”, followed by a closed list: replacing an absent employee, a temporary increase in activity, seasonal work, and a few other narrow cases. Hiring your first employee to fill a permanent need, such as your only salesperson or your only developer, never fits these cases. The sanction is severe. Article L. 1245-1 of the Labour Code provides that “Est réputé à durée indéterminée tout contrat de travail conclu en méconnaissance des dispositions des articles L. 1242-1 à L. 1242-4”, meaning a non-compliant fixed-term contract is deemed permanent. The courts apply this strictly. In a leading decision on replacement contracts, the Cour de cassation held that “est réputé à durée indéterminée le contrat de travail à durée déterminée qui ne comporte pas la définition précise de son motif”, adding that “cette exigence de précision quant à la définition du motif implique nécessairement que le nom et la qualification du salarié remplacé figurent dans le contrat lorsqu’il s’agit de l’un des cas visés au 1º de l’article L. 122-1-1 devenu le 1° de l’article L. 1242-2 du code du travail” (Cass. soc., 20 January 2021, No. 19-21.535). Concretely, a CDD that says “increased activity” without detail, or a replacement CDD that forgets the name of the person replaced, can be reclassified as a CDI, with back pay, an indemnity of at least one month’s salary, and the end of the contract treated as an unfair dismissal. If you want flexibility, use a CDI with a trial period instead of a CDD, and keep the CDD for genuinely temporary needs documented in the contract itself.
Before the employee starts, one declaration is absolutely mandatory: the DPAE (déclaration préalable à l’embauche, the pre-hiring declaration sent to URSSAF). Article L. 1221-10 of the Labour Code states that “L’embauche d’un salarié ne peut intervenir qu’après déclaration nominative accomplie par l’employeur auprès des organismes de protection sociale désignés à cet effet.” You file it online with URSSAF, at the earliest eight days before the start date and at the latest the working day before, giving the company details, the employee’s identity, and the hiring date. URSSAF forwards the information to the health insurance fund and the occupational health service. Skipping this step is not a paperwork oversight: it is treated as concealed work. Article L. 8221-1 of the Labour Code provides that “Sont interdits : 1° Le travail totalement ou partiellement dissimulé”, and the criminal courts regularly convict employers for “dissimulation de salarié pour défaut de remise de déclaration préalable à l’embauche”, including prison sentences and fines in serious cases (Cass. crim., 2 March 2021, No. 19-80.991). A foreign director who thought the DPAE could wait until the first payroll faces criminal exposure, URSSAF reassessments, and a later dismissal judge who will view the whole file with suspicion. File the DPAE first, keep the acknowledgement, and only then let the employee start.
Three further steps complete the hiring file. First, arrange the medical follow-up: every employee must be covered by occupational health (santé au travail), and the DPAE registration triggers the process, but you must check that the information visit actually takes place, because the employer bears a result obligation on health and safety. Second, identify the applicable convention collective (the sector-wide collective bargaining agreement): most French companies fall under one based on their main activity, and it sets minimum salaries, trial periods, notice periods and bonuses that override the bare legal minimums. Your accountant or payroll provider can confirm which one matches your APE code (the activity code assigned at registration). Third, register with a payroll system: either your French accountant runs the paye (payroll) through the DSN (déclaration sociale nominative, the single monthly electronic social declaration), or you appoint a payroll provider before the first month ends. From abroad, the practical move is to mandate your cabinet comptable (accounting firm) with a written engagement letter covering DPAE, contracts, payslips and DSN, so nothing depends on you being physically in France.
B. What does your first French employee really cost and how does payroll work?
The salary you negotiate is only the starting point. A French employee costs the gross salary plus employer social charges (charges patronales) that typically add around 42 to 47 percent on top of gross, depending on the salary level, the sector and the applicable reductions. As a rough rule used by every founder: multiply the net pay the employee receives by about 1.8 to estimate the total monthly cost, and multiply the gross by about 1.42. The charges fund health insurance, basic and supplementary pensions, unemployment insurance, workplace accident cover, and family benefits. They are declared and paid to URSSAF every month through the DSN, with payment due by the 15th of the following month for most small employers. Late or missing DSN filings generate penalties automatically, and URSSAF can audit the company years later, so your payroll provider should reconcile every payslip with the DSN from month one.
Lower salaries benefit from the Fillon reduction (the general reduction of employer charges on wages up to 1.6 times the SMIC, the statutory minimum wage), which your payroll software applies automatically, but the headline lesson stays: budget the full loaded cost before promising a salary. A candidate who asks for 3,000 euros net per month costs roughly 5,300 to 5,500 euros all-in per month, or over 70,000 euros per year once you add paid leave, the possible thirteenth month required by the convention collective, and the employer’s share of the mutuelle (the compulsory supplementary health insurance every employer must offer). Ask your accountant for a written cost simulation (simulation de coût salarial) before signing: it takes one day and avoids the classic shock of the first quarterly URSSAF bill.
Every month, Article L. 3243-2 of the Labour Code requires that “Lors du paiement du salaire, l’employeur remet aux personnes mentionnées à l’article L. 3243-1 une pièce justificative dite bulletin de paie.” The bulletin de paie (payslip) must show gross salary, each contribution line, the PAS (prélèvement à la source, the pay-as-you-earn income tax withheld each month for the tax administration), net social, net paid, and paid leave balances. Since 2017 the simplified payslip format applies, but errors remain frequent with foreign employers: wrong convention collective code, missing mutuelle line, overtime paid at the wrong rate, or PAS rate missing because the employee has no French tax record yet. Keep every payslip for at least five years, send them electronically with the employee’s consent, and check the first three slips line by line with your accountant. A clean payroll file is also your best defence if URSSAF audits or if the relationship later ends before the labour court.
Two cost traps deserve special attention from abroad. The first is overtime: the legal working week is 35 hours, and hours beyond that carry statutory uplifts (25 percent for the first eight, 50 percent after) unless the convention collective or an agreement sets a compliant alternative, with annual overtime quotas to monitor. An employee who routinely works 45 hours without tracking builds a hidden wage debt you will pay at the end, with interest in litigation. Require a simple monthly hours record, even for autonomous staff. The second is expenses and benefits in kind: reimbursing travel or providing a laptop is normal, but URSSAF treats undocumented flat allowances as salary and reassesses them with penalties. Reimburse on receipts, keep the justificatifs (supporting documents), and have the policy written in the contract or an internal note. Managed this way, payroll becomes routine: gross agreed, charges computed, DSN filed, payslip issued, PAS remitted. The founders who suffer are those who improvise month after month from another country.
II. How do you manage the relationship and end the contract safely from abroad?
A. How do the trial period, working time and discipline rules work in practice?
The trial period (période d’essai) is your real testing window, but it must be written into the contract: an oral trial period is unenforceable. Article L. 1221-19 of the Labour Code caps it: “Le contrat de travail à durée indéterminée peut comporter une période d’essai dont la durée maximale est : 1° Pour les ouvriers et les employés, de deux mois ; 2° Pour les agents de maîtrise et les techniciens, de trois mois ; 3° Pour les cadres, de quatre mois.” Renewal is possible only if the convention collective allows it and the contract expressly provides for it, and only once. During the trial, either side can walk away with short notice periods set by law (24 to 48 hours in the first month, then up to one month), without paying severance. This is far simpler than a dismissal, which is why putting the trial clause in writing matters so much for a first hire you have never worked with.
Ending the trial is easy but not lawless. The Cour de cassation recalls that “l’employeur peut discrétionnairement mettre fin aux relations contractuelles avant l’expiration de la période d’essai, sous la réserve de ne pas faire dégénérer ce droit en abus” (Cass. soc., 12 February 2025, No. 23-21.165). In that case, the court examined whether the employer’s decision rested on the employee’s professional qualities or on an abuse of the right, such as using the trial to fill a permanent post cheaply, dismissing for a reason unrelated to the work, or organising the trial abusively from the start. From abroad, the practical rules are: evaluate the actual work, keep written traces of feedback and objectives, give the legal notice, and never end a trial for a discriminatory reason, for whistleblowing, or to avoid paying a promised bonus. A two-line email ending the trial with no prior evaluation invites a claim; a short file with objectives, two feedback meetings and a notice letter closes the matter.
Once confirmed, the employee works under French working-time and conduct rules that you must apply even from another country. The contract is performed in good faith: Article L. 1222-1 of the Labour Code provides that “Le contrat de travail est exécuté de bonne foi.” Working time defaults to 35 hours per week, daily rest is 11 consecutive hours, weekly rest is 24 hours plus the daily rest, and paid leave accrues at 2.5 days per month, or five weeks per year. Remote work from the employee’s home in France is possible but should be framed by a written télétravail clause or agreement covering equipment, expense reimbursement, and right to disconnect. Discipline follows a graded scale: oral remark, written warning, suspension without pay (mise à pied disciplinaire) capped by the convention collective, and dismissal for misconduct as a last resort. One prohibition is absolute: Article L. 1331-2 of the Labour Code states that “Les amendes ou autres sanctions pécuniaires sont interdites.” Deducting money from wages as punishment is void and can backfire in court. Warn in writing, set a proportionate sanction, invite the employee to explain before any serious measure, and keep every letter: French labour judges decide on documents, not on phone calls from abroad.
Managing from another time zone adds one more duty: clarity. Confirm objectives, working hours, leave approvals and expense rules in writing, hold a brief documented check-in each month, and react quickly to the first signs of conflict, prolonged sick leave, or performance issues. The founders who lose cases are rarely those with the worst facts; they are those with no file. A short email after each milestone, saved in one folder, is worth more than a perfect legal argument invented a year later.
B. How do you dismiss or part ways without losing before the labour court?
Every open-ended contract can be broken, but only through the legal channels. Article L. 1231-1 of the Labour Code states that “Le contrat de travail à durée indéterminée peut être rompu à l’initiative de l’employeur ou du salarié, ou d’un commun accord, dans les conditions prévues par les dispositions du présent titre.” The three routes are resignation (démission) by the employee, negotiated termination (rupture conventionnelle) by mutual agreement approved by the DREETS (the regional labour administration), and dismissal (licenciement) by the employer for a real and serious cause. For a first hire that does not work out, the rupture conventionnelle is often the cleanest exit: you agree with the employee on an indemnity at least equal to the legal minimum, hold one or two meetings, sign the form, wait the fifteen-day withdrawal period, and seek approval from the DREETS, which has fifteen working days to respond. Silence means approval. The employee receives the indemnity tax- and charge-advantaged within limits, keeps unemployment rights, and cannot later claim unfair dismissal. From abroad, you can conduct the meetings by video, sign electronically, and file online, but never present a pre-signed form on day one: consent must be free and informed, or the judge will annul the agreement.
Dismissal remains available but demands rigour. The cause must be real and serious: either personal grounds such as proven underperformance with prior warnings and support, or misconduct with dated evidence, or economic grounds with a demonstrable threat to competitiveness and redeployment efforts. The procedure is formal: invite the employee to a preliminary meeting by registered letter or hand delivery with at least five working days’ notice, hear their explanations, wait at least two working days, then notify the dismissal by a detailed letter that freezes the dispute, meaning you cannot invent new grounds later. From abroad, appoint someone in France to hand-deliver or send the registered letters, diary every deadline in advance, and have a lawyer review the notification letter before sending: most lost cases are lost on the letter, not on the underlying facts. Protected employees, pregnant employees, and employees on work-related sick leave carry special protections that can void a dismissal outright, so check the employee’s status before acting.
The price of getting dismissal wrong has two layers. First, the legal severance: Article L. 1234-9 of the Labour Code provides that “Le salarié titulaire d’un contrat de travail à durée indéterminée, licencié alors qu’il compte 8 mois d’ancienneté ininterrompus au service du même employeur, a droit, sauf en cas de faute grave, à une indemnité de licenciement.” The amount follows the regulatory formula, roughly one quarter of a month per year for the first ten years, so even a short employment costs something. Second, damages for dismissal without real and serious cause follow the Macron scale: Article L. 1235-3 of the Labour Code provides that “Si le licenciement d’un salarié survient pour une cause qui n’est pas réelle et sérieuse, le juge peut proposer la réintégration du salarié dans l’entreprise, avec maintien de ses avantages acquis”, and if either side refuses, the judge awards an indemnity within statutory minimum and maximum bands that rise with seniority. For a first employee with one full year of service, the minimum is one month and the maximum two months in most cases, but procedural breaches, missing meetings, or late notification add separate indemnities, and the employee also recovers notice pay, accrued leave, and unemployment reimbursement claims. At the end of any contract, you must hand over the three closing documents (attestation France Travail for unemployment benefits, certificat de travail, solde de tout compte) within days; forgetting them triggers daily penalties and poisons any later settlement.
Disputes go to the conseil de prud’hommes of the place of work, so for a Paris or Ile-de-France hire that means the Paris labour court and the DREETS Ile-de-France for rupture conventionnelle approvals, with conciliation first and judgment typically a year or more later. Limitation periods are short: twelve months to contest a dismissal, two years for wage claims, so neither side can wait. Practical protections from abroad include a complete personnel file (contract, DPAE receipt, payslips, leave records, warnings, meeting notes), calendar alerts for every procedural deadline, and early settlement discussions with counsel before conciliation. Foreign founders sometimes assume distance shields them; it does the opposite, because the judge reads an absent employer’s silence as indifference. Show up through counsel, produce documents, and propose solutions: conciliation settlements for first hires routinely close files for a fraction of the cost of a full trial.
Conclusion
Hiring your first employee in France from abroad succeeds when you treat it as a sequence, not a gamble. Offer a written CDI, the normal form of employment, and reserve the CDD for genuinely temporary tasks with a precise motive stated in the contract. File the DPAE before day one, because undeclared work carries criminal as well as financial sanctions. Budget the full loaded cost, run payroll through the monthly DSN, and check every payslip. Use the written trial period as your testing window, evaluate in writing, and end it cleanly if needed. After confirmation, manage working time, leave and discipline on documents, never with fines deducted from pay. And if separation becomes necessary, prefer a negotiated rupture conventionnelle when possible, or a dismissal with a real and serious cause, a fair procedure, and a reviewed notification letter. Each step is modest on its own; together they make your first hire an asset rather than a liability, even managed across borders.