{"id":2113799,"date":"2026-08-30T09:12:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T07:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/2026\/08\/30\/new-french-employee-mandatory-information-r1221-34-foreign-founder\/"},"modified":"2026-08-30T09:12:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T07:12:18","slug":"new-french-employee-mandatory-information-r1221-34-foreign-founder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kohenavocats.fr\/en\/2026\/08\/30\/new-french-employee-mandatory-information-r1221-34-foreign-founder\/","title":{"rendered":"What Information Must a French Employer Give a New Employee? R1221-34 Checklist for Foreign Founders"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hiring a first employee in France creates a documentary duty that is broader than signing an offer letter and sending a payroll instruction. A foreign founder must identify the actual French employer, describe the job and workplace, select and document the correct contract, state the pay and working-time rules, and provide the employee with a defined set of written information. The company must also coordinate the work-authorisation check, the DPAE (d\u00e9claration pr\u00e9alable \u00e0 l\u2019embauche, or pre-employment declaration), payroll, occupational health and its personnel records.<\/p>\n

The central provision is Article R. 1221-34 of the French Labour Code. It applies whether the shareholder is based in London, New York, Dubai or Singapore and whether the French business is a SAS (soci\u00e9t\u00e9 par actions simplifi\u00e9e), a SARL (soci\u00e9t\u00e9 \u00e0 responsabilit\u00e9 limit\u00e9e), a branch or another employer structure. The fact that the founder has a Kbis, meaning the official extract evidencing registration of a commercial company, does not replace the employment formalities. For the wider company-formation and cross-border governance context, see the firm\u2019s French business legal guide for foreign founders<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This guide isolates the information file that a new employee should receive, explains what must be in the contract itself, and gives a practical sequence for the first hire. It also covers English-language group templates, CDI and CDD choices, trial periods, collective agreements, evidence of transmission, corrections and the consequences of a late or incomplete filing.<\/p>\n

I. What information must a French employer give a new employee?<\/h2>\n

A. Which identity, role and contract information are required?<\/h3>\n

The starting point is the distinction between the employment contract and the statutory information document. A written contract may contain all the required information, but a foreign founder should not assume that a short offer letter or a signature page is enough. The employer may use one document, several documents, a contract plus schedules, or a contract plus a separate information statement. The result must be coherent, dated, accessible and capable of proving what was given to the employee.<\/p>\n

Article L. 1221-5-1 of the Labour Code<\/a> states: \u00ab L’employeur remet au salari\u00e9 un ou plusieurs documents \u00e9crits contenant les informations principales relatives \u00e0 la relation de travail. \u00bb In English, the employer must give one or more written documents containing the main information about the employment relationship. The same article allows the employee to seek the missing information after first putting the employer on formal notice. This is an information right; it does not turn every omission into an automatic nullity of the employment relationship.<\/p>\n

Article R. 1221-34<\/a> supplies the list. Its opening sentence is: \u00ab Les documents mentionn\u00e9s \u00e0 l’article L. 1221-5-1 comportent au moins les informations suivantes : \u00bb The list is the minimum content. A foreign-owned company should build its first-hire template around that list instead of copying a group document designed for another jurisdiction.<\/p>\n

The first block identifies the parties and the work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Information to deliver<\/th>\nWhat the French file should make clear<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Identity of the parties<\/td>\nThe complete legal name and address of the employing company, the employee\u2019s identity and the capacity of the signatory. A foreign parent\u2019s brand name is not a substitute for the legal employer.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Workplace<\/td>\nThe establishment or establishments where the work is performed, including the practical rule for remote work or travel. If the employer\u2019s address differs from the workplace, both should be identifiable.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Position and functions<\/td>\nThe job title, duties, professional category and the applicable classification. A vague label such as \u201cinternational operator\u201d creates avoidable uncertainty about status, pay and the relevant collective agreement.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Start date<\/td>\nThe date on which the employment relationship begins, which must match the DPAE, payroll opening and the first day of work.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CDD term<\/td>\nIf the contract is a CDD (contrat \u00e0 dur\u00e9e d\u00e9termin\u00e9e, or fixed-term contract), the end date or planned duration must be stated.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Temporary-work identity<\/td>\nIf the employee is supplied by a temporary-work agency, the user company\u2019s identity must be given once it is known.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Identity deserves particular care when a foreign group has several entities. The French subsidiary, not the parent company, may be the employer, issue the payslip and make the social declarations. A branch may be part of the foreign company rather than a separate legal person. A French payroll provider may process the data without becoming the employer. The contract, DPAE, bank-payment instructions, social declarations and employee information statement should all tell the same story.<\/p>\n

The workplace description should also reflect the real operating model. If the employee works in a French office three days per week, travels to clients and occasionally works from another country, the documents should distinguish those situations. A permanent foreign remote-work arrangement can alter social-security, tax, immigration and permanent-establishment analysis; it should not be hidden inside a generic \u201canywhere in the world\u201d clause. That issue is different from the ordinary first French hire, but the initial information file is where the risk first becomes visible.<\/p>\n

The legal relationship cannot be labelled away. Article L. 1221-1<\/a> provides: \u00ab Le contrat de travail est soumis aux r\u00e8gles du droit commun. Il peut \u00eatre \u00e9tabli selon les formes que les parties contractantes d\u00e9cident d’adopter. \u00bb The parties have flexibility over form, but the actual conditions of work remain decisive. Orders, reporting lines, control of working time and disciplinary authority may demonstrate an employment relationship even if the group initially calls the arrangement consulting, contracting or a launch assignment.<\/p>\n

For a standard full-time CDI, the contract can be established without a special statutory form in some situations, but a foreign-owned company should still use a complete written contract. Service-Public\u2019s CDI guidance<\/a> describes the CDI (contrat \u00e0 dur\u00e9e ind\u00e9termin\u00e9e, or indefinite-term contract) as the normal and general form of recruitment. A written file avoids disputes about the job, pay, location, trial period and collective agreement. It also lets the company show that the employee received the mandatory information on time.<\/p>\n

A CDD requires more discipline. Article L. 1242-12<\/a> states: \u00ab Le contrat de travail \u00e0 dur\u00e9e d\u00e9termin\u00e9e est \u00e9tabli par \u00e9crit et comporte la d\u00e9finition pr\u00e9cise de son motif. A d\u00e9faut, il est r\u00e9put\u00e9 conclu pour une dur\u00e9e ind\u00e9termin\u00e9e. \u00bb The CDD must therefore state the precise lawful reason for using a fixed-term contract, not merely say \u201ctemporary support\u201d or \u201cbusiness needs\u201d. The document should also identify the replaced employee where replacement is the reason, the term or minimum period, renewal rules, the position, pay, trial period and applicable collective agreement.<\/p>\n

The timing for a CDD copy is separate from the broader R. 1221-34 information timetable. Article L. 1242-13<\/a> states: \u00ab Le contrat de travail est transmis au salari\u00e9, au plus tard, dans les deux jours ouvrables suivant l’embauche. \u00bb A foreign founder who signs a CDD through an overseas approval chain should plan the signature and transmission before the employee starts. The two-business-day rule is not a safe period for leaving the document unsigned; it is a maximum for transmission of the written CDD.<\/p>\n

Language is another recurring failure point. Article L. 1221-3<\/a> states: \u00ab Le contrat de travail \u00e9tabli par \u00e9crit est r\u00e9dig\u00e9 en fran\u00e7ais. \u00bb If the employee is a foreign national, the employee may request a translation into their language. The French version should therefore be the authoritative starting document for an employee working in France, with a carefully checked English version supplied for understanding when useful.<\/p>\n

The French-language rule is not limited to the first signature. Article L. 1321-6<\/a> governs documents containing obligations for the employee or information needed to perform the job. The Cour de cassation, Social Chamber, 11 October 2023, no. 22-13.770<\/a>, restated the rule in these terms: \u00ab Tout document comportant des obligations pour le salari\u00e9 ou des dispositions dont la connaissance est n\u00e9cessaire pour l’ex\u00e9cution de son travail doit \u00eatre r\u00e9dig\u00e9 en fran\u00e7ais. \u00bb The case concerned English documents used to set variable-pay objectives. Its practical lesson for a new hire is wider: targets, commission plans, workplace policies, security instructions and other binding documents should not be left in an English-only group folder without a proper French version.<\/p>\n

There is an important exception, but it is fact-sensitive. The Cour de cassation, Social Chamber, 24 June 2015, no. 14-13.829<\/a>, applied the exception for documents received from abroad or intended for foreign employees. The decision of 2 April 2014, no. 12-30.191<\/a>, illustrates the danger of relying on an English variable-pay document for a French employee. A foreign founder should preserve evidence of the employee\u2019s nationality, the provenance of the document and its intended audience, but the safer operational method is a French contract and French binding annexes, followed by an English translation.<\/p>\n

The first information file should also separate contractual promises from background policies. A handbook, code of conduct, data-security policy or group bonus plan may be useful, but the company should identify which text creates an obligation, which text merely explains a process and which text can be changed unilaterally. If a variable bonus is important to recruitment, the contract or a French-language annex should explain the calculation, reference period, objectives, evidence, payment date and treatment on departure. A link to an inaccessible overseas intranet is weak evidence of delivery.<\/p>\n

B. Which pay, working-time, leave, trial-period and collective-agreement terms must be aligned?<\/h3>\n

The second block of information is the economic and operational core of the relationship. The employer must not treat the first payslip as the first time the employee learns the salary structure. Under Article R. 1221-34<\/a>, the information includes, among other matters, the trial period, training rights, paid leave, termination procedure, the separate elements of remuneration, working time, overtime or additional hours, applicable collective agreements and mandatory social-protection schemes.<\/p>\n

The statute expressly requires separate remuneration information. It refers to the elements of pay under Article L. 3221-3, including overtime increases, and to the frequency and method of payment. In practical terms, the document should identify:<\/p>\n