Working from a French home for a British employer can look like a simple continuation of a UK job. After Brexit, it is not merely a question of whether the payslip still comes from London. The country in which you actually perform the work, the date on which you moved, your immigration status, the length of the arrangement, and the way your employer organises payroll can all change the legal answer.<\/p>\n
Tax residence, income tax, social security and the right to work are separate tests. The 183-day expression often heard in expatriate conversations is not a universal safe harbour. Nor is a UK contract, a UK bank account or continued National Insurance payment enough to prove that France has no claim. This guide is for a British employee living or planning to live in France while remaining employed by a UK business. It does not deal with buying a French property or creating a company. The objective is practical: identify the correct regime, obtain the right certificate, prevent an unlawful payroll gap, and preserve evidence before a French or UK authority asks questions.<\/p>\n
The first question is not \u201cwhere is my employer registered?\u201d It is \u201cwhat is my own right to live and work in France?\u201d A British national who was already resident in France before the end of the Brexit transition period may fall within the EU\u2013UK Withdrawal Agreement. A person who moved later is generally dealing with the ordinary French immigration framework for a national of a non-EU country. These are different legal starting points, even when both people work for the same UK company.<\/p>\n
For a protected resident, the residence document issued under the Withdrawal Agreement is not just an identity card. The French implementing rules provide a specific status for people covered by Article 30 of the agreement. The official text on Article 30 of the French Brexit residence rules<\/a> links the relevant residence title to the rights preserved by the agreement, including access to work and social protection under the applicable conditions. The dates, continuity of residence, absences and supporting documents matter. A person who had only visited France before 2021 should not assume that a later move is protected because a partner, parent or employer has an older French connection.<\/p>\n For a new mover, the residence route must match the real activity. A long-stay visa or titre de s\u00e9jour<\/em> (residence permit) is not a universal authorisation to perform salaried work. The French Labour Code requires an assessment of the work authorisation rules. Article L. 5221-2 of the Labour Code<\/a> lists, for entry to perform salaried work, a contract approved by the administration or \u201cune autorisation de travail\u201d, meaning a work authorisation. Article L. 5221-5<\/a> adds that an authorised foreign national may not carry out salaried work in France \u201csans avoir obtenu au pr\u00e9alable l’autorisation de travail\u201d where that authorisation is required. These are not formalities to be repaired after the move: the role, employer, contract and immigration route should be compared before the first working day in France.<\/p>\n Article L. 421-1 of the Code on the Entry and Residence of Foreign Nationals and the Right of Asylum<\/a> illustrates the ordinary French employee route: a person employed under an indefinite-term French contract may receive a temporary residence card marked \u201csalari\u00e9\u201d, subject to the work authorisation condition. That provision does not automatically classify every UK employee who logs into a British system from France. It does, however, show why the label \u201cremote worker\u201d cannot replace an immigration analysis. Depending on the facts, the employer may need a compliant French employment arrangement, a valid temporary posting, an international mobility route, or a documented exception. A visitor status should never be used as a shortcut for a regular job carried out from a French home.<\/p>\n Ask five questions before relying on a residence card or visa:<\/p>\n If the answer to any of these questions is uncertain, keep the proposed start date conditional. A signed UK contract may prove the employment relationship, but it does not itself prove that the employee is authorised to work physically from France. The same distinction matters to the employer: a company can continue to pay a UK salary while still having French registration, tax, employment or social-security obligations.<\/p>\n For legal purposes, the keyboard and the payslip matter less than the place where the work is actually carried out. French social-security territoriality is expressed in Article L. 111-2-2 of the Social Security Code<\/a>. The text provides, subject to treaties and European rules, that people carrying out an activity in France for one or more employers are affiliated to a compulsory social-security scheme, \u201cquel que soit leur lieu de r\u00e9sidence\u201d in the relevant situations. In plain English, a foreign employer and a foreign home address do not automatically remove an activity performed in France from French social-security scrutiny.<\/p>\n The employee\u2019s usual work pattern therefore needs to be recorded. One week of meetings in Paris is not necessarily the same as moving a desk, computer and daily working life to a house in Dordogne. A regular four-day French week with occasional UK travel creates a different profile from a three-month project during which the employee remains based in the UK and is sent temporarily to France. Travel calendars, access logs, expense claims, French utility bills, home-office records and the employer\u2019s written instructions can all become evidence of the real place of work.<\/p>\n French employment law also recognises the reality of telework. Article L. 1222-9 of the Labour Code<\/a> defines telework as an organisation in which work that could have been performed on the employer\u2019s premises is performed outside those premises voluntarily using information and communication technologies. Its third paragraph states: \u201cle t\u00e9l\u00e9travailleur a les m\u00eames droits que le salari\u00e9 qui ex\u00e9cute son travail dans les locaux de l’entreprise\u201d. The translation is important: a teleworker does not lose ordinary employee rights simply because the screen is in a home office. If French mandatory rules apply to the habitual work relationship, a UK policy cannot be treated as a complete substitute for the French protections that attach to the actual arrangement.<\/p>\n A temporary posting, called d\u00e9tachement<\/em> (detachment or posting), is different from an employee choosing to relocate permanently. Article L. 1262-1 of the Labour Code<\/a> says: \u201cUn employeur \u00e9tabli hors de France peut d\u00e9tacher temporairement des salari\u00e9s sur le territoire national\u201d, provided that a contract remains between that employer and the employee and the employment relationship continues during the posting. The word \u201ctemporarily\u201d is not decorative. A posting certificate cannot be used to disguise an indefinite home move merely because the employee remains on the same UK payroll.<\/p>\n The UK\u2013France coordination arrangements can preserve the sending-state social-security position in a genuine temporary assignment, commonly up to 24 months when the conditions are satisfied. The official CLEISS guidance for a UK employer sending an employee to France<\/a> explains that a worker moving within the relevant coordination area should normally be subject to one legislation at a time, and describes the certificate used to evidence the UK regime during a qualifying posting. The matching CLEISS guidance for a French host receiving a UK worker<\/a> explains the French affiliation result where no valid detachment applies. The certificate is evidence of an accepted status; it is not a document that an employee can create unilaterally after deciding to relocate.<\/p>\n A recent case shows the employment-law risk even where the dispute did not concern France. In a decision of 22 January 2026, the Court of Appeal of Versailles, RG no. 23\/03562, examined an employee who left for Pakistan without informing the employer and worked from there. The official Court of cassation case page for RG no. 23\/03562<\/a> records the court\u2019s wording: \u201cen partant au Pakistan sans en informer son employeur et en t\u00e9l\u00e9travaillant depuis ce pays sans informer son employeur du changement dans les conditions d’exercice du t\u00e9l\u00e9travail, M. [W] a manqu\u00e9 \u00e0 ses obligations contractuelles sur ce point.\u201d The lesson for a British employee is practical rather than geographical: changing the country from which work is performed without written approval can breach a contractual notice obligation, create information-security exposure and complicate the employer\u2019s response to regulators. The employer should know the address and the dates before the move, not after an incident.<\/p>\n Social security should be classified before the first French payslip is issued. The basic question is whether the employee remains validly attached to the UK system under a recognised temporary-posting or multi-state rule, or whether the work is now subject to France. The employee cannot safely choose the cheaper answer. UK National Insurance, French cotisations sociales<\/em> (social contributions), income tax and health cover are separate subjects. A payroll department that continues deducting UK National Insurance has not necessarily proved that the French position is correct.<\/p>\n For a temporary UK-to-France posting, the employer should request the appropriate certificate from the competent UK institution before the assignment begins. The document may be described as an A1 in European coordination practice or as a PDA1\/certificate of coverage in UK administrative language, depending on the route and the authority handling the case. The employee should keep the certificate, the application, the posting letter, the planned end date and any decision extending or refusing the arrangement. If the authority refuses the certificate, or if the facts change from a temporary assignment to a permanent French home, the initial classification must be reassessed immediately.<\/p>\n The official GOV.UK guidance on National Insurance when working abroad<\/a> gives the general warning in simple terms: \u201cIf you work abroad, you will usually pay social security contributions … in the country where you\u2019re working.\u201d It also explains that an international agreement may allow continued UK contributions when a certificate of coverage exists, while voluntary UK contributions do not replace health insurance in the country of residence. That distinction is essential for a British resident in France. Paying voluntary contributions to protect a future UK State Pension does not, by itself, fund French healthcare or regularise a French payroll.<\/p>\n If no valid certificate or exception applies, a UK employer with no French establishment may still have to meet French employer obligations. Article L. 243-1-2 of the Social Security Code<\/a> deals with an employer whose business has no establishment in France and requires the employer to fulfil declaration and contribution obligations through a single collection body, \u201caupr\u00e8s d’un organisme de recouvrement unique\u201d. In practice, the employer should obtain a French employer account and deal with the competent URSSAF, the French organisation responsible for collecting social contributions. The employee should not be told simply to become self-employed to make the employer\u2019s administration easier: that may change the legal relationship, insurance position and tax treatment.<\/p>\n The French health consequences follow the social-security classification. If the employee is validly covered by the UK during a temporary posting, the certificate and the corresponding healthcare arrangements must be used. If the employee is affiliated in France, the registration process with the French health-insurance system, including the CPAM (the local primary health-insurance fund) and later the carte Vitale<\/em> (French health-insurance card), should match that affiliation. A private international policy may cover medical bills contractually, but it does not automatically answer the question of compulsory affiliation. Keep evidence of registration requests and refusals rather than relying on telephone assurances.<\/p>\n A useful evidence pack contains:<\/p>\n Send the employer a short written summary before the move: French address, first working day, expected weekly pattern, UK travel, permit route and request for the certificate or French registration plan. Ask the employer to identify who will handle URSSAF, HMRC, health insurance and data protection. If the answer is only \u201cthe UK payroll will stay the same\u201d, ask for the legal basis in writing. That exchange can prevent a later dispute about whether the employee concealed a relocation or whether the employer failed to take a required registration step.<\/p>\n The social-security analysis also changes when the employee works in two countries. A person who works regularly in France and the UK may be subject to a multi-state coordination rule rather than a simple posting rule. The decisive facts include the proportion of activity in each country, the employer\u2019s establishment, the normal work pattern and whether the arrangement is genuinely regular. A spreadsheet showing only travel days may be insufficient if the employee performs substantial work from France on every trip. The file should distinguish workdays, annual leave, business travel and days spent in a country without performing work.<\/p>\n Income tax starts with residence and the physical performance of duties, then moves to the treaty. France\u2019s domestic residence test is set out in Article 4 B of the General Tax Code<\/a>. The text refers, among other criteria, to a person\u2019s French home or principal stay, professional activity and economic interests, including \u201cle centre de leurs int\u00e9r\u00eats \u00e9conomiques\u201d. A British employee can therefore become French tax resident even if the employer, salary account and payroll department remain in the United Kingdom. Conversely, a short French assignment does not automatically make the employee French resident. Residence is determined from the complete factual picture and, if both countries regard the person as resident, the treaty tie-breaker must be examined.<\/p>\n The France\u2013UK double tax convention as published in the Journal officiel<\/a> addresses employment income in Article 15. It begins with \u201cles salaires, traitements et autres r\u00e9mun\u00e9rations similaires\u201d and then asks where the employment is exercised. In substance, remuneration is generally taxable in the employee\u2019s residence state unless the employment is exercised in the other state. When the work is performed in that other state, that state may tax the remuneration. The familiar 183-day condition can preserve exclusive taxation in the first state only when the conditions operate together: the employee remains within the relevant day limit, the employer is not resident in the other state, and the remuneration is not borne by a permanent establishment or fixed base there.<\/p>\n This is why \u201cI spend fewer than 183 days in France\u201d is not a complete answer. The count may be measured over the period specified by the treaty rather than a calendar year, and the employer and permanent-establishment conditions also matter. A French home used as the habitual place where duties are performed may be relevant even when the employer has no French office. A person who is resident in France can also face French tax on employment income connected with work performed in France, while the UK may continue to operate PAYE, the UK pay-as-you-earn withholding system, until the correct HMRC instruction is obtained.<\/p>\n HMRC\u2019s guidance on paying employees working abroad<\/a> explains that an employee working in the EU will usually pay social security in the country where the work is carried out unless a certificate keeps the person in the UK system. It separately points to the employer\u2019s responsibility for deductions and liabilities. The broader HMRC guidance on globally mobile employees<\/a> confirms that income-tax treatment depends in part on residence and where duties are performed, and that an employer may have PAYE duties when duties are carried out wholly or partly outside the UK. A French tax residence declaration therefore does not automatically switch off UK PAYE, and a UK payslip does not automatically remove French filing obligations.<\/p>\n The current HMRC employer guide for 2026\u20132027<\/a> also warns employers to address PAYE where employees work abroad, including cases in which an employee works full-time abroad for a complete UK tax year. The employer may need a formal notice before changing the tax code or stopping deductions. In a dual-country case, the employee should not simply stop submitting information to HMRC or France because two deductions appear on a payslip. The correct response is to gather the treaty analysis, identify the source and residence position, request the relevant payroll instruction and claim relief or credit through the prescribed return process.<\/p>\n There is a special historical point for people protected by the Withdrawal Agreement. French tax administration guidance on the adaptation of withholding and instalments for certain employers established outside France<\/a> distinguishes situations covered by the Withdrawal Agreement from ordinary post-Brexit cases. This can affect how French-source employment income is collected when an employer is outside France. It is not a general rule for every British remote worker. The date of affiliation, continuity and the protected legal status must be demonstrated before relying on a legacy treatment.<\/p>\n The tax file should be built around the work calendar, not just the number of nights spent in France. Record:<\/p>\n The employer\u2019s permanent-establishment risk is not identical to the employee\u2019s tax residence. A remote employee who only performs technical or administrative duties may present a different risk from someone who habitually negotiates and signs customer contracts from France. The France\u2013UK convention contains separate rules for business profits and permanent establishments. The employee should not make representations for the company about that corporate issue, but should disclose the real duties and decision-making authority so that the employer can obtain its own advice. Describing the role as \u201cback office\u201d when the employee closes sales from France can create an avoidable inconsistency in the file.<\/p>\n The following simplified comparison is a starting point, not a substitute for the certificate or treaty analysis:<\/p>\n\n
B. When \u201cremote work\u201d becomes work performed in France<\/h3>\n
II. Which country should receive tax and social-security contributions?<\/h2>\n
A. Social security, A1 or PDA1, and French payroll<\/h3>\n
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B. Income tax, the treaty and PAYE: why 183 days is not a safe harbour<\/h3>\n
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