Posting Workers to France
The employer’s legal guide: SIPSI declaration, representative in France, which French rules apply from day one, the 12-month rule, and the A1 certificate. Every rule below is sourced from the French Labour Code and EU law.
One posting, two distinct legal layers
Most posting mistakes come from conflating two frameworks that operate independently:
Labour law
Directive 96/71/EC, as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/957 and enforced through Directive 2014/67/EU, transposed in France at articles L.1261-1 and following of the Labour Code. It determines which working conditions apply to the posted worker while in France.
Social security
Regulations (EC) 883/2004 and 987/2009 coordinate which country’s social security scheme the worker stays affiliated to — evidenced by the A1 portable document. A valid A1 says nothing about labour-law compliance, and a SIPSI declaration says nothing about social security.
A compliant posting requires both layers to be handled — separately, each with its own authority, paperwork and timeline.
Before day one: declaration and representative
Article L.1262-2-1 of the French Labour Code imposes two obligations on the foreign employer, both before the posting starts:
- A prior declaration to the labour inspectorate of the place where the service begins — filed online through SIPSI, the French Ministry of Labour’s dedicated service.
- A representative in France, designated for the duration of the service, responsible for liaising with the enforcement authorities.
The same article states expressly (III) that completing these formalities does not create any presumption that the posting is lawful. The declaration is a floor, not a shield: substantive compliance — genuine posting situation, correct remuneration, working-time rules — is assessed independently.
Which French rules apply — and the 12-month rule
Under article L.1262-4 of the Labour Code, employers posting workers to France must apply the French provisions — statutory and those of extended collective agreements — on a core set of matters: remuneration, working time and rest, paid leave, health and safety, equality and anti-discrimination, among others.
Since the 2018 reform of the Posted Workers Directive, remuneration means the same rules as local workers — in France, that includes the minima of the applicable extended collective bargaining agreement, its classification grid and its mandatory pay components, not just the statutory minimum wage.
Beyond twelve months, the applicable body of French law expands further (a limited extension can be requested by motivated declaration). And the twelve months are counted cumulatively on the same post: when one posted worker replaces another on the same position, their durations add up — rotating staff does not reset the clock.
Where this gets operational: identifying the applicable French collective agreement and reading its current pay grid is the heart of posting compliance. That is exactly what DAIRIA AI does — it reads the applicable agreement, its extension status and its latest amendments, with sources.
The A1 certificate: social security stays home — under conditions
Within the EU/EEA and Switzerland, a posted worker can remain affiliated to the home country’s social security scheme under article 12 of Regulation (EC) 883/2004, for a posting of up to twenty-four months — evidenced by the A1 portable document issued, before departure, by the competent institution of the sending state (article 14 of Regulation (EC) 987/2009 details the conditions).
Longer situations are not automatically excluded: article 16 of Regulation 883/2004 allows the authorities of the two states to agree on exceptions. Without a valid A1, French social security contributions are due — a risk that often dwarfs the labour-law fines in practice. For the certificate’s binding effect, the fraud exception and multi-state workers, see our dedicated guide: The A1 Certificate.
Enforcement: who checks, and what it costs
The labour inspectorate enforces the posting rules. Administrative fines under articles L.1264-1 and L.1264-2 of the Labour Code sanction the failure to declare, the absence of a representative and related breaches — and they scale with the number of workers concerned. Serious breaches can lead to the suspension of the service itself.
The French user company is not a bystander: it carries its own verification and information obligations, and exposure follows. For a French principal receiving posted workers, checking the provider’s declarations is part of ordinary vigilance.
Posted workers in France — key questions
Do we need to file the French posting declaration for every assignment?
Yes, as a principle: article L.1262-2-1 of the French Labour Code requires the employer to file a declaration before the posting begins, with the labour inspectorate of the place where the service starts, and to designate a representative in France for the duration of the service. The declaration is filed through SIPSI, the online service of the French Ministry of Labour. Narrow, activity-specific exemptions exist for certain short assignments — they are the exception, not the rule, and should be verified before relying on them.
Who issues the A1 certificate — France or the home country?
The home country. For a posting into France, the A1 portable document is issued by the social security institution of the sending state, before departure, under article 12 of Regulation (EC) 883/2004 and article 14 of Regulation (EC) 987/2009. It certifies that the worker remains covered by the home social security scheme — up to twenty-four months, with exceptional extensions possible by agreement between the two states under article 16 of the same regulation.
What changes after twelve months of posting?
The applicable body of French law expands. Under article L.1262-4, beyond twelve months the posted worker becomes subject to an extended set of French labour law provisions (a limited extension of the initial period can be requested by motivated declaration). Crucially, the twelve months are counted cumulatively on the same post: if one posted worker replaces another on the same position, their durations add up. Rotating staff does not reset the clock.
Which pay rules apply — home-country or French?
French remuneration rules apply from day one. Since Directive (EU) 2018/957 amended the Posted Workers Directive, posted workers are entitled to the same rules on remuneration as local workers — which in France includes the minima of the applicable extended collective bargaining agreement (convention collective), not just the statutory minimum wage. Identifying the applicable agreement and reading its current pay grid is therefore not optional: it is the core of the compliance exercise.
What are the risks if the obligations are not met?
The labour inspectorate can impose administrative fines under articles L.1264-1 and L.1264-2 of the Labour Code, which scale with the number of workers concerned, and serious breaches can lead to the suspension of the service. Two points deserve emphasis: filing the declaration does not create any presumption that the posting is lawful (article L.1262-2-1 III says so expressly), and the user company in France carries its own obligations — vigilance is not only the foreign employer’s problem.
Posting workers to France?
We advise foreign employers on postings, secondments and hiring in France — and our AI reads the applicable collective agreement so the remuneration layer is right from day one.