Sending your own employees to work in France on a temporary assignment is not the same as hiring locally — and it is one of the most heavily controlled areas of French labour law. This is posting (détachement): the worker stays employed by you abroad but performs a service in France for a limited time. Get the formalities wrong and both you and your French client face significant penalties.
Here is what a foreign employer must know before a single worker sets foot on a French site.
What counts as posting (détachement)?
An employee who normally works abroad, sent by their employer to carry out a service in France temporarily, while remaining employed by that foreign employer. Typical cases: an intra-group assignment, a service contract performed on-site, or work for a French client.
If the assignment is really a disguised permanent hire, or the worker has no genuine activity in the home country, the posting can be re-characterised — with serious consequences.
Before arrival — the SIPSI declaration
For each posting, the foreign employer must file a prior declaration on the SIPSI portal (Système d’Information sur les Prestations de Service Internationales, Ministry of Labour) before the assignment starts. You must also designate a representative in France (représentant) who holds the required documents and liaises with the labour inspectorate during the posting.
Social security — the A1 certificate
Within the EU/EEA and Switzerland, the A1 certificate proves that the worker remains affiliated to their home social-security system, so you do not pay French social contributions for them during the posting. Without a valid A1, French affiliation can be imposed. For non-EU countries, a bilateral social-security agreement may apply — otherwise French affiliation is the default.
The “hard core” of French rules that still applies
Even for a short posting, a core of French labour rules (noyau dur) applies to the posted worker (Article L.1262-4), including:
- the French minimum wage (SMIC) or the applicable convention collective rate;
- working time, rest and public holidays;
- paid leave;
- health and safety;
- equal treatment and non-discrimination.
A posted worker cannot be paid less than a comparable French employee.
Long postings change the rules
Beyond 12 months (extendable to 18 with a reasoned declaration), almost all of French labour law applies to the posted worker — not just the hard core. At that point, the difference with a local hire narrows sharply.
Your French client is on the hook too
The French client or principal (donneur d’ordre) has a duty of vigilance: it must verify your SIPSI declaration and representative. Both parties can be held liable, and the client faces joint liability for unpaid wages or contributions. This is why French clients increasingly demand clean posting compliance before letting anyone on site.
Penalties
Missing or incorrect SIPSI declarations, no representative, or no valid A1 expose the employer — and often the client — to significant administrative fines per posted worker, with higher amounts for repeat breaches. Illegal-lending-of-labour or concealed-work re-characterisation is far more serious still.
Common mistakes
- Treating a long assignment as a short posting — the 12-month threshold changes everything.
- No SIPSI, or filing it after arrival — the declaration must be prior.
- Paying home-country wages below the French minimum for the role.
- No designated representative in France.
- Assuming the A1 covers labour law — it covers social security only; the labour noyau dur still applies.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to declare a one-day assignment? In principle yes — the SIPSI declaration is required before the posting, subject to narrow exceptions.
Does the A1 exempt me from French labour rules? No. The A1 concerns social security; the French labour noyau dur applies regardless.
When does posting become local employment? As the assignment lengthens (beyond 12–18 months) or loses its temporary, service-based character, French employment law applies in full — often the moment to register locally or hire.
Post workers to France the right way — talk to a French employment lawyer
Posting is compliance-heavy and jointly policed with your French client. A short check before the assignment prevents fines, site refusals and re-characterisation.
DAIRIA Law advises international employers on posting and French employment law, in your language. Book a free 30-minute consultation — or ask DAIRIA AI your first question instantly.
This article is general information on French employment law as of 2026, not legal advice on a specific situation.