Registering a company in France is the easy part. The layer where foreign businesses actually get caught is employment law — the registrations, insurances, collective-agreement rules and headcount thresholds that apply the moment you have a single employee on French soil.
This is the practical checklist to clear before and as you set up. It assumes you have already chosen your route (foreign-employer registration, an Employer of Record, or a French entity — see our guide on hiring in France).
The setup checklist, step by step
1. Register as an employer
With a French entity you obtain a SIRET and register with URSSAF. Without an entity, you register with URSSAF’s service for foreign firms. This is what lets you run compliant payroll and pay social contributions.
2. Identify the applicable collective agreement (convention collective)
This is step zero, not a detail. Almost every activity in France falls under a convention collective (identified by its IDCC code) that sets minimum pay grids, classifications, notice periods, probation and benefits — often more favourable than the Labour Code. Applying the Code alone is the classic foreign-employer mistake.
3. Set up compliant payroll
French payslips (bulletins de paie) are highly regulated. Budget for employer social contributions of roughly 40–45% on top of gross salary, and expect monthly filing (DSN).
4. Put the mandatory insurances in place
- Complementary health insurance (mutuelle) — employer-funded, mandatory since 2016.
- Death/disability cover (prévoyance) — mandatory for executives (cadres).
- Occupational health (médecine du travail) — enrolment with a service is compulsory.
- Work-accident cover (AT/MP) — funded through a specific contribution.
5. Draft compliant employment contracts
In French, aligned with the convention collective. Fixed-term (CDD) and part-time contracts must be in writing. Do not transplant a foreign template — clauses valid abroad (broad non-competes, at-will language) are void or dangerous here.
6. File the pre-hire declaration (DPAE)
Before each employee’s first day, with URSSAF. A missed DPAE turns a formality into a serious liability.
7. Frame working time
The legal week is 35 hours; overtime and the executive day-rate scheme (forfait jours) are tightly regulated and the forfait jours requires a valid collective agreement.
The headcount thresholds that change your obligations
French obligations scale with headcount. The ones that matter most:
- 11 employees → you must organise elections for a Social and Economic Committee (CSE), the mandatory staff-representation body.
- 50 employees → a workplace policy (règlement intérieur) becomes mandatory, the CSE gains expanded economic-consultation rights, and profit-sharing rules kick in.
Crossing these thresholds without preparing is a frequent and expensive surprise.
Don’t forget
- Mandatory workplace displays and HR data compliance (RGPD).
- Right-to-work / posting formalities if you second staff to France (SIPSI declaration).
- A French-facing point of contact — French administration and employees correspond in French.
Common mistakes when setting up
- Registering the company but overlooking the employer registrations (URSSAF, occupational health).
- Skipping the convention collective — under-paying and under-protecting from day one.
- Ignoring thresholds — discovering the CSE obligation at 11 employees, too late.
- Underestimating true labour cost — the ~40–45% charges and mandatory benefits reshape the business case.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a French entity to set up employment in France? No — you can register as a foreign employer with URSSAF. An entity becomes useful for scale and client-facing operations.
When must I set up a CSE? From 11 employees for 12 consecutive months.
When is a règlement intérieur mandatory? From 50 employees.
Build the foundation right — talk to a French employment lawyer
Setting up in France is not a form-filling exercise; it is a sequence of employment-law choices that compound. Getting the structure, the collective agreement and the thresholds right at the start is far cheaper than remediating later.
DAIRIA Law guides international companies through 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.