Small Scale Employment and Employing Casual Labour in France

Working as “casual labour”, a concept common in anglophone countries, is illegal in France. 

Any incomes earned in France must be declared by both the employer and the employee however informally or irregularly this employment may occur. In the eyes of the law, as soon as anybody earns anything, from the first euro cent, they are obliged to declare it to URSSAF. This includes earnings received from work as, for example, a baby-sitter, cleaner or gardener. 

There are two systems with slightly different functions which allow people to legally employ and easily pay and declare casual or part time workers or employees. The system is called Chèque Emploi (employment cheque):

1. CESU (Chèque Emploi Service Universel): For private individuals who employ someone for personal services (cleaning, gardening, private lessons, helping the disabled) 
2. CE-TPE (Chèque Emploi trés petites entreprises): For employment and payment of staff in any business with a maximum of five employees 

CESU: Chèque Emploi Service Universel

The CESU is a very simple system for the legal employment and payment of domestic and temporary workers, part time help and casual labour around the home and garden.

• For further information: Click here (in French)
  Tel: 0820 002 378 

Using the Chèque Emploi means that both employer and employee are acting legally, automatically insured for accident in the home as well as being eligible for tax rebates (the employer) and social security (the employee) benefits.

A work contract between an employer and employee is not necessary for a work period of less than eight hours a week although it is recommended. The CESU takes the place of a work contract in this case. 

Note: the employer must make sure that the employee agrees to be paid in this way.

CESU: How it works

To enter the system an employer must first register with their local branch of URSSAF in the Chèque Emploi Service department. This can also be done via an application at the bank or post office that manages their account. Authorisation must be given to deduct the social security payments from that account. 

There are two sorts of cheques:

The CESU bancaire available from banks. A book of 20 cheques with 20 declaration forms (volets sociaux) and a set of pre-addressed envelopes for URSSAF's CESU centre is issued. In filling out the cheque correctly, an employer automatically includes pay roll records, deductions and declares all social charges to URSSAF; this is the declaration form (volet social) which should be filled in and sent to the CESU centre. The same cheque book can be used for several employees.

The CESU préfinancé is used to pay an assistante maternelle outside of the home or someone looking after children in the home. It can also be used to pay crèches, garderies and intermediate associations that provide staff for services.

CESU préfinancé cheque books are available from these organisations: 

• Sodexho
• Domiserve
• Chèque domicile
• Accor services France

• la Banque Postale

If an employer already has an URSSAF number no particular administrative procedures are required. An employer without and URSSAF number will automatically receive a form to fill in a few days after having obtained CESU préfinancé. This needs to be sent, with a Releve d'Identité Bancaire (RIB) to the Centre national du Chèque emploi service universel:

• Centre national du Chèque emploi service universel
  At: 3 avenue Emile Loubet, 42961 Saint-Etienne cedex 9

The declaration form (volet social)

The declaration form records: 

• the employee's name and address
• the employee's details and social security number (or date and place of birth if they have no social security number initially - URSSAF will issue a number)
• hours worked and period worked
• total net pay (made up of net hourly rate plus 10 percent provision for paid holidays)
• method of contributions chosen by the employer: 
  • salaire réel: calculations for the employee contribution are based on the actual pay 
  • base forfaitaire: calculations for the employee contribution are based on the standard rate of pay 

  • Contributions and rebates can be calculated online. The service can also be recorded online for both employees and employers via the Net Emploi Service on the Chèque Emploi Service website. 

The employer makes payment to the worker using the check (in the case of CESU bancaire) and sends the completed volet to URSSAF's CESU department using the pre-addressed envelope. CESU works out the contributions, sends the legally required pay slip to the employee and a bill with notification of the date of debit to the employer.

Be aware that a work contract has to be established for anyone working over eight hours in a week. This contract cannot be ended by the employer without the standard notice period. 

Advantages to the employer: 

• Operating within the system and as such are automatically fulfilling the legal obligations to pay social charges of an employee
• Protected by insurance should the employee have an accident while at work
• Benefit from a tax advantage (the record of payments must be attached to the annual tax return)
• Employers benefit from a tax reduction of 50 percent of the amount paid to employees. For child care, this amount is 25 percent

Certain employers are exempt from paying the contributions in full: disabled people and those over 60 needing home help. People over 70 are exempted from all employee charges.

Advantages to the employee: 

• Receive the same social rights that apply to any employed person
• Insured in the event an accident at work
• Can prove social security contributions (which allows for supplementary pension and unemployment insurance) 
• Access to vocational training

Jobs included in the scheme:

• All domestic work: cleaning, laundry and ironing
• Odd jobs: repairs and maintenance work
• Gardening and garden maintenance
• Part-time property "house minding" (gardiennage) 
• Child minding and baby-sitting (only people over 16 years of age may baby-sit)
• After-school and homework helper
• Home-help companion, including dog walkers and beautician, for the elderly or infirm (this does not include nurse-aids or medical personnel)
• Helpers in administration and Internet or computer work 
• Sign language interpreters, looking after animals and beauty treatments 
• Assistant maternelle (mother's helper), crèches, garderies, companies and associations that provide staff for domestic services. There are further benefits for child minding of a child that has already qualified for “guarded child” benefits (AGED)

NOTE: The employer must provide the tools necessary to do the job.

Some other jobs that happen partially off-site of the home are also accepted in the scheme. They include:

• Preparation and delivery of food to be served at the home to the ill and elderly
• Collection, cleaning and delivery of laundry
• Assisting or transporting the ill or elderly when they leave the property (to visit the doctor or similar)  

Jobs not included in the scheme:

• Any building and renovations to a house (any work that must be insured).

Any person employed for these tasks must be declared to URSSAF in the usual way.

CE-TPE: Chèque Emploi Très Petites Entreprises

Until January 2004 the Chèque Emploi system could only be used to employ workers for "family" work in the home or garden. In January 2004 a new law allowed for non-profit organisations (under certain circumstances and within particular restrictions) to hire and pay employees with a Chèque Emploi Associatif.

The  CE-TPE is a employee declaration and payment system that may only be used by companies with five employees or less. It is designed to simplify the formalities related to employing staff. It can be used to pay staff already employed within the company or for the payment of new staff.

CE-TPE: How it works

Application should be made at the local CE-TPE centre at URSSAF or at your bank. Documents will be sent and a "cheque book" for salary payments if desired.

The DUE (Déclaration Unique d'Embauche) is a combined declaration of employee and employment contract form which must be completed for each staff member hired and sent to CE-TPE. 

Each month a declaration form (volet social) must be filled in to record the employees hours worked and rate of pay. CE-TPE handles the calculations for social security contributions, issue the pay slip, annual social declarations and the tax certificate for employees. The employee pays URSSAF all obligatory social charges

Three separate offices deal with registration and declaration depending on the business sector. Declarations can be made online, by fax or by post - Tel: 0810 123 873.

• Use the online guide to find the relevant office: Click here (in French)
• Full details on the Emploi TPE website

Businesses with over five full-time employees should refer to the Titre Emploi Entreprise (TEE) which provides simplified employment contracts and employee registration processes.

Further Information

• CESU website
• URSSAF France website
• AngloINFO INFOrmation Page French Job Contracts
• The Agence Nationale des Services à la Personne has published a list of "prestataires", companies recognised for providing staff for domestic services.