Working in France - Remuneration

THE MINIMUM WAGE

The minimum wage (S.M.I.C. – guaranteed minimum wage) is the minimum guaranteed wage for all employees in exchange for an actual hour’s work. The regulation provides for a compulsory review of this each year with effect from 1 July, depending on economic developments and the economic situation.

Amount of social security charges (before tax): 

in France, the rate for various social security contributions to be paid by employees is approximately 23%.

How are salaries fixed?

Salaries consist of all the amounts in cash and benefits in kind which you receive in exchange for or on the occasion of the work you carry out.
They are freely fixed by agreement between your employer and you, provided that your employer complies with certain rules.

Your employer must respect:

• the hourly minimum wage (legal basis of 35 hours per week);
• the guaranteed minimum wage based on the collective agreement in the company’s sector of activity;
• the professional classification guaranteed by the collective agreement – the legally-guaranteed salary applicable for undertakings for a 35-hour week, if you are paid on the basis of the minimum wage;
• equal pay for men and women;
• the law on overtime;
• any bonuses provided for in collective agreements for night work, Sunday work and work on public holidays.

Gross salary and net salary:

In discussions with the employer, the questions covered include gross salary, in other words before deduction of compulsory social contributions (social security contributions, CSG (supplementary contribution in aid of the underprivileged) and CRDS (social security repayment contribution) or optional ones (mutual insurance contributions or life insurance). The net salary is what you receive after deduction of the social security contributions from the gross salary.

Deductions:

If you are absent from work and if payment for absence is not set down in any legal text or collective agreement, your employer may make a deduction from your salary.

On the other hand, he must pay you for the work carried out, including overtime.

Pay rises:

Salaries rise when the social partners conclude an agreement, each time the minimum wage is raised, if this is lower than what is agreed, and when you engage in individual negotiations with your employer.

The company manager is required to engage in negotiations on pay in the company each year, on his own initiative or, in the absence of this, at the request of a representative trade union.

The law prohibits clauses comprising index-linking of the minimum wage and linking to the general price index in collective agreements and company agreements (ban on sliding-scale clauses).

For further information, contact:

• the staff representatives in the company;
• a trade union organisation;
• the Departmental Directorate for Labour,
• Employment and Vocational Training (DDTEFP);
  the Employment Information Service of the Ministry of Employment: 0 825 347 347 (0.15 euro/minute)

Source: European Union
© European Communities, 1995-2006
Reproduction is authorised.