Management of international workforce mobility, business immigration, and secondment of foreign employees in France, available in French and English.
Secondment of foreign employees in France
Our team of expert lawyers in secondment procedures for foreign employees in France helps you comply with obligations related to the employment of foreign labor in contexts such as foreign subcontracting, intra-group mobility, or service provision. We assist in preventing risks of illegal work, ensuring compliance with your duty of vigilance, and offering support during labor inspection audits or disputes. We work with both contractors and foreign subcontractors or service providers.
What exactly is meant by “secondment” or “posting” of workers?
The concept of a seconded worker in French law is defined under Article L.1261-3 of the French Labor Code.
A seconded or posted worker is any employee regularly employed and working for an employer established outside France who temporarily performs work in France for that employer in situations specifically defined by law.
Secondment must occur within one of four cases permitted under Articles L.1262-1 and L.1262-2 of the French Labor Code:
- Execution of an international service provision contract between a foreign company and a beneficiary company in France.
- Intra-group secondment between entities of the same company or companies within the same group.
- Own-account secondment by the foreign employer without a beneficiary company in France.
- Placement of a worker with a French user company by a temporary employment agency established abroad.
Companies established outside France may temporarily second their employees to France, either as part of an intra-group mobility arrangement, or under an international service provision contract or a foreign subcontracting agreement.
They must comply with a number of mandatory conditions and formalities (including the prior posting declaration known as the “SIPSI declaration” and the appointment of a representative based in France), and apply the provisions of French labour law to posted workers in several key areas. French companies acting as contractors are subject to a strict duty of vigilance, as set out in Articles L.8222-1 and D.8222-5 of the French Labour Code. Measures aimed at strengthening the fight against posting fraud by companies established abroad and the related administrative and criminal sanctions have been reinforced in recent years.
Are you a foreign company established inside or outside the European Union?
Do you wish to send one or more employees for intra-group mobility, provide a service in France, or act as a subcontractor for a French company?
Majorelle Mobility supports foreign employers seconding employees to France with mandatory declarations (e.g., SIPSI declaration) and compliance with regulations specific to various sectors (e.g., transport, construction, public works).
Are you a French company acting as a contractor?
Do you host foreign workers, whether European or non-European, under a subcontract, intra-group mobility, or service provision agreement?
We assist contractors of companies established abroad seconding employees to France in meeting their obligations (e.g., duty of vigilance, designation of a French representative by the subcontractor, and preparation of supplementary declarations as needed).
Secondment of foreign employees in France | our expertise
Below are details of our expertise and the daily support we provide in managing seconded or posted workers. We are committed to offering comprehensive and practical solutions.
Compliance & duty of care
- Identify and analyze corporate/legal structures of subcontractors (Level 1, Level 2, or more).
- Evaluate secondment arrangements (rotation, waiting periods, corporate structures, and “stable, habitual, and continuous activity” criteria under jurisprudence and administrative practices).
- Provide legal advice in cases of identified non-compliance (“no-go” scenarios before contract signing).
- Assess sanction risks during labor inspections and obligations for contractors.
- Conduct compliance audits: identify subcontractors, mandatory documents, URSSAF certificates, prior secondment declarations, and designation of French representatives.
- Draft informational materials for seconded workers regarding applicable French labor laws during the assignment.
Labor law
- Identification and compliance with the legal provisions and collective bargaining agreements applicable to posted workers in France during the assignment period (whether the posting lasts less or more than 12 months)
- Impact of European directives
- Ensuring equal treatment with French employees
- Working time, minimum wage, overtime, paid leave, accommodation conditions, mandatory rest periods and compensatory rest, occupational health, workplace accident management, etc.
- Reviewing and securing local employment contracts, secondment amendments and assignment letters
- Determining the applicable collective bargaining agreement in France
Social security
- Analysis of secondment conditions under social security rules, based on the sending country (within the EU or outside, depending on applicable bilateral social security agreements)
- Obtaining A1 certificates and secondment certificates
- Affiliation to the French social security system
- Compliance of payslips with French legal requirements
- Advisory support on supplementary social protection arrangements
Immigration
- Legal analysis of immigration procedures to be followed based on the length of stay in France of foreign workers who are not nationals of a European Union, European Economic Area or Swiss Confederation member state
- Posting of third-country nationals to France
- Obtaining short- or long-stay visas (including long-stay visas for posted workers, ICT assignments, or employees on assignment)
- Obtaining the required work permits in France
- Obtaining and renewing residence permits in coordination with the relevant Prefectures
- Administrative and judicial appeals (gracious or litigation-based)
Temporary work agencies
- Ensure compliance with French laws specific to temporary work and secondments.
Construction sector (BTP)
Compliance with regulations specific to the construction sector
- Posting obligations
- Applicable legislation in the event of a workplace accident
- Obtaining the mandatory professional identification card (“Carte BTP”)
- Registration with the specific paid leave fund (“intempéries” scheme)
Pre-litigation and litigation
- Undeclared work offence, illegal subcontracting, unlawful loan of labour, illicit labour brokerage, etc.
- Management of irregular employment risk (labour inspections, site shutdowns, litigation)
- Handling of URSSAF-related disputes
Our operational support for managing seconded workers
Majorelle Mobility’s lawyers provide daily assistance for managing seconded workers while helping clients avoid significant financial and reputational risks.
We provide guidance to help you avoid severe administrative and criminal penalties and to protect your company from reputational risks. At the heart of your CSR policies, we support you in the fight against social dumping and illegal work in all its forms.
We work closely with Legal departments, procurement departments, and Human Resources departments on these issues, across a wide range of industries (construction, automotive manufacturing, shipbuilding, etc.), for companies ranging from SMEs and mid-sized businesses to multinationals.
Majorelle Avocats can be appointed as the legal representative of the subcontractor/service provider/foreign worker posting company throughout the assignment. In this role, we carry out a monthly check of legal and documentary compliance in accordance with the requirements of French legislation. We collect and verify all documents required by the French Labour Code (SIPSI, A1 certificate, payslips, etc.) in order to produce them in case of inspection by the labour inspectorate, URSSAF, or even customs or law enforcement authorities.
We work with a broad network of partner lawyers experts in the posting of foreign workers, particularly within the European Union, and are therefore able to respond quickly to transnational situations (including: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain).
COMIC : digital solution for managing secondments
Founded in 2015, COMIC stands for COrporate MIgration Center and provides digital solutions for companies in the field of workforce mobility. Our tools are hosted in secure data centers and are 100% GDPR-compliant.
COMIC is a digital solution initially developed by the lawyers of Oberhammer Rechtsanwälte GmbH and adapted by a leading law firm in each country, mainly within the European Union (Majorelle Avocats for France). These firms advise international companies in areas such as immigration law, labor and employment law, immigration compliance, immigration litigation, minimum wage requirements, and social security coordination.
This digital platform allows you to manage all your posting situations:
- Intra-group mobility
- Posting of third-country workers in Europe
- International service provision
- International subcontracting
- Immigration procedures
- Social compliance
- Calculation of minimum wages applicable in the host country
- Monitoring the duration of the posting, taking into account replacement conditions
- Recording working hours via the Comic Go mobile app
Our dedicated training programmes on the management of posted workers in France
Majorelle Mobility offers tailor-made training programmes in global mobility and business immigration, available both in-house and through inter-company sessions throughout France. These programmes are delivered in French or English, and are designed to provide directly applicable knowledge that strengthens in-company expertise.
They are designed for:
- Legal, HR, and Procurement Departments of contractors/host companies in France
- Foreign subcontractors and service providers
Majorelle is Qualiopi-certified, ensuring high-quality training programmes that are recognised and eligible for public funding.ts publics pour faciliter leur prise en charge.