Explore our training sessions on managing seconded workers in France, available in English and French. For Legal, HR, and Procurement departments or foreign subcontractors.
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 care, 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.
Foreign companies may temporarily second their employees to France within these frameworks. They must comply with mandatory formalities (e.g., prior SIPSI declaration, designation of a French representative) and apply French labor law provisions to seconded employees in specific areas.
French companies acting as contractors are subject to a strict duty of care under Articles L.8222-1 and D.8222-5 of the French labor code. Measures to combat secondment fraud by foreign companies and associated 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 care, 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
- Ensure compliance with legal and contractual provisions for seconded employees.
- Address European directive impacts.
- Enforce equal treatment with French employees (e.g., minimum wage, overtime, mandatory rest, paid leave, work conditions).
- Analyze and secure local contracts and secondment addenda.
- Determine applicable collective agreements.
Social security
- Assess social security conditions based on the country of origin and existing bilateral agreements.
- Obtain A1 and secondment certificates.
- Ensure alignment with French social security and payroll standards.
- Provide advice on supplemental social protection.
Immigration
- Analyze immigration procedures based on workers’ duration of stay and nationality.
- Obtain short- and long-term visas, work permits, and residency renewals.
- Manage administrative and legal immigration appeals.
Temporary work agencies
- Ensure compliance with French laws specific to temporary work and secondments.
Construction sector (BTP)
- Comply with sector-specific regulations (e.g., professional ID cards, accident reporting, weather-related leave funds).
Pre-litigation and litigation
- Address illegal employment, unlawful subcontracting, or labor fraud.
- Manage URSSAF 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