French Employment Law for Americans: What Your Contract Guarantees (2026)

French employment law protects the employee more than an American is used to, and it does so in writing: a fixed number of paid weeks off, a legal working week, sick pay that the employer tops up, and a dismissal that needs a reason, a procedure and, after eight months, an indemnity. This guide sets out what the Labor Code guarantees a salaried employee in the private sector, as service-public.gouv.fr states it, and where an industry agreement can change it. It starts once you have a job: getting the right to work comes first, and our work visa guide covers it.

The Short Answer

The US column is federal law as the Department of Labor’s own pages put it: the Fair Labor Standards Act “does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations, sick leave or federal or other holidays”, and a termination that is not discriminatory, retaliatory or tied to a protected complaint “is subject only to any private contract between the employer and employee or a labor contract”. A blank cell means the line has no equivalent in the pages read.

Two Kinds of Contract: CDI and CDD

A CDI (contrat à durée indéterminée) is a contract with no end date. A CDD (contrat à durée déterminée) is the exception, and the law frames it closely. Service-public states that a CDD “ne doit pas avoir pour objet ou pour effet de pourvoir durablement un emploi lié à l’activité normale et permanente de l’entreprise”: it can only be signed for a precise and temporary task, and the reason must be written in it. The reasons the page lists include replacing an absent employee, a temporary increase in activity, urgent work, seasonal jobs and the sectors where fixed-term work is the custom, such as hotels, restaurants and entertainment. A CDD can never be used to replace employees on strike.

• In writing, always. A CDD that was not signed in writing, or that does not state its reason, can be requalified as a CDI by a judge; without a written contract, the employer also risks a fine of 3,750 euros.
• In French, with a translation on request. The page states that a written employment contract must be drafted in French and that a foreign employee can ask for a translation into their own language.
• 18 months at most in the general case, with other limits for some reasons (9 months while waiting for an employee hired on a CDI, 24 months for a job about to be abolished, the end of the season for seasonal work). An industry agreement can set other lengths.
• The same pay as a permanent colleague: the CDD pay cannot be lower than what an employee on a CDI with the same qualification and job would earn.
• An indemnity at the end. A CDD that reaches its term pays an end-of-contract indemnity (the prime de précarité) of at least 10% of the total gross pay of the contract, which an industry agreement can lower to 6% with training in return. It is not paid if you are hired on a CDI afterwards, if you turn down a CDI for the same or a similar job at equivalent pay, after gross misconduct, or for seasonal and school-holiday contracts.

Part time. Unless an agreement sets another minimum, a part-time employee works at least 24 hours a week, on a CDI or a CDD; a CDD of 7 days or less and the replacement of an absent employee are among the exceptions. A part-time CDD must state the weekly hours.

The Trial Period

A CDI usually opens with a trial period (période d’essai), during which either side can end the contract. Service-public gives the legal maximum by category:

It is counted in calendar days from your first day of work, and it can be renewed once only if an extended industry agreement provides for it, the contract says so, and you agree in writing during the initial period. The employer cannot impose the renewed length from the start. A shorter period can be set by the agreement or the contract. Our guide to finding a job in France explains the other words of a job offer.

Hours and Overtime

The legal working time for a full-time employee is 35 hours a week, 151.67 hours a month or 1,607 hours a year. An agreement can set a longer or shorter week; hours beyond the legal time are overtime.

• The caps: 10 hours of actual work a day, 48 hours in any single week, and 44 hours a week on average over 12 consecutive weeks. The labor inspectorate can allow up to 60 hours in a week in exceptional circumstances.
• The pay: when no agreement sets the rates, overtime is paid 25% more for the first 8 hours of the week (the 36th to the 43rd) and 50% more from the 44th hour. An agreement can set other rates, none below 10%. Overtime can also be paid as compensatory rest of the same value.
• The yearly quota: without an agreement, 220 hours of overtime per employee and per year; hours beyond it give a right to extra rest.

For part-time employees the extra hours are called heures complémentaires and are paid 10% more up to a tenth of the contract’s hours, 25% more beyond.

Rest Days and Public Holidays

• Daily rest: at least 11 consecutive hours between two working days. No legal minimum applies to a cadre dirigeant, the top tier of senior management.
• Weekly rest: at least 24 consecutive hours, plus the 11 hours of daily rest, so 35 hours in a row from one week to the next. Most employees have two days in a row, and service-public writes that “dans l’intérêt du salarié, la journée de repos hebdomadaire est le dimanche”, with exceptions by sector.
• Public holidays: France has 11 in 2026 outside Alsace-Moselle and the overseas territories: January 1, Easter Monday (April 6), May 1, May 8, Ascension (May 14), Whit Monday (May 25), July 14, August 15, November 1, November 11 and December 25. Only May 1 is a day off for every employee, except in activities that cannot stop, such as hospitals and public transport; the others are days off when an agreement or the employer provides for it. A public holiday taken off costs no pay once you have 3 months in the company.

Five Weeks of Paid Leave

Every month of actual work with the same employer earns 2.5 working days of paid leave, full time or part time, which makes 30 working days, five weeks, for a full year. Days of sick leave that is not work-related also earn leave, up to 2 working days a month (24 a year). The legal period for taking the main leave runs from May 1 to October 31; the period is set by the industry agreement or, failing one, by the employer, and announced at least 2 months before it opens. For the US side: the Fair Labor Standards Act requires no paid vacation at all.

Sick Leave and Parental Leave

Sick leave. A doctor’s sick note (arrêt de travail) opens daily allowances (indemnités journalières) from the health insurance: 50% of your basic daily salary, capped at 42.97 euros gross a day, after a waiting period of 3 days that applies to each new sick note. The employer adds a top-up if you have at least one year in the company, sent the medical certificate within 48 hours and meet the other conditions of the page: together with the allowances it brings you to 90% of the gross pay you would have earned for the first 30 to 90 days of the sick leave, depending on your seniority, then to two thirds for the next 30 to 90 days. Your industry agreement can do better, up to keeping your full salary. For the health insurance itself, see setting up healthcare in France.

Maternity leave. 16 weeks for a first or second child, 6 before the birth and 10 after; 26 weeks from the third child. Part of it can be given up, but a mother must stop work for at least 8 weeks, 6 of them after the birth, and the employer may not employ her during that time.

Paternity leave. A father or second parent first takes a birth leave of 3 working days, then a paternity and childcare leave of 25 calendar days, whose first 4 days must follow the birth leave at once.

How a Job Ends

Resigning

A resignation (démission) needs no legal form: you can tell the employer orally or in writing, and service-public advises writing, by registered letter or by hand against a receipt. The employer cannot refuse it, and once it is clear you cannot take it back unless the employer agrees. The law does not set the notice period: most often the industry agreement does. A resignation does not, in principle, open the right to unemployment benefit, unless France Travail considers it legitimate, for instance to follow your partner.

Being Dismissed

A dismissal for a reason tied to the employee must rest on a real and serious cause: facts that are real, precise and verifiable, and serious enough to justify ending the contract. The procedure has fixed steps:

1. A letter calling you to a preliminary interview (entretien préalable), by registered mail or by hand against a receipt, stating that you can bring a colleague or an outside adviser (conseiller du salarié).
2. At least 5 working days between the letter and the interview.
3. The dismissal letter, by registered mail, no earlier than 2 working days after the interview.

Notice: 1 month with 6 months to 2 years in the company, 2 months from 2 years; under 6 months, the agreement or custom sets it. There is no notice after gross or serious misconduct (faute grave or lourde).

The legal indemnity is due after 8 months of uninterrupted service: at least a quarter of a month’s gross salary per year of service up to 10 years, and a third of a month per year beyond 10 years. It is not owed after gross or serious misconduct, unless the agreement or the contract provides for it. If a court finds no real and serious cause, it awards an indemnity whose amount depends on your seniority and the size of the company.

Leaving by Agreement: the Rupture Conventionnelle

The rupture conventionnelle ends a CDI by mutual agreement, neither a dismissal nor a resignation. Employer and employee sign an agreement after one or more meetings; each side then has 15 calendar days to withdraw, without giving a reason. The labor administration (the DDETS) has 15 working days to check the agreement, and its silence counts as approval. The specific indemnity cannot be lower than the legal or conventional dismissal indemnity, whatever your seniority, and the rupture opens the right to unemployment benefit.

Unemployment Benefit

The allowance (allocation d’aide au retour à l’emploi, ARE) is for people who lose their job involuntarily: a dismissal, a rupture conventionnelle, the end of a CDD that is not renewed, or a resignation France Travail considers legitimate. Under 55, you need at least 6 months of work (130 days or 910 hours) in the last 24 months, to live in France on a stable and regular basis, and to register with France Travail within 12 months of the end of the contract.

Non-Compete Clauses

A non-compete clause binds you after you leave, and it is valid only if it meets four conditions together: limited in time, limited to an area, tied to a specific activity, and paid. The employer pays the financial counterpart after the contract ends; a clause that misses one of the four is not valid.

Your Payslip and Your Collective Agreement

The payslip (fiche de paie or bulletin de salaire) comes with every payment of salary. It has been electronic by default since 2017, and you can ask for paper instead. It tells you to keep it with no time limit, and you can contest its amount for 3 years after it was handed to you.

The collective agreement (convention collective) is negotiated for your industry between employers’ and employees’ representatives. It sets working conditions, minimum salaries and leave, and it can be more favorable than the Labor Code: a higher dismissal indemnity, a seniority or holiday bonus, extra days off. Its name is on your payslip and in a CDD; read it alongside this guide, because many of the rules above say “unless an agreement provides otherwise”.

When It Goes Wrong: the Labor Court

Individual disputes go to the conseil de prud’hommes, the labor court: a dismissal, a disciplinary sanction, unpaid salary or overtime, rest days and leave, harassment or discrimination. The deadlines are short:

What Changes for an American

• The right to work comes before the contract. See our work visa guide for the routes, and teaching English in France for one of them.
• A reason is needed to let you go. Under US federal law a termination is a matter of contract unless it is discriminatory or retaliatory; in France a dismissal needs a real and serious cause and a procedure, and a court can award an indemnity when the cause is missing.
• Time off is written into the law. Five weeks of paid leave, May 1, sick pay with an employer top-up: none of these depends on negotiating them.
• Your contract is in French. You can ask for a translation; read the trial period, the hours, the place of work and the name of the collective agreement before you sign.
• Unemployment benefit has a residence condition. It is paid to people who live in France on a stable and regular basis and registered with France Travail.
• Health cover through the employer (the company plan, or mutuelle) is explained in our guide to finding a job in France.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Reading a CDD like an American fixed-term job. Without a written reason it can become a CDI; at its end it pays at least 10% of the gross pay, unless you are hired permanently.
• Resigning to “negotiate” later. A clear resignation cannot be withdrawn without the employer’s agreement, and it does not open unemployment benefit in principle; a rupture conventionnelle does.
• Ignoring the collective agreement. It often gives more than the Code: notice, indemnities, sick pay, extra leave.
• Missing the 12 months. A dismissal is challenged within 12 months of its notification, or not at all.
• Throwing payslips away. The payslip tells you to keep it without a time limit; it is your record of salary and contributions.

FAQ

Is France an at-will employment country?

No. A dismissal for a reason tied to the employee needs a real and serious cause, a preliminary interview and a dismissal letter, then notice and, after 8 months of service, a legal indemnity. Under US federal law, the Department of Labor writes that a termination that is not discriminatory or retaliatory “is subject only to any private contract”.

How many weeks of paid vacation do you get in France?

Five: 2.5 working days per month worked with the same employer, 30 working days for a full year, full time or part time.

How many hours is a full-time job in France?

35 hours a week by law, 151.67 hours a month. An agreement can set another length; hours beyond the legal time are overtime, paid 25% more from the 36th to the 43rd hour and 50% more from the 44th when no agreement sets other rates.

Do you get paid when you are sick in France?

Yes, after 3 waiting days the health insurance pays 50% of your basic daily salary, up to 42.97 euros gross a day, and after one year in the company the employer tops it up to 90% of your gross pay for a first period of 30 to 90 days.

What is a rupture conventionnelle?

The end of a CDI by agreement between employer and employee. Each side has 15 calendar days to withdraw, the labor administration has 15 working days to approve it, the indemnity is at least the legal dismissal indemnity, and it opens the right to unemployment benefit.

Can I get unemployment benefit in France as an American?

The conditions on service-public are the same for every employee: losing the job involuntarily (dismissal, rupture conventionnelle, end of a CDD, legitimate resignation), at least 6 months of work in the last 24 months under 55, living in France on a stable and regular basis, and registering with France Travail within 12 months.

Conclusion

A French employment contract carries more than its own pages: the Labor Code sets the week, the leave, the sick pay and the way out, and the collective agreement of your industry usually adds to it. Read three things before you sign: the kind of contract and its reason if it is a CDD, the trial period, and the name of the collective agreement. Keep every payslip, and if the job ends badly, count 12 months.

For the steps before the contract, start with how to find a job in France as an American; if your case needs a read by someone who knows the French side, a Consulting Call covers it.