Wage Carriage
Verified 11 July 2025 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
PEO is a tripartite contractual relationship. The employee worn concludes an employment contract with a PEO COMPANY and performs a service on behalf of a Client company. What are the terms and conditions of employment of the employee being carried, as well as the obligations of the carrying company and those of the client company? We're taking a look at the regulations.
The information differs according to the specific situations of the companies or the employee carried.
Carried employee
Anyone with the expertise, qualification and autonomy to search for their customers can be a supported employee.
The supported employee must have at least a level 5 professional qualification (Bac +2) or significant experience of at least 3 years in the same sector of activity.
The employee must negotiate the conditions of performance of his service and set the price with the client company.
The choice of the PEO company is up to him.
It provides a service to the client company and reports to the carrying business at least once a month.
The information differs depending on the type of contract:
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Fixed-term contract of employment
Information about the FIXED-TERM CONTRACT: titleContent
The contract is concluded for the performance of a service in a client company.
The provisions of the Labor Code concerning the trial period, compensatory leave with pay, the conditions for early termination and termination indemnity shall apply.
The contract can be specific in time. It can be renewed 2 times. The renewal terms are stipulated in the contract or are the subject of a endorsement submitted to the employee before the originally scheduled deadline.
The contract may also be unclear when the term of the object for which it was concluded is not known. In this case, it must provide for a minimum duration and have as its end the realization of the object.
The total maximum duration of the contract may not exceed 18 months, including renewal.
The term of the contract may be postponed, by agreement between the company of employee carrier and the employee carried, for a maximum period of 3 months.
The contract must be transmitted to the employee carried at the latest within 2 working days following its conclusion.
In addition to the mention “fixed-term employment contract”, the contract must include the following clauses on the relationship between the employee carrier company and the employee carried.
Clauses on the relationship between the employee carrier company and the employee carried
- Term date (and renewal clause where it includes a specific term)
- Method of calculation and payment of remuneration, business contribution allowance, social security and tax charges, management fees and, where applicable, professional expenses
- Method of deducting business expenses
- Description of the skills, qualifications and areas of expertise of the employee
- Duration of the trial period
- Method of acquiring, taking and paying paid leave
- Name and address of the supplementary pension fund and of the provident society to which the employee-bearing company belongs
- Periodicity of the establishment by the employee of activity reports
- Identity of the financial guarantor of the PEO company.
Clauses on the performance of the PEO service
- Identity and address of the client company
- Description of the purpose of the service and its conditions of execution by the employee carried
- Duration of the service
- Minimum duration of the service and the nature of the event (or result determining the end of the contract)
- Price of the service agreed between the employee and the client company (remuneration, business contribution allowance, social and tax levies, management costs and professional expenses)
- Responsibility of the client company concerning the conditions of performance of the employee's work (health, safety, working hours, during the performance of his service)
- Nature of personal protective equipment provided by the client company
- Identity of the insurer and the insurance number guaranteeing the civil liability subscribed for the employee brought in the event of damage caused in the client company.
Indefinite-term contract of employment
It is concluded for the performance of a service in one or more client companies.
Most of the DTA rules shall apply, subject to certain specificities.
In addition to the words ‘employment contract for an indefinite period’, the written contract must contain the following information:
- Method of calculating and paying remuneration, business contribution allowance, social security and tax charges, management fees and, where applicable, professional expenses (method applied to the price of each service)
- Method of deducting business expenses
- Description of the skills, qualifications and areas of expertise of the employee
- Method of acquiring, taking and paying paid leave
- Duration of the trial period
- Name and address of the supplementary pension fund and of the provident society to which the employee-bearing company belongs
- Periodicity of the establishment by the employee of activity reports
- Identity of the financial guarantor of the PEO company.
Periods without service with a client company are not remunerated.
Warning
PEO should not be confused with loan of labor between companies, or with a temporary employment contract (acting).
The classification of the employee differs according to his seniority or status:
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Carried employee with less than 3 years of seniority in the employee carrier activity
The employee falls within the classification of technicians, supervisors (or similar) or executives.
Carried employee with 3 years or more of seniority in the employee carrier activity
The employee falls within the framework classification.
Employee brought to the day plan
The employee falls within the framework classification, regardless of the seniority in the employee carrier activity.
The total gross minimum monthly remuneration may not be less than €2,517.13.
This minimum gross income is defined in days or half days if the working time of the employee is expressed in days.
It is calculated in relation to the hourly ceiling of the social security if the working time of the employee carried is calculated in hours.
It is broken down as follows:
- A guaranteed monthly salary paid during periods worked equal to:
- 70% of this ceiling for a junior employee worn outside the days package, i.e €2,288.30
- 75% of this ceiling for a senior employee carried out outside the day flat rate, i.e €2,451.75
- 85% of this ceiling for an employee on a daily flat rate, i.e. €2,778.65.
This minimum wage includes the basic salary, paid leave allowances and the business contribution allowance of 5% . - A financial reserve to finance inter-mission periods equal to:
- 10% the base salary of the last assignment for employees on permanent contracts paid into the activity account
- or a precariousness allowance for employees on fixed-term contracts paid at the end of the contract.
FYI
Periods without a benefit from a client company are not remunerated.
In the PEO company, the length of service of the employee is calculated by totaling the periods during which he or she performed services.
For professional elections, the required seniority is 3 months to be an elector and 6 months to be eligible.
It is determined by reference to the services performed during the 12 months preceding the election for the electorate and the 18 months for eligibility.
Each month, the PEO company must inform the employee of the items on the account:
- Payment made by the client company to the carrying company for the performance of its service
- Management Fee Detail
- Business expenses
- Social and tax levies
- Net remuneration
- Amount of the business transfer allowance.
A supported employee can benefit from various vocational training schemes.
These include:
- Non-working time training up to 240 hours
- Validation of experience (VAE)
- Competency assessment
- Personal Training Account.
The PEO company is responsible for the obligations concerning the occupational medicine (information and prevention visits, periodic visits, etc.).
Carried employees benefit from unemployment insurance.
Moreover, it is possible to cumulate the Return to Employment Assistance (RHE) with income from a scope of activity.
Porting company
The carrying company must carry out this activity as exclusive.
Only a PEO company can enter into PEO contracts.
It is remunerated by management fees (implementation of the porting agreement, the service contract, billing for example).
It must draw up an employment contract with the employee and carry out the formalities related to it: hiring, remuneration, payment of social security contributions.
It must open and manage an activity account for the employee carried.
It ensures the adaptation to the employee's workstation and checks his skills to develop his professional project.
It takes out professional liability insurance on behalf of the employee.
Warning
The carrying company having concluded an employment contract with the carried employee must not provide him with work.
The carrying company must first have made a declaration of activity to the labor inspectorate.
This declaration shall contain the following information:
- Proposed transaction (creation of a PEO company, opening of a branch, agency or subsidiary office, relocation of head office or cessation of activity)
- Name, seat and legal character of the company
- If necessary, location of branch, branch or branch office
- Effective date of the proposed transaction
- Surname, forenames, domicile and nationality of the company's directors (branch, agency or subsidiary office)
- Designation of the organization to which the PEO pays the social security contributions + its employer number
- Geographical and professional fields in which the company intends to carry its employees
- Number of permanent employees that the company employs, or plans to employ, to operate its own services.
The prior declaration is made in 2 copies by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.
It is addressed to labor inspection the head office of the company, branch, agency or subsidiary office to which the opening is planned.
Any change must be notified under the same conditions.
Warning
The PEO company can only carry out its activity when it has received the labor inspectorate's visa, or after a period of 15 days in case of absence of a visa.
The carrying company must provide evidence of financial guarantee for the payment of the salary of the employee brought and the payment of social contributions.
The amount of this guarantee must be at least equal to 10% of the wage bill of the previous year, but not less than €94,200.
Each month, the PEO company must inform the employee of the items on the account:
- Payment made by the client company to the carrying company for the performance of its service
- Management Fee Detail
- Business expenses
- Social and tax levies
- Net remuneration
- Amount of the business transfer allowance.
The information differs depending on the type of contract:
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Fixed-term contract of employment
Information about the FIXED-TERM CONTRACT: titleContent
The contract is concluded for the performance of a service in a client company.
The provisions of the Labor Code concerning the trial period, compensatory leave with pay, the conditions for early termination and termination indemnity shall apply.
The contract can be specific in time. It can be renewed 2 times. The renewal terms are stipulated in the contract or are the subject of a endorsement submitted to the employee before the originally scheduled deadline.
The contract may also be unclear when the term of the object for which it was concluded is not known. In this case, it must provide for a minimum duration and have as its end the realization of the object.
The total maximum duration of the contract may not exceed 18 months, including renewal.
The term of the contract may be postponed, by agreement between the company of employee carrier and the employee carried, for a maximum period of 3 months.
The contract must be transmitted to the employee carried at the latest within 2 working days following its conclusion.
In addition to the mention “fixed-term employment contract”, the contract must include the following clauses on the relationship between the employee carrier company and the employee carried.
Clauses on the relationship between the employee carrier company and the employee carried
- Term date (and renewal clause where it includes a specific term)
- Method of calculation and payment of remuneration, business contribution allowance, social security and tax charges, management fees and, where applicable, professional expenses
- Method of deducting business expenses
- Description of the skills, qualifications and areas of expertise of the employee
- Duration of the trial period
- Method of acquiring, taking and paying paid leave
- Name and address of the supplementary pension fund and of the provident society to which the employee-bearing company belongs
- Periodicity of the establishment by the employee of activity reports
- Identity of the financial guarantor of the PEO company.
Clauses on the performance of the PEO service
- Identity and address of the client company
- Description of the purpose of the service and its conditions of execution by the employee carried
- Duration of the service
- Minimum duration of the service and the nature of the event (or result determining the end of the contract)
- Price of the service agreed between the employee and the client company (remuneration, business contribution allowance, social and tax levies, management costs and professional expenses)
- Responsibility of the client company concerning the conditions of performance of the employee's work (health, safety, working hours, during the performance of his service)
- Nature of personal protective equipment provided by the client company
- Identity of the insurer and the insurance number guaranteeing the civil liability subscribed for the employee brought in the event of damage caused in the client company.
Indefinite-term contract of employment
It is concluded for the performance of a service in one or more client companies.
Most of the DTA rules shall apply, subject to certain specificities.
In addition to the words ‘employment contract for an indefinite period’, the written contract must contain the following information:
- Method of calculating and paying remuneration, business contribution allowance, social security and tax charges, management fees and, where applicable, professional expenses (method applied to the price of each service)
- Method of deducting business expenses
- Description of the skills, qualifications and areas of expertise of the employee
- Method of acquiring, taking and paying paid leave
- Duration of the trial period
- Name and address of the supplementary pension fund and of the provident society to which the employee-bearing company belongs
- Periodicity of the establishment by the employee of activity reports
- Identity of the financial guarantor of the PEO company.
Periods without service with a client company are not remunerated.
Warning
PEO should not be confused with loan of labor between companies, or with a temporary employment contract (acting).
A commercial service contract must be concluded in writing between the carrying business and the client company, at the latest within 2 working days following the start of the service.
The contract covers the main elements of the negotiation of the service between the employee and the client company.
A copy of this contract shall be sent by the porting company to the employee within the same period.
The contract must state the following:
- Identity, skills, qualifications and areas of expertise of the employee being carried
- Description of the service and its conditions of execution by the employee carried
- Date of the end of the service and, possibly, minimum duration of the service when the term is uncertain and linked to the performance of the service
- Price of the service agreed between the employee and the client company
- Responsibility of the client company on the conditions of performance of the employee's work (health, safety, working hours for example)
- Nature of personal protective equipment provided by the client company
- Identity of the financial guarantor of the PEO company
- Identity of the insurer and the insurance number guaranteeing civil liability on behalf of the employee brought in the event of damage during the performance of the service.
The termination of the commercial contract for the provision of a wage carrier does not lead to the termination of the employee's employment contract.
FYI
The employer must make available to the CSE: titleContent information on, inter alia, the use of contracts with a PEO company.
A company that does not comply with the rules of wage carrier risks a fine of €3,750 in the following cases:
- Exercise of the PEO activity:
- Failure to comply with the conditions for carrying out the PEO activity
- No prior declaration of the activity or financial guarantee
- For a company other than a PEO company, entering into a PEO contract without fulfilling the conditions for carrying out this activity.
- Obligations with respect to the employee:
- Absence of employment contract
- Do not transmit the employment contract to the employee within 2 working days of its conclusion
- Conclude a contract of employment as a staff member for a personal service activity or without the mandatory information
- Conclude a fixed-term contract of employment with no specific term or no minimum term for imprecise terms
- Failure to comply with the maximum durations of FIXED-TERM CONTRACT: titleContent
- Failure to set up and manage the activity account
- Failure to comply with obligations relating to occupational medicine.
- Customer company Relations:
- Failure to conclude a commercial contract within 2 working days of the start of the service or failure to transmit a copy to the employee within the same period
- Non-compliance with the mandatory terms of the commercial contract.
Recidivism is punishable by 6 months of imprisonment and €7,500 of a fine.
The judge may order a ban on carrying on the activity of peopling for a period of 2 à 10 years.
Failure to comply with this prohibition is punishable by 6 months of imprisonment and €6,000 of a fine.
Client company
The client company may use the PEO for occasional tasks not part of its normal and permanent activity.
It can also use employee portage for a one-time service requiring expertise that it does not benefit from.
The purpose of the benefit may not be to replace a striking employee or to perform certain particularly dangerous work.
The client company negotiates the price and the nature of the service with the employee.
It pays the company of carriage the price of the service.
The duration of the benefit is limited to 3 years (36 months).
Warning
It is forbidden to provide personal services (childcare, housework, school support, gardening at a private home...).
A commercial service contract must be concluded in writing between the carrying business and the client company, at the latest within 2 working days following the start of the service.
The contract covers the main elements of the negotiation of the service between the employee and the client company.
A copy of this contract shall be sent by the porting company to the employee within the same period.
The contract must state the following:
- Identity, skills, qualifications and areas of expertise of the employee being carried
- Description of the service and its conditions of execution by the employee carried
- Date of the end of the service and, possibly, minimum duration of the service when the term is uncertain and linked to the performance of the service
- Price of the service agreed between the employee and the client company
- Responsibility of the client company on the conditions of performance of the employee's work (health, safety, working hours for example)
- Nature of personal protective equipment provided by the client company
- Identity of the financial guarantor of the PEO company
- Identity of the insurer and the insurance number guaranteeing civil liability on behalf of the employee brought in the event of damage during the performance of the service.
The termination of the commercial contract for the provision of a wage carrier does not lead to the termination of the employee's employment contract.
FYI
The employer must make available to the CSE: titleContent information on, inter alia, the use of contracts with a PEO company.
A fine of €3,750 shall be payable in the following cases:
- Recourse to an employee brought outside the authorized cases and conditions
- Failure to enter into a commercial contract with the PEO company to provide PEO services within 2 working days following the start of the service
- Non-compliance with the mandatory terms of the commercial contract.
Recidivism is punishable by 6 months of imprisonment and €7,500 of a fine.
Failure to comply with this prohibition is punishable by 6 months of imprisonment and €6,000 of a fine.
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Terms of the PEO
Criminal sanctions
Annual consultation on company social policy, working conditions and employment
Electorate and eligibility salary portage
Wage Carriage Orders
Collective agreement for employees in employee portage
Social security ceiling for 2017
French Association for Standardization (Afnor)