What is an Employer
of Record in France?

Learn what an employer of record in France is, how it works, and when to use an EOR

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Reading time: 4 min

If you are planning to hire in France, you will quickly come across the term Employer of Record (EOR). For many international companies, an EOR in France is the fastest way to employ someone locally without creating a French legal entity from day one.

What does that actually mean in practice, how does it interact with French employment law, and how does it fit with an Employer of Record (EOR) model like Freeteam’s?

This article explains what an Employer of Record is in France, how it works, and when it makes sense to use it – especially if you already rely on an Employer of Record in France for independent contractors.

The basic definition of an Employer of Record

An Employer of Record in France is a company which becomes the legal employer of your worker in the country.

Concretely, the EOR:

  • Signs a French employment contract with the employee.
  • Manages employee’s payroll, tax fillings & compliance with French labor laws and CBA.
  • Calculates and pays social contributions and payroll taxes.
  • Manages benefits, paid leave and contract termination procedures.

You, as the client company:

  • Choose the person you want to work with.
  • Define the role, goals and everyday tasks.
  • Manage performance, feedback and day-to-day collaboration.

It is a split of responsibilities:

  • The EOR owns the legal employment and French HR compliance.
  • You own the operational management and integration of the person into your team.

This structure allows you respect French labour law without building your own local HR and payroll infrastructure.

How an EOR works in France

The contractual structure

In a typical French EOR arrangement, three contracts or documents exist:

  1. A service agreement between your company and the EOR provider.
  2. An employment contract between the EOR and the employee in France.
  3. Any internal HR documentation or policies the employee must follow (code of conduct, security, remote work policy, etc.).

The employee’s payslip, benefits and HR rights are handled by the EOR, while their work is aligned with your organisation, your tools and your business priorities.

Payroll, benefits and compliance

The EOR handles:

  • Gross-to-net salary calculation.
  • Employer and employee social contributions.
  • Income tax withholding when applicable.
  • Mandatory benefits and those defined by the relevant collective agreement.
  • Monthly declarations to French authorities and social bodies.

For you, this means you do not need to:

  • Register a French entity or as a foreign employer.
  • Build internal expertise on French labour law and payroll.
  • Monitor and apply frequent regulatory changes yourself.

A simple example: first French sales hire

Imagine a US SaaS company that has closed a few French customers remotely and now wants someone on the ground in Paris. They are not ready for a subsidiary, but they know the role is full-time, long-term and strategic.

Using an Employer of Record in France:

  • The EOR signs the French employment contract and runs payroll.
  • The company onboards the sales rep into its CRM, targets and sales rituals.
  • HR and finance teams in the US get predictable monthly costs without dealing directly with French employment rules.

If the French market takes off, the company can later decide to open its own entity and transfer the role.

Hire employees in France without opening a local entity

With an Employer of Record in France, you can employ local talent compliantly while keeping your organisation lean.

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When to use an Employer of Record in France

Ideal scenarios for EOR

EOR is a strong fit when:

  • You need a long-term presence in France but are not ready for a full subsidiary.
  • The role clearly looks like employment, not a freelance mission.
  • You want to offer full employee protection and stability from day one.
  • You have limited capacity to set up and manage French payroll in-house.

Typical roles include:

  • Country launcher or first sales representative.
  • Customer success manager dedicated to French key accounts.
  • Implementation or support engineer covering French clients.

How EOR relates to AOR

The EOR is not a competitor to an Agent of Record; they solve different problems:

  • AOR is your go-to model for independent contractors (consultants, experts, project-based work).
  • EOR is the model for employees you want to integrate deeply over time.

Quick checklist: is EOR the right tool now?

Ask yourself:

Is this role central to our strategy in France for the next 2–3 years?

Do we expect the person to represent us as “our team member in France”?

Would we be comfortable if labour inspectors treated this as a classic employment relationship?

If the answer is yes to all three, an Employer of Record in France is very likely the right tool.

Conclusion: using EOR and AOR together in France

Choosing an Employer of Record in France is less about ticking a legal box and more about designing the right setup for each role. EOR gives you a fast, compliant way to employ people in France without creating a local entity, while an Agent of Record in France lets you work with independent contractors in a structured, scalable way.

In practice, most international companies will combine both models over time:

  • AOR for genuine independent experts, project-based work and early market testing.
  • EOR for long-term, strategically important roles that need the full protection and stability of French employment law.

The key is to look at the true nature of the relationship and your stage of expansion, not at acronyms in isolation. Used together, Employer of Record in France and Agent of Record in France give you a flexible toolkit to hire, structure and grow your French presence at the right speed, without losing control of compliance, cost visibility or your long-term strategy.

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