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Ten reasons why France is a great place to work

With all the talk about record unemployment in France and all the locals seemingly heading to the exits as quick as they can to find work abroad The Local looks at the top ten reasons why expats should be happy to work in France, in spite of the strikes and the strife.

Ten reasons why France is a great place to work
Top Ten reasons why France is a great place to work. Photo: Fdcomite/flickr

Recent figures and surveys suggest more and more young French people are heading through departures gate at France’s airports to find work in foreign climes.

And then there are the reports of strikes and mass redundancies – all of which give the impression that France is slowly but surely shutting down.

But while you might hear complaints from sections of the French population about the state of the country, you're less likely to hear moaning from foreigners who work here.

That's because many recognize the benefits of working in a country that, even if there's plenty of strife and strikes going on around them, is still a great place to work. 

“Don’t be pessimistic,” Christopher Chantrey from the British in France community organization tells The Local, in a message to anyone thinking about coming to France to find work.

“People should not be put off. It’s definitely worth a try even if it’s just for the benefit of opening your mind and seeing how things work in France compared to the Anglo approach.

“Hopefully we are now seeing signs of an economic recovery too, so things might be looking more positive soon,” he said.

On the job front, it's not all bad news. There may be record unemployment but there are jobs out there, although temporary contracts are more likely than permanent ones.

“"It's not all doom and gloom," Paris based recruiter Megan Ascione, from EuroLondon Appointments told The Local.

"We have been ok this year and I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary. If things haven't worked out for us for some reason, it's not been because there's a lack of jobs out there.

"Expats need to keep that in mind. It's probably similar to the UK. The market is nowhere near as bad as in 2009. There are jobs out there and it's just a question of finding the right one," she said.

Another recruiter, Diana Zaharia said from the agency Jobs in Paris told The Local that their Paris recruitment website was one the top performers among their network. “That certainly wasn’t the case earlier this year.”

But if all this hasn't convinced you then perhaps reading our Top Ten reasons why France is a great country to work in might. Do you agree with them? Tell us what we missed.

 

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WORKING IN FRANCE

What are France’s laws around working from home that I need to know?

Remote working has become more common since the Covid-19 pandemic, but what are the rules in France? Can your boss really force you to work in an office?

What are France's laws around working from home that I need to know?

The French aren’t especially fond of remote working – known as teletravail – figures published in 2023 show. 

According to a study led the German economic institute Ifo and Econ Pol Europe and published in Les Échos last August, the French are among the least likely of workers in 34 industrialised countries to work from home – averaging 0.6 days per week, compared to the European average of 0.8, and the global average of 0.9.

The policy is more in vogue in the USA (1.4 days per week), the UK (1.5 days), and Canada – where workers average a world-leading 1.7 days per week remote working.

Reasons for this appear to be open to interpretation – a certain hesitancy among employers to allow staff to work remotely, and a resulting lack of employees asking for the option because they believe their bosses are likely to say no. 

Officially, this appears not to be the case. A 2022 study found that 58 percent of company bosses in France were “ready to facilitate teleworking for employees who wish to live in another region”. But, “43 percent of managers believe that remote working has made their managerial position more complex.” The reasons for their concern? “The reduction of informal exchanges (for 37%), maintaining team cohesion (36%), and managing employees (34%)”.

Furthermore, the Ifo and Econ Pol Europe study found that 62 percent of employees cited work socialising as one of the key advantages of in-office working, while 43 percent welcomed the work-life distinction.

The fashion today in France, in light of the pros and cons of homeworking highlighted during the Covid 19 pandemic, appears to be for hybrid working, in which workers spend part of the week in the office and the rest working remotely.

But what are the rules if you do want to work remotely in France?

Private sector employees can negotiate an agreement to work remotely full or part time. If you request to work from home on a long-term basis, your boss has the right to refuse, but must give a reason.

The remote-working rules for public sector workers are different and slightly more complex.

But first, it’s a good idea to check any conventions collectifs – collective agreements – that exist in your profession or workplace. They may well have covered remote working already, so it is well worth checking out what this covers before beginning negotiations.

Your boss can also ask you to work from home. In normal circumstances, you can refuse and don’t have to provide a reason. However, in the event of exceptional circumstances (such as, for example, a pandemic), remote working may be imposed on employees without their agreement.

Contract conditions

Assuming you are not a self-employed contractor, you will remain an employee of the company with the same rights as before, but if you switch to home-working permanently your employers must provide written conditions of your new working practices.

Among these must be a protocol for working hours and workflow regulation.

Employer and employee must also agree – before you start remote working – time slots during which your boss can contact you at home, in order to preserve your right to a private life.

In all other aspects, the employee is under the same obligations as if they worked in the office full-time. You must respect your employer’s instructions, working hours and conditions of use of equipment.

Work equipment

When an employee is working from home, the employer must provide, install and maintain any necessary equipment.

If, exceptionally, the teleworker uses his own equipment, the employer has to ensure it is appropriate for the job and is maintained.

In principle, setting up home-working should not entail any additional cost to the employee, so employers must supply and maintain any equipment that you reasonably need. Whether that is supplied directly, or through you ordering a work-station and claiming the expense back can be agreed between you and your employer.

The employer must also ensure that the employee is aware of restrictions on the use of computers, or electronic communication services. This includes limits on personal use, for example, and will likely remain the same rules as those in place in the office.

Allowances and expenses

Working from home can mean that electricity bills rise as workers use their own electricity for lights, coffee machines/kettles and computers.

Any fixed expenses – such as stationary, phone calls, printer cartridges, for example – can be claimed back from your employer on the production of receipts.

You are also entitled to ask your employer to share the cost of utilities like electricity, internet and heating.

If you work in a job where you receive restaurant vouchers, these cannot be withdrawn if you switch to home-working.

Data protection

The employer has an obligation to protect the data used and processed by its employees, including teleworkers.

This obligation applies whether the teleworker uses the employer’s equipment or their own.

Health and safety

If you are working at home, your residence becomes your workplace for that day, with all that implies legally. For example, if you fall down your own stairs on a day you are working from home, that could count as a workplace accident and your employer could be liable.

Employer liability can be strict in France – remember this case when a court ruled that a man who died while having sex with a stranger on a business trip was the victim of a workplace accident? Not that we’re suggesting any hard-working readers of The Local would be frittering away their working hours on casual sex, but it shows how strict the rules around the workplace can be for employers. 

Transport costs

Maybe you have agreed to work somewhere that’s closer to home. If so, an  employer is expected to cover half the cost 50 percent of subscription tickets for travel on public transport, or cycle rental, between their usual residence and their place of work.

If remote working is part-time, say one or two days per week, the level of support provided by the employer remains identical to that of an employee who is permanently with the company.

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