Wages and agency fees for household staff in France

As of 25 October 2026

This guide summarises what a private household in France, in Paris for instance, must pay household staff at least, what official statistics say about pay, and what placement agencies may charge and actually charge. Agreement, statistics and rules come from legislation, the extended collective agreement and official pages, the fees from the websites of the agencies in the register; every figure carries its source, all retrieved on 25 October 2026. The text is an orientation, not legal or tax advice and not a pay recommendation. The rules on agencies, CESU, the tax credit and work permits are in the guide Hiring household staff in France.

At a glance

• Every employee of a private employer is covered by collective agreement IDCC 3239 with twelve pay levels: since 1 June 2026 at least EUR 12.61 gross per hour at level I, EUR 2,194 a month at 174 hours, up to EUR 18.07 at level XII; the SMIC of EUR 12.31 is the absolute floor.
• Night presence is paid as a flat allowance of at least a quarter of the hourly rate, work on the rest day with a 25 percent supplement, on ordinary public holidays 10 percent, on 1 May 100 percent; board and lodging are deducted from net pay at a minimum of EUR 4.70 per meal and EUR 71 a month. The agreement provides no thirteenth month.
• INSEE's wage statistics exclude the employees of private employers; housekeepers employed by companies earned an average of EUR 1,617 net a month in 2024, cooks EUR 1,981, chauffeurs EUR 1,912. Urssaf reports a net hourly wage of EUR 12.80 for staff employed directly by households (third quarter of 2025), with no breakdown by occupation.
• Fees charged to the household are unregulated, and an agency may charge job seekers nothing; VAT of 20 percent applies to the fee. The Paris nanny agencies in the register that publish fees state fixed amounts of about EUR 1,150 to 2,500 rather than a percentage.
• On top of gross pay the household owes employer contributions of about 45 percent below the contribution ceiling, less a flat deduction of EUR 2 per hour worked, so about 29 percent at the conventional minimum; the tax credit of 50 percent reduces the cost.

Collectively agreed wages under IDCC 3239

The national collective agreement for private employers and home employment applies, by ministerial extension, to every employee of a private employer. The hourly wage may fall neither below the conventional minimum of the level nor below the SMIC, which has been EUR 12.31 gross since 1 June 2026. Amendment no. 10 of 5 February 2026, extended by order of 4 May 2026, raised all levels by 3 percent; the amounts apply since 1 June 2026, gross per hour and per month at 174 hours:

Holders of a branch certification receive 4 percent more at levels I to IV and 5 percent more at V and VI. Classification follows 24 reference jobs in five domains (child, adult, living spaces, technical environment, outdoor environment); butler, housekeeper, cook, chauffeur and gardener are not reference jobs and are classified by their main activity, where the care of an adult or of a child under three always counts as the main activity. Levels IX to XII carry no reference job; they are open to contracts that classify higher. Urssaf shows the level I minimum as EUR 13.87 gross including 10 percent holiday pay and EUR 9.85 net without holiday pay. Childminders receive at least EUR 4.20 gross per hour and child, EUR 4.37 with the professional title.

Supplements, night presence, board and lodging

Overtime from the 41st to the 48th weekly hour is paid at 25 percent, the 49th and 50th at 50 percent, or compensated as rest within twelve months. One hour of responsible presence by day counts as two thirds of an hour of work. Night presence is paid as a flat allowance of at least a quarter of the contractual pay for the corresponding working time, a third on nights with two or more interventions, and as full working time from four interventions; night care of a sick person is paid as working time. There is no Sunday supplement as such: the weekly rest of 35 consecutive hours falls preferably on Sunday, and anyone who works that day at the employer's request with written consent receives a 25 percent supplement or equivalent paid rest. Ordinary public holidays worked are paid with a 10 percent supplement when the contract provides for the work, 1 May with 100 percent.

When staff live in, the amendment values benefits in kind at a minimum of EUR 4.70 per meal and EUR 71 a month for housing; where the dwelling justifies it, the contract may set a higher value. The amounts are deducted from net pay and are free of contributions. Only a lockable room or dwelling for the employee's permanent and exclusive use counts as housing, not the room for night presence; housing and meals must be in the written employment contract. The agreement has no thirteenth month; it exists only where the contract grants it.

What official statistics say about pay

INSEE's wage statistics for the private sector expressly exclude the employees of private employers. The figures of INSEE's tool by occupation therefore describe people doing these jobs for companies, such as service providers, hotels and security firms: average net monthly pay in 2024 in full-time equivalents for domestic employees and cleaning staff at private homes via companies EUR 1,617, home helps EUR 1,645, childminders and childcare workers EUR 1,816, nursery assistants EUR 1,675, nursing assistants EUR 2,153, cooks and kitchen staff EUR 1,981, drivers of private cars EUR 1,912, gardeners EUR 1,667, building caretakers EUR 2,087, security guards EUR 1,954, bodyguards EUR 2,456, secretaries EUR 2,071, executive assistants EUR 2,629. There is no occupation code of its own for butlers, house managers or private tutors. An employee in the private sector earned an average of EUR 2,797 net a month in 2025, a median of EUR 2,238.

The pay of staff employed directly by households is published only by Urssaf, as an average net hourly wage across all occupations: EUR 12.30 for CESU employees in 2023 and EUR 12.80 for home employment in the third quarter of 2025, EUR 10.30 for childcare at home in 2023. There is no statistic by occupation for a butler, cook or chauffeur in a private household.

What agencies may charge

Three routes lead to staff: the placement agency under the Labour Code, which works without a licence and may charge job seekers nothing; the mandataire of the services à la personne scheme, which represents the household as employer and usually takes a monthly management fee for it, without being allowed to set the hourly wage; and the prestataire, which employs the staff itself and invoices the service. Prices are free: no provision of placement law or of the services à la personne scheme limits what an agency charges the household, and there is no statutory rule on due dates, refunds, probation or transfer fees. Services à la personne organisations must show prices with and without VAT and itemise every ancillary fee, and must provide a free quote from EUR 100 a month.

A mandataire's fee carries 20 percent VAT, the advanced wages do not; placement agencies outside the services à la personne scheme are subject to the standard rate of 20 percent. Services of a prestataire carry 10 percent VAT for housework, childcare and tutoring, 5.5 percent for the care of dependent people and 20 percent for gardening, guarding and assistance with recruiting and managing staff. The tax credit of 50 percent covers, for direct employment, the management fees of a declared mandataire too; the tax administration does not name the fees of a placement agency outside the scheme.

Fees published in the register

Of the nine entries for household staffing agencies in Paris, two state fees on their website; the rest quote on request. The published figures, as of 25 October 2026, with the source on the respective entry page:

• Les Enfants de Jeanne: Essentielle package with a search fee of EUR 195 and EUR 950 on placement of a single nanny, EUR 1,145 in the first year, EUR 750 per family for shared care, then EUR 250 a year for follow-up, or the Confort package at EUR 75 a month; no commission on the salary, amounts before the 50 percent tax credit.
• Nanny Premium: search launch fee of EUR 195, then a flat fee of EUR 1,245 for a permanent contract or EUR 650 for a mission under six months, payable on recruitment; EUR 2,500 for international and high-net-worth searches; no percentage.

A worked example: for a full-time nanny at the level III minimum, EUR 12.89 per hour and 174 hours a month, the gross annual wage is EUR 26,914; the flat fee of EUR 1,245 equals 4.6 percent of it, far less than the 18 to 25 percent agencies in London or Germany state. All agencies with published fees are on the page Agencies with published fees.

Of the ten lifestyle concierges in Paris, four state prices: Elysées Conciergerie EUR 1,500 a year for the Essentiel membership and EUR 4,500 for Premium, Premium Conciergerie EUR 6,000 a year excluding VAT, Paris Luxury Estate EUR 6,000 a year including VAT, Leo Conciergerie VIP packages from EUR 1,500 a month excluding VAT. Overview on the page Concierges with published prices.

What the household pays on top

Urssaf publishes the contribution rates for household staff and childcare at home from 1 January 2026. The employer pays 13.30 percent health insurance, 2.11 percent pension on the whole wage and 8.55 percent up to the contribution ceiling of EUR 4,005 a month, 5.25 percent family benefits, 2.06 percent accident insurance, 0.10 percent housing levy, 2.45 percent Ircem provident cover, 4.72 percent Ircem supplementary pension and 1.29 percent CEG up to the ceiling, 4.00 percent unemployment insurance, 0.85 percent training, 0.016 percent social dialogue and 2.7 percent occupational health capped at EUR 5; together about 45 percent of gross pay below the ceiling, with higher supplementary pension rates above it. The employee bears about 22 percent, which turns EUR 12.61 gross into Urssaf's EUR 9.85 net.

For every hour worked, Urssaf automatically deducts EUR 2 from the employer's contributions, not for holiday hours and not alongside an exemption; at the level I minimum this leaves an employer load of about 29 percent, and in the level III example with EUR 2,243 gross a month about EUR 655 of contributions after the deduction. The tax credit of 50 percent covers net pay and contributions up to the ceilings given in the guide Hiring household staff in France. Urssaf provides calculators in the CESU for the cost of employment and the conversion from gross to net, and for childcare the Pajemploi calculator for monthly pay.

Sources

All sources retrieved on 25 October 2026.

1. Convention collective nationale des particuliers employeurs et de l'emploi à domicile (IDCC 3239), articles 144 to 156 of the socle salarié du particulier employeur, legifrance.gouv.fr; socle commun articles 46 and 47, legifrance.gouv.fr, legifrance.gouv.fr; article 156 benefits in kind, legifrance.gouv.fr
2. Avenant no. 10 of 5 February 2026 to annexe 6 (salaires minima conventionnels), extended by order of 4 May 2026, legifrance.gouv.fr; avenant to annexe 5 (assistants maternels), legifrance.gouv.fr; annexe 7 classification, legifrance.gouv.fr
3. Urssaf, Taux de cotisations particuliers employeurs, as of 1 June 2026, urssaf.fr; Taux et barèmes assistant maternel, urssaf.fr; CESU, Salaires minimums, cesu.urssaf.fr; Aides et exonérations, as of 1 July 2026, urssaf.fr
4. Service-public.gouv.fr, Rémunération du salarié employé à domicile (F142), checked 17 June 2026, service-public.gouv.fr
5. INSEE, Les salaires dans le secteur privé en 2025, Insee Première no. 2132, 22 October 2026, insee.fr; Salaires par profession dans le secteur privé, interactive tool, base Tous salariés 2024, insee.fr
6. Urssaf, Stat'Ur no. 391, December 2024, servicesalapersonne.gouv.fr; Stat'Ur no. 414, January 2026, servicesalapersonne.gouv.fr
7. Arrêté du 17 mars 2015 relatif à l'information préalable du consommateur sur les prestations de services à la personne, legifrance.gouv.fr; Code de commerce, article L410-2, legifrance.gouv.fr
8. DGCCRF, Services à la personne: focus sur le mode mandataire, 28 March 2022, economie.gouv.fr; Modes d'intervention, activités concernées, règles applicables et paiements, 20 March 2025, economie.gouv.fr
9. Entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr, VAT applicable to services à la personne (F31596), checked 5 May 2026, entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr; BOFiP BOI-TVA-LIQ-30-20-80, 10 May 2023, bofip.impots.gouv.fr; BOFiP BOI-TVA-LIQ-20-20, bofip.impots.gouv.fr
10. BOFiP BOI-IR-RICI-150-20, Crédit d'impôt pour l'emploi d'un salarié à domicile, version of 12 August 2026, bofip.impots.gouv.fr
11. Urssaf, CESU Estimateurs, cesu.urssaf.fr; Service-public.gouv.fr, Simulateur Cesu (R58873), service-public.gouv.fr; Pajemploi, Calculer le salaire mensualisé, urssaf.fr
12. Luxury.me, entries of the agencies and concierges named, with source and retrieval date on each entry page; overviews Agencies with published fees and Concierges with published prices