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Hiring household staff in France

As of 18 October 2026

This guide summarises what a private household in France needs to know when it hires household staff or searches through an agency, in Paris as on the Côte d'Azur: which rules apply to agencies and service providers, how the household registers and settles pay as a particulier employeur (private employer), what the collective agreement prescribes, which tax credit is available and who may be employed from abroad. Every statement comes from a legal text or an official page and carries its source, all retrieved 18 October 2026. This text is guidance, not legal advice.

At a glance

Placement agencies and service providers

Employment placement may be carried out commercially in France (Code du travail, Article L5321-1). The former obligation to declare the activity in advance was abolished by the Senate in 2010 with the law on the chamber of commerce networks; the relevant Articles L5323-2 and L5323-3 have been repealed. There is no licence. Luxury.me therefore shows French agencies with the status Trade registration, no licence required; the mentions légales (legal notice) almost always give the RCS or SIRET number, with which the company can be checked in the commercial register.

No payment may be demanded from persons seeking a position, neither directly nor indirectly (Article L5321-3); a breach is punished with six months' imprisonment and a fine of 3,750 euros (Article L5324-1). Breaches are established by the labour inspectorate; after a warning, the prefect can close the agency for up to three months (Article L5323-1). Fees charged to the household are not regulated by law; the register shows which agencies publish them.

Many Paris providers operate as providers of household-related services (services à la personne, 26 activities). Their declaration (déclaration) is voluntary but recommended: only declared organisations and their clients receive the tax and contribution advantages. The declaration is made through the NOVA portal and processed by the DDETS; the condition is that the provider performs such services exclusively. For five activities involving vulnerable persons, including the care of children under three at home, a state approval (agrément) is compulsory, valid for five years in a defined area. For three care activities for elderly or disabled people, a prestataire (a provider that employs the staff itself) needs an authorisation from the département, awarded through calls for tender and valid for 15 years.

Two models must be distinguished. With a mandataire, the household remains the employer, whatever the mandate covers; the mandate is in writing, the fee is shown separately, with 20 percent VAT; if the provider exceeds its role, the arrangement risks being reclassified as an employment relationship. With a prestataire, the company employs the staff itself and invoices the household.

The household as employer

Anyone who hires directly or through a mandataire bears all the duties of an employer. Urssaf's CESU déclaratif simplifies them: the household registers online and declares the pay by the 5th of the following month; Urssaf calculates the contributions, collects them, withholds income tax at source and sends the employee a document that counts as a payslip. With CESU+, Urssaf can also pay out the wages. Childcare at home for which the family allowance fund CAF or MSA pays a benefit is registered not through the CESU but through Pajemploi; the collective agreement is the same.

A written employment contract is compulsory for permanent and fixed-term employment alike, at the latest on the day work begins; only under the CESU may it be oral, for up to three hours a week over four weeks.

Staff of private employers are covered by the collective agreement of the particuliers employeurs et de l'emploi à domicile (private employers and home employment) of 15 March 2021 (IDCC 3239), declared generally binding on 6 October 2021 and in force since 1 January 2022; the Code du travail applies only in the parts named in Article L7221-2. Full time is 40 hours a week; hours of responsible presence, for example in childcare or care work, count at two thirds where agreed in writing. At most 50 hours in any one week and 48 on average over twelve weeks; weekly rest is 35 consecutive hours. Overtime beyond 40 hours is paid with a premium of 25 percent for the first eight hours and 50 percent thereafter, public holidays worked with 10 percent.

The probationary period for permanent employment is at most one month, renewable once if agreed in writing; for fixed-term contracts of up to six months it is one day per week, at most two weeks. For a dismissal, the employer invites the employee to a meeting and sends a letter of dismissal; the notice period is one week for less than six months' service, one month up to two years and two months beyond that; a severance payment of a quarter of a month's pay per year is due from eight months onwards. If the employer dies, the heirs give notice in writing. Paid holiday is 2.5 working days per month, that is 30 working days a year; the employer sets the dates with two months' notice. Staff accommodation counts as a benefit in kind at 71 euros a month, a meal at 4.70 euros, unless the contract provides for more; a room used only for night duty does not count as accommodation.

SMIC, contributions and tax credit

The SMIC has been 12.31 euros gross per hour since 1 June 2026, 1,867.02 euros a month for full time, after 12.02 euros since 1 January 2026. For household staff, the higher of the SMIC and the collectively agreed minimum for the relevant level applies; the wages by level were reset by an amending agreement as of 1 June 2026.

On employer contributions, Urssaf grants the private employer a flat-rate deduction of 2 euros per hour worked. The contribution rates themselves are published by Urssaf in its table for particuliers employeurs; it performs the calculation within the CESU.

Income tax is reduced by 50 percent of the expenses for employment at home, with a ceiling of 12,000 euros of expenses a year, increased by 1,500 euros per child and per household member over 65 up to a maximum of 15,000 euros, 18,000 euros in the first year and 20,000 euros in case of disability (Code général des impôts, Article 199 sexdecies). The credit is available for employment through the CESU déclaratif, for childcare through Pajemploi and for declared providers. Since 2022 it can be offset immediately against the pay as an avance immédiate, free of charge and voluntary, through the CESU déclaratif or the provider; excluded are the care of children under six and care financed through APA or PCH. Otherwise the tax authorities pay an advance of 60 percent on 15 January.

Staff from abroad

Nationals of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland need no work permit. Everyone else needs an autorisation de travail (work permit) before being hired, which the employer applies for online. The position must have been advertised for three consecutive weeks in the preceding six months without a suitable applicant being found; this does not apply to shortage occupations. The pay must be at least the SMIC; if the administration does not respond within two months, the application is deemed rejected. The residence permits "salarié" and "travailleur temporaire" are tied to the contract; a new permit is needed for each new contract. Anyone who employs without a permit risks a fine of 30,000 euros and five years' imprisonment per person as well as an administrative penalty of 21,750 euros.

An au pair within the meaning of French law (salarié au pair) is paid in kind only, with accommodation and meals at the rates mentioned, and cannot be registered through the CESU or Pajemploi; the declaration goes to Urssaf quarterly. The official sources do not mention a separate visa route for household staff who move to France with their employer.

Disputes, complaints, registers

Disputes between a private employer and an employee fall to the Conseil de prud'hommes (labour court) at the employer's place of residence. Questions about the CESU are answered by the Urssaf service Cesu on 0 806 802 378 (weekdays 9 am to 5 pm) or through the online form, postal address 63 rue de la Montat, 42961 Saint-Étienne cedex 9. The practices of mandataires are supervised by the consumer authority DGCCRF; breaches by placement agents are established by the labour inspectorate.

A public directory of declared, approved and authorised providers is kept by the Ministry of the Economy in the Annuaire NOVA, searchable by activity or SIREN. As of 1 January 2025, 82,776 organisations were listed there, 91 percent of them companies; in 2024 the sector delivered 884 million hours with a turnover of 22.8 billion euros. In 2025 Urssaf counted 3.36 million private employer accounts, including 2.40 million for employment at home excluding childcare, 1.92 million of them through the CESU, and 1.12 million employees; there is no breakdown for Paris.

Sources

All sources retrieved 18 October 2026.

  1. Code du travail, Article L5321-1, code.travail.gouv.fr; Article L5321-3, code.travail.gouv.fr; Article L5324-1, code.travail.gouv.fr; Article L5323-1, code.travail.gouv.fr; Article R5324-1, code.travail.gouv.fr
  2. Sénat, Séance du 10 juin 2010, Article 14, senat.fr
  3. Service-public.gouv.fr, Services à la personne: déclaration, agrément, autorisation, verified on 1 January 2025, entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr; Ministère de l'Économie, Organismes de services à la personne: comment demander une déclaration, un agrément ou une autorisation, as of 18 December 2025, servicesalapersonne.gouv.fr
  4. DGCCRF, Focus sur le mode mandataire, October 2021, servicesalapersonne.gouv.fr; Ministère de l'Économie, Particuliers: comment recourir aux services à la personne, as of 10 April 2026, servicesalapersonne.gouv.fr
  5. Service-public.gouv.fr, Chèque emploi service universel (Cesu) déclaratif, as of 11 March 2026, service-public.gouv.fr; Ministère du Travail, Le Cesu déclaratif, code.travail.gouv.fr
  6. Service-public.gouv.fr, Garde d'enfants à domicile, service-public.gouv.fr; Pajemploi, La convention collective applicable, pajemploi.urssaf.fr
  7. Service-public.gouv.fr, Contrat de travail du salarié d'un particulier employeur, as of 18 September 2025, service-public.gouv.fr
  8. Code du travail numérique, Convention collective 3239 Particuliers employeurs et emploi à domicile, code.travail.gouv.fr; Ministère du Travail, Les droits et obligations des salariés du particulier employeur, as of 28 May 2026, code.travail.gouv.fr
  9. Service-public.gouv.fr, Durée du travail du salarié d'un particulier employeur, as of 12 March 2025, service-public.gouv.fr; Rémunération du salarié d'un particulier employeur, as of 17 June 2026, service-public.gouv.fr
  10. Service-public.gouv.fr, Période d'essai du salarié d'un particulier employeur, as of 23 September 2025, service-public.gouv.fr; Licenciement du salarié d'un particulier employeur, as of 11 September 2026, service-public.gouv.fr; Congés payés du salarié d'un particulier employeur, as of 17 August 2023, service-public.gouv.fr
  11. Gouvernement, Le SMIC revalorisé au 1er juin 2026, info.gouv.fr; Le SMIC revalorisé au 1er janvier 2026, info.gouv.fr; Service-public.gouv.fr, Salaire minimum, 18 May 2026, entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr
  12. Ministère de l'Économie, Services à la personne: les avantages fiscaux et sociaux et les aides, as of 8 October 2026, servicesalapersonne.gouv.fr; Particuliers: comment utiliser le Cesu déclaratif et le Cesu préfinancé, as of 10 April 2026, servicesalapersonne.gouv.fr
  13. Ministère des Solidarités, Crédit d'impôt pour les emplois à domicile, as of 18 September 2026, solidarites.gouv.fr; Sénat, Amendement I-1844 to the PLF 2026, senat.fr
  14. Service-public.gouv.fr, Autorisation de travail d'un étranger, verified on 18 June 2026, service-public.gouv.fr; Salarié au pair, as of 6 June 2025, service-public.gouv.fr
  15. Service-public.gouv.fr, Annuaire des organismes de services à la personne, as of 7 November 2025, service-public.gouv.fr; Ministère de l'Économie, Faire mes démarches sur NOVA, as of 3 August 2026, servicesalapersonne.gouv.fr; Annuaire NOVA, nova.entreprises.gouv.fr
  16. Ministère de l'Économie, Études et données sur les services à la personne, as of 14 September 2026, servicesalapersonne.gouv.fr; Urssaf, Stat'Ur 420, July 2026, servicesalapersonne.gouv.fr; Stat'Ur 421, servicesalapersonne.gouv.fr

Guides: hiring household staff