A recent law reinforces regulations on seconded employees (PWD)

The so-called “Professional Future” law, promulgated on September 5, continues the fight against illegal work and increases the penalties for transnational posting of workers. At the same time, it offers some flexibilities for short-term secondment.

For the record, a foreign company sending employees to France for a temporary mission must comply with the applicable French labor regulations and systematically declare these secondments to the French administration. The main obligations are the obligation to submit a prior declaration of posting and the obligation to appoint a representative of the foreign company in France.

The central points to keep in mind are the following:

Easing of certain rules on secondment

1. Exemption from declaration and appointment of representative relates to:
   – A foreign company that sends employees to France on its own behalf (no contractual link with a French company) 
   – Short-term missions or for one-off events. A decree will specify the scope of these exemptions, as to the activities concerned and the duration below which the company is exempted from these two obligations
2. The law provides the possibility, for a company that regularly sends employees to France, to arrange with the competent administration the rules for the application of the secondment and appointment of representatives. The arrangements made are then notified to the company, for a period of one year renewable: this offers a certain legal stability to the company

2. Tougher penalties against posting fraud

1. The amount of the fines has been doubled. The failure to report is increased from EUR 2,000 to EUR 4,000 per illegally posted worker and from EUR 4,000 to EUR 8,000 in the event of a repeat offense within two years (compared to a year earlier)
   The failure to appoint a representative is punished in the same proportion (within the total limits of 500,000 euros)
   These sanctions also concern the co-contractor in France of the foreign employer that can be punished for the noticed failure
2. « Name and Shame » : creation of a website managed by the services of the Ministry of Labor dedicated to the publication of convictions of companies guilty of concealed work. The posting or dissemination of the sentencing decision may be up to one year
3. Prohibition of the provision of service for a period of two months renewable if the control officer states that the company liable for administrative fines has not paid the sums due before the start of the service. The service can only begin after regularization of the situation

At a glance, the companies that post workers to France must carefully declare them, at the risk of heavy penalties.

They should not hesitate to use the possibility to arrange with the relevant administration to set the terms of the secondments over a substantial period of one year, renewable.

The decree specifying the duration of the services exempted from declarations and designation of representative and listing the activities concerned will be taken later on. We hope that executives coming to France for business trip or for meetings will be concerned by these exemptions.