Hiring an employee in France comes with more than just salary payments. From social security and pension obligations to onboarding, equipment, and relocation, the True Cost of Employment in France is often much higher than expected. This France Recruitment Cost Calculator for 2023 gives business owners, HR teams, and financial planners a complete view of what it really costs to hire a new team member. By including every major employment expense, you can build smarter budgets and avoid underestimating your staffing costs. For a full explanation of how each cost element is calculated, view the supporting employment cost guide for France in 2023.
Understanding the calculations behind the France Recruitment Cost Calculator 2023
Whether you are the Director of a multi-million organisation, setting up a new company in France , or have a business venture in France, knowing where your money goes and how much you spend on employment resources is essential. Staff costs in France are one of the biggest expenditures for a company, but it isn’t just wages that cost the business money, there are additional expenditures, known more commonly as 'on-costs' or 'onboarding-costs'.
Calculating the true cost of an employee in France can seem very complex but, as with most financial calculations with multiple elements, they can each be placed into simple cost buckets which allow us to provide a simple working formula:
tce = sc + bc + oc + fc
where:
- tce = The True Cost of an Employee in France
- sc = Salary Costs in France
- bc = Benefit Costs in France
- oc = Onboarding Costs in France
- fc = Facilities in France
Each of these costs includes a number of sub elements which are defined within the calculator where you can enter specific amounts or a percentage rate for benchmarking expenditure. Please review the supporting guide "Calculating the 'True Cost of an Employee in France' in 2023" which explains the associated costs computed within this calculator.
The True Cost of an Employee in France Calculator is similar to the Cost Per Hire Calculator with the addition of live income tax and salary deductions for an employee working in France in 2023.
📌 Tip: Employers in France should always factor in these mandatory contributions when budgeting for new hires, as they can increase the true cost of an employee by 44.24% or more depending on local laws.
France Payroll and Social Security Contributions in 2023
When calculating the full cost of hiring an employee in France, it’s crucial to understand that employer expenses extend far beyond the basic salary. Mandatory contributions to social security, pension schemes, and payroll taxes can add a significant percentage to your overall employment costs.
The tables below outline the current France payroll deductions and social security rates for both employers and employees in 2023. These statutory costs form part of your legal obligations and vary depending on the employee’s income level and the applicable contribution category.
As shown, the employer must pay a portion of social security for each employee, and in some cases, may also be responsible for topping up employee contributions through gross-up or benefit matching schemes. The combination of salary, benefits, onboarding costs, and these statutory deductions contributes to what we refer to as the true cost of employment.
France Social Security in 2023: Rates for Employers and Employees| Social security category | Employee | Employer | Total |
|---|
| Health, Maternity, Disability and Death | 0% | 7% | 7% |
| Autonomy solidarity contribution ("Contribution Solidarité Autonomie"/ CSA) | 0% | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Old-age Insurance (Tier 1) | 6.9% | 8.55% | 15.45% |
| Old-age Insurance (Tier 2) | 0.4% | 2.02% | 2.42% |
| Accidents at Work | 0% | 3.45% | 3.45% |
| Family Benefits | 0% | 1% | 1% |
| Social security surcharge ("Contribution Sociale Généralisée" / CSG) | 9.039% | 0% | 9.039% |
| Social security debt reimbursement contribution ("Contribution pour le Remboursement de la Dette Sociale"/ CRDS) | 0.49125% | 0% | 0.49125% |
| Unemployment | 0% | 4.05% | 4.05% |
| AGS | 0% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Supplementary pensions (Agirc-Arrco scheme) (Tier 1) | 3.15% | 4.72% | 7.87% |
| Supplementary pensions (Agirc-Arrco scheme) (Tier 2) | 8.64% | 12.95% | 21.59% |
France Social Security in 2023: Earnings Thresholds for Employers and Employees| Social security category | Employee | Employer |
|---|
| Min. | Max. | Min. | Max. |
|---|
| Health, Maternity, Disability and Death | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Autonomy solidarity contribution ("Contribution Solidarité Autonomie"/ CSA) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Old-age Insurance (Tier 1) | n/a | € 46,368.00 | n/a | € 46,368.00 |
| Old-age Insurance (Tier 2) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Accidents at Work | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Family Benefits | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Social security surcharge ("Contribution Sociale Généralisée" / CSG) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Social security debt reimbursement contribution ("Contribution pour le Remboursement de la Dette Sociale"/ CRDS) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Unemployment | n/a | n/a | n/a | € 185,472.00 |
| AGS | n/a | n/a | n/a | € 185,472.00 |
| Supplementary pensions (Agirc-Arrco scheme) (Tier 1) | n/a | € 46,368.00 | n/a | € 46,368.00 |
| Supplementary pensions (Agirc-Arrco scheme) (Tier 2) | € 46,368.00 | € 370,944.00 | € 46,368.00 | € 370,944.00 |
France Cost of Employment: Tax Years available
We currently support the following tax years for employee cost calculations in France, if you require additional tax years, please get in touch and we can add them to the list of available tax years.