Guide To: Working For A Foreign Company

If your current employer is happy to let you continue working for them after you move to France, there are a number of rules and regulations to be aware of to ensure you stay on the right side of the law, as Catharine Higginson explains

- Catharine Higginson

While many people moving to France are in an age bracket where they can ‘retire’ or perhaps, rent out gîtes or offer chambres d’hôtes (B&B) type accommodation to supplement their income, there’s a sizeable demographic who move to France with young families and need to earn a living. Starting your own business is a popular option as finding a salaried job in France is difficult, especially outside the major cities; however, self-employment isn’t for everyone and another possibility is working remotely for a foreign employer.

If you are planning a move to France and your existing employer is prepared to let you continue working for them (which is often the case in situations where the employee already works remotely at least part of the time), this can work perfectly.

However, while this is often the simplest option in terms of finding employment, if your employer isn’t used to dealing with overseas workers, setting up the appropriate systems can be complicated to say the least!

REGULATION

Many people are under the impression that if they move to France and continue to work for their UK employer, they simply continue to pay tax in the UK. Unfortunately, this is most definitely not the case. France considers that if you are physically present on French soil while carrying out the work, then you are ‘employed’ in France and as such, your employer has to contribute to the French social security system so that in return, France provides you with healthcare and if required, sick pay, unemployment benefits and so forth.