Working in Paris: CDI, CDD and your payslip

A French job offer looks generous until you see the payslip. Know the contract, the hours and the deductions before you sign.

The short version

The CDI (open-ended contract) is the gold standard. A CDD (fixed term) usually runs for 18 months at most [1][2].
Trial periods are long by Australian standards: up to four months for a cadre, renewable once to eight [1].
The legal week is 35 hours. Extra hours are paid at 25% more for the first eight, then 50% [3], or swapped for RTT days off.
Salaries are quoted gross and per year. Social contributions and withheld income tax come out before your pay lands [4].
Your employer must offer a company health top-up (mutuelle) and pay at least half of it [5], and must reimburse half your Navigo pass [6].

CDI or CDD: which contract you're on

In Australia the big divide is permanent versus casual. In France it's CDI (contrat à durée indéterminée) versus CDD (contrat à durée déterminée). There's no real equivalent of casual loading.

	CDI	CDD
End date	None	Fixed, or tied to a task
Usual maximum	Not applicable	18 months, with exceptions from 9 to 36 months [2]
Trial period	Up to 2, 3 or 4 months by category, renewable once [1]	One day per week of contract, capped at 2 weeks or 1 month, never renewed [1]
Ending it	Resignation, dismissal or agreed termination (rupture conventionnelle)	Normally runs to term
What landlords think	Very good news	Acceptable, with a guarantor

A CDD can only be used for set reasons, such as replacing an absent employee or a temporary rise in work. Your contract should say which. A CDD often comes with an end-of-contract payment (indemnité de fin de contrat), unless you're offered a CDI or one of the listed exceptions applies.

That landlord row matters in Paris. Rental files (dossiers) are judged on salary and contract type, and a CDI past its trial period is the strongest card you can play.

The trial period

The période d'essai is optional, but most employers use it. It only applies if it's written into your contract [1].

Category	Initial maximum	Maximum with one renewal
Employee or worker (employé, ouvrier)	2 months	4 months
Supervisor or technician	3 months	6 months
Manager or professional (cadre)	4 months	8 months

Renewal needs a sector agreement that allows it, a clause in your contract and your written agreement during the first period [1]. Either side can end the job during the trial with short notice: from 24 hours in the first week up to one month if the employer ends it after three months [1].

The 35-hour week, overtime and RTT

The legal working week is 35 hours. That doesn't mean everyone leaves at 4 pm. It's the point at which overtime starts.

Without a collective agreement saying otherwise, each of the first eight overtime hours in a week is paid at 25% extra, and later hours at 50% [3]. Many Paris offices handle it differently:

A 39-hour contract with RTT. You work longer weeks and earn RTT days (réduction du temps de travail) to bring the average back down.
A forfait jours for cadres. Your time is counted in days worked per year, not hours. In return you get rest days. Long hours are common, overtime pay is not.

Check your contract and your company's collective agreement (convention collective) for the number of RTT days. On top of RTT, French employees get five weeks of paid leave a year. August in Paris is quiet for a reason.

Reading your French payslip

Your payslip (bulletin de paie or fiche de paie) is usually electronic, and it's a legal document [4]. Keep every one. They prove your income for renting and visa renewals, and they're your record of French pension rights.

How gross becomes net

Job ads quote brut annuel: gross annual salary before employee contributions. Some contracts pay it over 12 months, others over 13 with a bonus month. The number you'll actually spend sits a long way below the headline, because French social contributions come out before tax.

Here's the order of the main lines, top to bottom:

Salaire de base. Your gross monthly pay, plus overtime or bonuses.
Santé. Health contributions, including your share of the company mutuelle.
Retraite. Basic state pension and the AGIRC-ARRCO complementary pension.
CSG and CRDS. General social levies, part of them deductible from taxable income.
Net à payer avant impôt. Net pay before income tax. By law this line is printed bigger than the rest [4].
Impôt sur le revenu prélevé à la source. The income tax withheld, showing the rate applied [4].
Net payé. What arrives in your bank account.
Montant net social. A separate figure used to claim benefits such as the prime d'activité [4].

The payslip also shows what your employer pays on top of your gross salary. Those employer contributions are much larger than the 12% super guarantee Australians are used to.

The minimum wage

The French minimum wage, the SMIC, rose on 1 June 2026 to €12.31 an hour gross, or €1,867.02 a month gross for a 35-hour week [7]. Anything quoted below that for a full-time job is a red flag.

Disputes

You have three years to challenge the amount on a payslip [4]. Start with HR, then the staff representatives (CSE) if there are any. The employment tribunal (conseil de prud'hommes) is the last resort.

The perks the law gives you

The company mutuelle

Since 1 January 2016, every private-sector employer must offer a collective health top-up and fund at least half of it [5]. It covers what the public Assurance Maladie doesn't, such as the patient's share of GP fees, hospital daily charges, glasses and dental.

You can opt out (dispense) in some cases, for example if you're already covered as a dependant on your partner's mandatory company plan, or if you're on a short CDD [8]. For most Australians, though, the company plan is the cheapest good cover available. There's no reciprocal health agreement between Australia and France, so you need it [9].

Half your Navigo pass

Employers must pay 50% of your public transport subscription for the commute, whether monthly, weekly or annual. The refund shows on your payslip and is tax-free [6]. Single tickets don't count, so buy the pass.

Meal vouchers

Many Paris employers offer titres-restaurant, a meal voucher card co-funded by the employer. It isn't compulsory, so ask at the offer stage.

The Australian angle

No super, French pensions instead. Your retirement contributions go into French schemes. There's no Australia–France social security agreement, so French years don't count towards the Age Pension residence test [10].
Posted by an Aussie employer? France isn't on the ATO's list of social security agreement countries. Your employer can't get a certificate of coverage, so you'll generally be in the French system [10].
Tax. Salary for work done in France is taxed in France under the Australia–France tax treaty. If you're still an Australian resident, the ATO credits the French tax.
Work rights. You need the right visa or residence card before you start. A working holiday visa lets Australians aged 18 to 35 take any job in France for up to a year.

Finding work as an English speaker

Paris has the most English-friendly job market in France: tech, consulting, luxury, finance, hospitality and international organisations. Most roles still expect working French, even if meetings are in English.

Register with France Travail, the public employment service, and APEC if you're aiming at cadre roles.
Rewrite your CV the French way. One page for juniors, two for seniors, with clear dates and languages.
Get a French phone number and a RIB before you apply; recruiters and employers expect both.
Ask about the convention collective at offer stage. It sets minimum pay, leave and notice.
Negotiate on brut annuel, then run the net figure before you accept.

Looking for work in Paris? Ask in Cooee France, our Facebook group for Australians in France. Members share leads, recruiter experiences and what a real net salary looks like.

Working in Paris: CDI or CDD, the 35-hour week and reading your French payslip