Working in France for a foreign company

Votre situation 
Do you or did you usually work in France but your employment contract is with a foreign employer based in a Member State of the European Union or the European Economic Area (EEA)?

Countries concerned
The 27 Member States of the European Union as of 1 January 2025 are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden, while the European Economic Area comprises the same countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

 As of 1 January 2021, the United Kingdom is no longer a member of the European Union and the EEA.

Benefit from the wage guarantee scheme
You can benefit from the wage guarantee scheme (AGS) if insolvency proceedings have been opened against your employer abroad, under local law.

Because even if your employer is a foreign company, the fact that you work in France justifies the application of French law and therefore the intervention of AGS to guarantee payment of your wage claims (Article L.3253-18-1 of the French Labour Code).

• Immediately contact the insolvency practitioner appointed to represent your employer’s interests in the insolvency proceedings, or a legal professional, to find out whether AGS can intervene.
   

• The AGS can then cover all or part of your unpaid wages, redundancy pay, notice pay, etc., within the limits and conditions laid down by French law (Article L.3253-18-3 et seq. of the French Labour Code).
   

• Consult the following section to find out what steps must be taken by the practitioner.
   
• If the insolvency proceedings are closed, you can submit your claim directly to AGS on the basis of Article L.3253-18-8 of the French Labour Code.