Hiring in France with an EOR, fixed-term contract rules, probation limits, and what triggers severance

Hiring in France can feel like building a house on a beautiful, regulated coastline. The view is great, the talent pool is strong, but the building rules are strict, and inspectors show up fast.

If you’re planning France EOR hiring to test a market, add a sales rep, or convert contractors into employees, you need to understand three pressure points: fixed-term contract (CDD) rules, probation limits, and what actually triggers severance.

This guide breaks the essentials down in plain language, with practical “watch-outs” that matter to startups and fast-scaling teams.

France EOR hiring: what an Employer of Record takes off your plate

An Employer of Record (EOR) is a local employer that hires your team member on your behalf. Your company still directs day-to-day work, goals, and performance, but the EOR handles the employment heavy lifting: compliant contracts, payroll, tax withholdings, statutory filings, and local HR admin.

In France, that admin load is not small. You’re dealing with the French Labor Code, collective bargaining agreements (conventions collectives) that can add extra rules, and formal processes for onboarding, payroll, working time, and termination. An EOR helps because it already has the local setup and the operational routines to run employment correctly.

This is also why EORs are often used instead of opening a French entity. Entity creation can take months, and it creates ongoing obligations for accounting, payroll administration, and compliance management. Many teams choose an EOR when they want speed, lower commitment, and fewer moving parts while they validate revenue and hiring needs.

Expandbase is one option in this category. It positions its EOR service as a way to hire across 150+ countries without setting up local entities, while centralizing contracts, payroll, taxes, compliance support, and audit-ready records. Expandbase also emphasizes transparent pricing and hands-on guidance, which matters if you’re hiring in France for the first time and don’t want to guess which steps are “optional” (they usually aren’t).

One reality check: an EOR reduces admin work, but it doesn’t remove people management responsibility. You still need clear performance expectations, fair treatment, and documented decisions, especially if probation ends early or a role changes scope.

Fixed-term contracts in France (CDD): when they’re allowed and when they backfire

A French fixed-term contract is called a CDD (contrat à durée déterminée), and the big idea is simple: in France, a CDD is the exception, not the default. It must be justified by a specific temporary reason, and it can’t be used to fill a permanent role that should really be a CDI (open-ended contract).

Common valid reasons include:

• Replacing an absent employee (parental leave, sickness, etc.)
• Temporary workload increase (a documented spike, not a vague hope)
• Seasonal work (hospitality, agriculture, peak seasons)

CDD paperwork needs to be tight. The contract must be written and signed, and it must clearly state the reason and key terms. If the reason is missing, inaccurate, or the contract isn’t properly documented, the risk is reclassification into a CDI, which changes termination risk and cost.

Duration and renewals are also constrained. In many standard cases, the total CDD length is capped at 18 months, renewals included. Renewals are generally limited to two, and each renewal should be confirmed in writing with updated dates and terms. (Some CDD types can differ, and collective agreements can add rules, so you need a country and sector specific check.) For a practical overview of CDD structure and constraints, see the French fixed-term contract guide.

France also uses a “cooling-off” rule between separate CDDs on the same job (outside a true renewal). A common reference point is a waiting period of half the prior contract length for short CDDs, and one-third for longer ones, unless an exception applies.

Finally, don’t confuse “end of CDD” with “termination.” A CDD normally ends on its planned date or the defined event. At the end, employers often owe an end-of-contract indemnity (often 10 percent of total gross pay), plus unused paid leave, unless an exception applies (for example, certain seasonal arrangements or if the employee is offered a CDI and refuses).

Probation limits and severance in France: the rules that change your exit cost

Probation in France (période d’essai) is not a casual “let’s see how it goes.” It’s a legal mechanism with strict limits, and it needs to be written into the contract. If probation is not clearly stated, it generally doesn’t exist.

For CDI contracts, statutory maximum initial probation periods are commonly understood as:

• Workers and employees: up to 2 months
• Technicians and supervisors: up to 3 months
• Managers and executives: up to 4 months

Probation can sometimes be renewed once, but only if the employment contract allows it and the applicable collective agreement permits it. If you want a deeper, employer-focused summary of how French probation works in 2026, read probation period rules in France.

For CDD contracts, probation is usually shorter because the contract itself is temporary. A common framework is a probation cap tied to the CDD length (often expressed as a number of days per week of contract duration, with hard maximums). This matters because teams sometimes try to “hide” a long trial period inside a short fixed term, and that can create disputes.

Severance is a separate issue, and it’s where costs can jump.

What triggers severance in France (and what doesn’t)

In France, statutory severance (indemnité de licenciement) is mainly tied to dismissal from a CDI when the employee has enough service, and when the termination is not for gross misconduct. It’s not typically paid when:

• The employee resigns
• The contract ends naturally at the end of a CDD (that’s where the CDD end indemnity may apply instead)
• Employment ends during probation
• The employee is dismissed for gross misconduct (faute grave) or intentional misconduct (faute lourde)

When severance does apply, a widely referenced statutory minimum calculation is 1/4 of a month of salary per year of service for the first 10 years, then 1/3 per year after that, prorated for partial years. Collective agreements often add more generous terms. For a clear explanation of severance basics and calculation approaches, see French severance pay rules and best practices.

Here’s a quick way to think about the risk points:

This is where an EOR earns its keep. A good EOR doesn’t just run payroll, it helps keep contract type, probation language, and termination steps consistent with French requirements and the relevant collective agreement. Expandbase, for example, promotes guided onboarding, compliant contract generation, local payroll in currency, and audit-ready records, plus measurable reductions in HR admin time and cost compared with entity setup.

Conclusion

Hiring in France can be fast, but only if the contract choice fits the job, probation is set correctly, and termination costs are understood before you hire. Get CDD rules wrong and you can accidentally create a CDI. Treat probation casually and you lose a clean exit window. Assume severance applies to every departure and you’ll over budget, assume it never applies and you’ll get burned.

If you want a lower-risk path, Expandbase and other EOR providers can handle the local employment admin while you focus on building the team and testing the market. The smart move is deciding the contract structure first, then hiring.