The French social security system can be broken down into 5 areas: URSSAF compliances, retirement, life insurance, health insurance and yearly taxes.

Both the employee and the employer must contribute to the social security system and they in turn are provided with aspects covered by this system. There are some contributions that the employer must pay but not the employee. An employer can therefore expect to pay more in social contributions than the employee in most cases. Failing to pay an employee’s social contributions on time is regarded a criminal offence as the employer is seen as withholding money from the employee. Here is a brief summary of how the different areas of the social security system work:

• URSSAF compliances: all employers are subject to the same rate. All employees are also subject to the same rate.

• Retirement contributions: all employers are subject to the same rate. All employees are also subject to the same rate.

• Life insurance: rates depend on the sector of work.

• Health insurance: there are different schemes and the one which is best suited to a company is allocated to employees. The employer must propose a collective scheme for all employees (please note that an employee can be subject to an exemption under certain conditions).

• Yearly taxes: these are contributions that are paid only once a year and are paid by employers. Some yearly taxes are the same for all employers and others have rates dependant on company size (please note that there are due to be changes to yearly taxes in 2021/2022).

Here at Maupard we can register you to the French Social Security services and manage your payroll. For more information or for a quote, email [email protected]