Expatriation : what will your employment contract be ?

In the words of Article 2 of Directive 96/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1996 concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services, "posted worker" means any worker who, for a limited period, carries out his work in the territory of a Member State other than the State in whose territory he usually works".

1.1 What are the characteristics of the seconded employee ?

The seconded employee, in addition to the fact that he continues to work for his home company, is the one who :

• is made available abroad for a limited period of time by a company with its registered office in France
• is affiliated to the French social security system
• belongs to the company's workforce
• remains paid by the home company
• benefits exclusively from the application of the employment contract initially concluded with his original employer even though his contract is performed abroad in another company.

1.2 What type of employment contract does the seconded employee sign ?

Regardless of where you are posted (European Union or the rest of the world), you remain legally bound to your home company, i.e. French law, for the entire duration of your expatriation. Your social and tax status remains unchanged.

An amendment must be added to your employment contract, which takes the form of a letter of secondment or an engagement letter. Your original employment contract must never be terminated. The mission letter suspends its application and adapts it to the new working and living conditions. A certain amount of information (duration of the mission, conditions of repatriation, services for your spouse or family, etc.) must be included in the document. During your secondment, it is therefore your home company that will pay your monthly salary, deduct and remit employer and employee contributions.