I have English friends who make fun of the French work schedule and work environment.... but they can never make fun of the benefits French workers get. Of course it seems like the French don’t do much in a 35 hour work week.... but they do. I’ve seen them work fast and hard to stock shelves, sew, construct, etc etc. It’s just this wonderful mentality of work hard play hard. In my first year of learning French we got to a section in the text where an entire chapter was spent on what a typical work week is like and what the benefits are. I am in love that you can have time to go camping and swimming in the summer and go skiing in the winter. I do agree that the paid maternity leave lacks a bit. I do feel this will change though. I also was pleasantly surprised that fathers can take time off of work to be with their child. I think a lot of other countries have a lot to learn from this. If we invest in a healthy work and life balance we have happier employees. This was a great topic to cover. I love your work and look forward to the next video.
The more I'm watching your videos, the more I'm feeling lucky to be French and sad for other countries (not for everything of course, but still quite a lot) so thx for your point of view :)
je comprends ton point de vu, mais j'aurai tendance à t'inviter à aller expérimenter une vie d'expat ailleurs par toi même... tu te rendras compte que les conditions en France ne sont plus (pas) idylliques et que de nombreux autres pays ont des conditions de vies bien supérieures même si sur le papier les choses peuvent sembler moindres. Après, Rosie est très enthousiate et sait le transmettre à son auditoire, et c'est tout à son honneur. en revanche je crois que beaucoup de ses points de vu sur les conditions de vie en France sont aussi liés à sa situation particulière et quelque part priviligiée (en comparaison de la norme).
@@xtof1er Effectivement, parmi les points qu'elle liste il y en a plusieurs qui ne sont valables que si l'ont travaille dans une grosse entreprise ce qui n'est clairement pas le cas de tous les français /:
First let me say that as a worker, I wish I had France's benefit system. But the idea of French (or those from other countries that work less hours) workers doing just as much work in a year as those from countries that work more hours is actually a myth, at least when you are comparing actual workers (assembler, mechanic, accountant, etc. and their "output / work" like number of things assembled, number of cars fixed, taxes done, etc.), although it is based on commonly quoted statistics that are real. Most productivity rankings by country actually already incorporate the difference in hours worked, which obviously tends to give countries with the shortest work weeks and high gdp per capita (like Norway, Luxembourg, etc.) a higher ranking, and isn't really a measure of how much "work" individual workers do in a week or year. That being said, stuff still gets done, and I imagine people enjoy life alot more. In the end, alot of the countries that have people working the longest hours have really high inequality and all of their extra "productivity" goes to executives and large investors. All reasons why I wish, at least as a worker that my country's system was more like France. Just wanted to clarify a very common misconception based on how groups like the World Bank, OECD and others present data.
@@jakeryan4545 I tend to think that measuring accurately the productivity of work forces in each country and making pertinent comparisons are very difficult to reach. As you said, having more benefits contribute to a better life hence, being more productive.
@@fredlevel897 And the first capitalists knew it, and some companies like Ford accorded a lot of advantages to their workers in times were they had basically no rights
@@fredlevel897 I think having a better life is a good end goal in itself. I personally think it is counter productive to make claims that are just not true or best case scenario not backed by evidence (workers in countries with good benefits / workers who work less hours over a year end up being just as "productive" as those in countries with worse benefits / workers who work more hours). In my opinion it is always good to not make claims based on assumptions / intuition / etc. (i.e. workers who have a better life are "more productive" / workers who work less hours end up doing the same amount of "work" as those who work more), especially when the claim isn't important to the wider arguement.
I'm not a cadre so I don't have the benefits, and I actually generally do unpaid overtime. Obviously it's never forced on you. But there is always a small pressure to work more for free. Because of deadlines, because of an extremely urgent issue.And those hours are never written anywhere so they don't officially exists. When there this not much work, you offer half an hour to an hour. But for a short time instead of finishing at five I would finish at twenty one a few time twenty two (on a side note the official word is 09-12h and 13-17h). I'm not complaining, I have it pretty good. But it's merely to add that a few hours tends to get lost... Maybe it's a developper thing...
I'm booking my flight!! Amazing! It's so refreshing and comforting to know that SOMEWHERE in this world, people are shown their worth at work You are very blessed my dear girl xx
@@NotEvenFrench But it's their complete and utter self love that pushes them to fight for better and better. They have to be proud of that, as a nation, if nothing else ❤
Many things are true in this video, but keep in mind that lots of these things (such as chèques vacances, cantine, 13th month, profit sharing etc.) only work for big companies. 99% of companies in France are what we call PME (small or medium sized companies). People also work a lot more in these companies, and many people actually work more than 35 hours a week. I'm not a "cadre" and I work around 50-60 hours per week. Finally, many french workers complain about one thing : lack of recognition. Even though we can be really involved in our job, management just don't see it this way. This is very common. I've been lucky enough to work in the UK, and although the work environment is really less secure, employees are not protected as much as in France, I felt that my work was actually valued. Your manager WILL tell you if he's happy with what you've done. And if you're doing great, you've also got a nice salary, which is not true in France. There is often a real "trust issue" between management and employees.
Ah so there is an unease somewhere in the work place. I suppose recognition changes the higher up you get .. It's all very interesting to me though. The established companies obviously realise there needs to be incentive and I think they have nailed it. Even if smaller companies can't do the same, I'd like to hope they did their bit
Well, if you compare benefits across Europe France isn’t a paradise :) For example maternity leave is ridiculously short there... in Germany and Scandinavian countries it’s 1+ year.
Hey French labor lawyer here. Nice video but just 2 points i'd like to give precisions on ! For the CPF, if you want to leave for a long training, specifically to switch your career, your employer cannot refuse. He can only delay it for 9 months max and has to justify that it is absolutely necessary to the company. As for the paternity leave, you are right about the eleven days but it's actually 14 if you add the 3 days of "congé familial". Anyway, it's not to bug you but to inform ! :)
Yeah, I was thinking about the paternity leave thing but I wasn't gonna comment, cause I thought, "it's just three days difference mistake", but I was surprised when she said 11 instead of 14.
The 11 days include saturdays and sundays. As you work usually 5 days a week, 11 days could be between 7 and 9 days off depending when you start your paternity leave. And other rule: you must take it in one group of days. You can’t take a fraction. And it’s one time for birth. The children heal days can be took one by one, and it’s 3 days a year, until 16. I think the paternity leave must be increased to 3 month at least, especially for rich company, to prepare a more equate society between male and female.
In several american movies you have this scene, where the manager tells the employee "pack your things and leave !"... try to do that in France ! lol !
The American in me thinks the employer has the right to do whatever they want since it's they're business, the guy wanting an easy life wants to move to France lmao
Great video, very interesting! I work in HR in the US. Goes without saying that France obviously has better corporate benefits. Partly that has a lot to do with unions and labor contracts which aren’t as common in the US. In fact my company is global with several locations is France and it is always difficult to launch projects in France (and a few other European countries where we operate) because it is that much harder to get past the works councils. I personally think that it is nice to feel secure and have so much time off. It makes people feel valued and have the chance to recharge. But hey, the grass is always greener. ☺️
Yes, French employees are hard to manage. BUT they asked so many questions about your projects, that they gave a very interesting feedback to managers. And if it’s just a minority of employees (10% for example) you have more benefits than disadvantages!
I work for a tiny tiny company (there's 6 of us) in Paris so we don't have that many benefits. And as I work in the tourism industry as a tour guide, I work weekends, public holidays and generally when everyone else is on vacation. Haha
I'm still at uni but these videos are really encouraging me to take that step and get an appointment at the careers office to start to plan to work abroad
Wow that is incredible...I’ve worked for US companies in the UK for the last 10 years and benefits are nowhere near that level of generous..I can’t help thinking how much harder an employee who feels looked after / secure in their job will work than an employee who is working silly hours unpaid and worrying about health care ..not eating right does ...companies who invest in their employees like that will surely reap the benefits so it’s win win!
Thanks for that video. A few remarks. Work laws changed a lot in recent years (famous "loi travail" and "ordonnances Pénicaud"). For maternity leave, there is a minimum fixed by a directive adopted by the European Union and espacially with a pressure from the European Parliament (that's why the European elections are so important). For health care, thanks to the EU again, you can ask for a European medical card which allow you as a European citizen to be cured everywhere in the EU under the conditions of your health care coverage of your national citizenship. For example, if you have an accident in Germany, you can be cured there and the Sécu paid for the German healthcare system for that. It's temporary but usefull for short time travels. And for your question about the "chèque vacances", the answer is... Tax exonerations. Those things are detaxed for companies or at lower rate. So, instead of paying you directly, your company will pay you in "chèque vacances" or "chèque restaurants". It's cheaper for your company and insteresting for you (you paid 5 € and you get 10 € or plus depending on the company you work for). For the State, it's a mean to encourage the tourism industry or restaurants. In general, most of advantages you have in companies are the results of unions negociations and... Tax reductions conceded by the State to calm down social movements.
CE (comité d'entreprise) is managed by employees which are elected by employees. And it is not just about the benefits. They have to be informed by the company when some policies changes. On some topics it is even mandatory to have the CE approval. But maybe you will do another video on unions/CE ? :P
And they also have to defend the employees when needed, and negociate stuff (such as the "intéressement" or "participation", that the video doesn't mention but can also be a very nice benefit). I was elected in March, and it's a lot of work - I didn't expect it..
Although they defends employees they don't have a real power, they can push for thing. Point legal issues and even get informations that normal employees. For exemple where I work, they pointed out that newly hired junior employees were getting around 30% more than people that had been working there for year. There was general rise but not enough to fill the difference. Don't get me wrong this is a good thing but most of the time the CE can only try to sway the company. In that regards union (is it the right word for syndicats?) Have more weight.
azraal : information is the first step. Négociations are for unions, and rules for the approbations is based on the number of employees vote for the “CE”. Manager who wants to do bad things don’t like lights!
@@RemyCW I'm not saying that the Ce has no use far from it. I'm saying that it was not to be mistaken with unions. I had foreign friends that found it hard to make the difference. Granted I'm not the best at explaining those things.
azraal no problem. There is 5 different roles, and representatives have their own one. I agree it is complicated for most of us (I’m French). CE is for social activities (the fun) and economic information. DP or Délégués du Personnel are to help employees to have their complete social rights (from law, from branch agreements, from company agreements with unions). CHSCT is for health and security and work conditions and last but not least, unions are to negotiate new social rights. And they use information coming from CE, DP and CHSCT (and company also). If you think you’re correct on this image, it will change this year with the new CSE who will group CE, DP and CHSCT in one bigger entity but unique.
Just some corrections: France us the 6th world economy tie with the Uk. Unemployment is higher in France than the US and the UK but most of them are not registered cause their benefits are very low. In France you can have 6000€ maximum in the UK only 300€. British and American can work for a very bad salary. French not. The minimum wage is around 1540€ more than Uk and a bit less than Germany 1590€. Yes taxes is more important in France but we get more benefits. France is also the 5th world country with more investment behind the US Germany Japan Uk. Sorry for my bad English.
Remind me of a time I spend 30 minutes having my student visa being reviewed by a custom border agent in JFK, the whole time I was thinking "this a French password you are looking at, why on earth would you think I would come illegaly to the US?..."
Same here at LAX, the agent thought I wanted to stay illegally in the US whereas I just wanted to visit my 5th continent and I would never want to trade my life here for a hustling life over there.
From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU for laying all this information out. it is so helpful for people new to France and having no freaking clue what to expect and what to do haha. i encourage more of these "how to's and "things you should know" videos!!! cheers
fantastic ! and well done on getting your permanent job there. It looks like you're loving it too. As for my situation, in the UK, we get extremely little, especially part time or contract work, nothing is protected. Holidays are by law 4 weeks per year, but I've been working in retail until recently, and I was working every Sunday, every bank holiday, for no extra pay for it, it's just normal working hours for the stores, so there's nothing extra on the pay and I had holiday bans as well for the sales season: no holidays allowed except sick (but if you got sick, you're not paid). Also, that store had no closing day, it was open every day all year round, which I know is banned in France. I had to come in earlier and stay later to do things like cleaning and turning on/switching off machines, and do the packaging for orders - all that extra time was never paid for. I had much more protection when I was working full time for 20 years but I was made redundant (I did get a nice pay out). I'm French, I find that people in France have no idea how lucky they are, that said, it's a lot harder to actually get a job - like you correctly point out, but once you're in, it's so generous. I look forward to your next video. A bientôt x
Hey girl, just to clarify, you got RTT wrong. In France you are required to work 35h/week. But before the law changed, you had to work 39.7h/week. Lots of companies, didn't change their office hours from that time, so employees work 39.7h/week. In order to compensate (so they don't have to pay overtime), those companies give you one day off every two weeks, as the overtime you did is the equivalent of one full day of work, that is the RTT. Not all companies, not all cadres, benefit from this. :)
You're right. It's confusing even for some French. When the workweek went from 39 to 35 ( in 2000) my weekly work schedule was reduced of 4 hours so I had no right to RTT ( I speak in the past because I'am now retired )
I worked in a small établissement public (fewer than 10 employees) and we paid into a service for cheaper sports and cultural activities. The crazy thing was that I was the only one to take advantage of it because the paperwork seemed impossible. I managed to plow through the paperwork and was partially reimbursed for swimming lessons, a gym membership, movie tickets, museum entrance fees etc. Quite honestly, I would have preferred to have a higher salary, allowing me to choose how I spend my money. It seemed to me that it was an indirect way of paying us, and, as it's not counted as part of your income, it doesn't count towards your retirement pay. In other words, if we were just paid more, we'd qualify for a better retirement package.
Don’t forget where it comes from! 80 years ago, companies used to pay some activities for employees, and choosed what they thought useful for them. Employees took the money and organized activities that are choose by employees (thru the election process to the work council). Between nothing, something choose by colleagues and something choose by company, I prefer something choose by colleagues.
Hello everyone, I know I live in a small Paradise but ... because there MUST be a "but" ... be aware that what you describe is actually true for large companies, which are not the standard in France (you live in Paris, so you are forgiven to think like this 😉) : most companies are small or small-medium and you will not have these benefits working at these companies. But - second but- I agree the benefits in certain companies are just insane.
I work in a small compagny and have most of those benefits. Many are mandatory for the employer: Health insurance, half of public transportation, canteen or financial help with meals...
@@eunosnurb4123 yeah, you are right, many are mandatory for health care or retirement but it's definitely not the case for lunch or for transport (if you cannot use public transport for instance). So, though the described situation is true for large companies and somehow similar in smaller ones, it might not be as good as it looks for everybody.
I totally agree. unfortunately it’s not always as great in smaller organizations and some companies are crap, trying to save as much money as possible... of course there are laws but, many are quite illegal or borderline... I really hope I can find a job in a big company soon! 😅 it sounds awesome !!
@@sylvainbesse1897 but if you don't use public transport it means you don't pay for a subscription so of course the company will not give you any money for that, I don't get your point ? Whether there is 1 employee or 10000, the company must pay 50% of your subsciption, there is no exception. Now they even have to pay you extra money if you go by bike.
@@sylvainbesse1897 If you can't use public transportation and have to take your car, you can write off up to a certain amount of money for use of private motor vehicle as expenses, it is calculated as fixed amount per kilometer, and by the distance from your home to your work (it has a cap) Si tu ne peux pas prendre les transports en commun et doit prendre ta voiture, tu peux déduire jusqu'à un certain montant de tes impôts en tant que frais relatifs à l'usage d'un véhicule à moteur. C'est calculé avec un montant fixe par kilomètre et par la distance entre ton domicile et ton lieu de travail (il y a une limite de remboursement).
Wow. I feel like I'm oblivious to just how fkd up general workers have it in the USA. I work for a city and I'm in a strong union, but I still don't have all the benefits you discuss having in France. Incredible.
I also work for a city administration in France, and even the salary is not to great( 1700€) I do have 27 day of paid leave and another 25 day of RTT( days of leave for the extra time at work).Each year at Christmas we have a 900 euros bonus and some 40 € gift cards.But the most avantage we have is health assurance. I have a chronic disease and I have automatically 100% assurance from the state for the that disease and with my "mutuelle" assurance of 30€/month I have 100% for everything without advancing the money.Also for another 30€/month i have a 100% revenue guaranteed for 3 years in case of a long term medical leave. I will probably be dead or bankrupt in US but in France i am not even thinking about it. The conditions of work are that good that I never took a medical leave in 3 years.And we are working a lot with pleasure and we are proud of our work because we want to do our best for everyone in our region including our families. And I am not even french citizen, but I do love this country with all my heart. In France it s not the money that drive us but the well being of our population.
Here in the States, we fall short in pretty much all of these areas. I did, however, work for a newspaper company that gave us a 53rd check (or we had the option to use it as a fifth week of vacation), but that went away once the economy started failing around 2008 along with the rise of online publishing.
*hastily moves to France* In the US, you may only get 12 weeks unpaid maternity leave by law, some jobs may change this obviously, but thats all they're required to give by law.
This is funny: when we see how US people live, we would like to be in the US! Human beings are never happy 😉 (or are totally unable to realize what they have - dunno)
oh wow. that's so many paid days off, I'm jealous 😂 i work for a multinational corporation and there are pros and cons. we get those restaurant tickets, now on a card, they used to be paper vouchers until a few years ago (can't use for cigarettes or any alcohol) and we have a canteen but the food is not great, it's mainly carbs like potato based stuff and overcooked pasta, not a lot of vegetables and it's mainly calorie dense, not nutrient dense. in my country we have national health insurance which your employer pays to the state and they take the tax out of your salary but recently we got private health insurance from the company for for free (but dental is not included, neither glasses or contacts, or mental health related things). we get the national holidays but they don't give us days off for free if it falls on a Thursday or Tuesday for example. we get a small discount at the cinema and some gyms with out employee badge. since the building is in an industrial park outside of the city (with no stores nearby which sucks) they offer free transport with buses, however the bus arrives half an hour earlier than the working schedule starts and sometimes it's such a waste of precious sleep :))) other benefits are bonus gift vouchers for Christmas and Easter and 13th salary split into 2. overtime is either paid or can be taken as time off. the job i do is stressful and exhausting but i realize I'm lucky to have all these benefits people working for smaller companies don't have. but more time off would be very nice, we get 23 days besides the public holidays and that's consider quite good. interesting to see how things are in other countries. 😊
In my previous french job I could easily work from home too. I know it is not the case everywhere but for most of my friends (cadres) we can work from home. It was very conveniant
I work in a large french company with many historical benefits. One very appreciated is that we don't work friday afternoon since it is supposed we make our hours the rest of the week. We still get rtt. And another Nice one is the days for ill childrens. If i have a note from a doctor i can take 5 days/ year/ child to take care of them when ill.
most of the benefits you are talking about only works for big companies. For PME, most of the time, there is no "cheques vacances", no cantine, no 13th month, and so on. and PME (petite et moyenne entreprise) are the biggest employer in france.
And most PME to not hire lots of "cadres". She was mostly talking about being a "cadre" in France and "cadres" working for big companies do get these benefits. But you're right, most employees in France don't have access to the benefits stated in the video because they work for PME!
Guinness57 Exactly! Less than 40% of the country gets all these benefits. And these benefits are disappearing. Parisians have it good. It’s not so lush in province. I live and work in Haute-Normandie.
I had honestly written off working in the corporate world where I'm from because the benefits just don't seem to be enough for the mental toll of working corporate but damn I would definitely work corporate jobs in France if that's how it is, it sounds so much healthier and positive there, even though I know it's still a lot of work!
Regulation of the restaurant credits at the supermarket level greatly varies between the shops ! When I was studying in Montpellier, my mother would give me her restaurant tickets because I could use them to buy ANYTHING at a local Carrefour Market. This shop would allow me to use as many tickets as I wanted, independently of the content of the shopping basket. I never saw that anywhere else, probably a glitch. Several years later it got "fixed" and they would only accept it within certain conditions I can't remember
usually those tickets are good to buy perishable foods and stuff like that. The card is easier to use but limits the amount of money you spend per day (dunno if it's the same for everyone or if it depends on the job and collective agreement.
Hello Rosie !! Just concerning the maternity leave : you have 16 mandatory weeks ; but women often add the paid leaves ; which means 4 to 5 more weeks, so 20 weeks of maternity leaves.
Great video Rosie ! A few precisions to what you said, RTT are not only for cadres but for all people who work more than 35h. My contract is 39h so I get 7 RTT even though I'm not a cadre. I know a girl who gets 23 days of RTT ! Which means she has 9 weeks of vacation, crazy ! Also, "ticket restaurant" and cantine is not mandatory. I have neither of them, but my case is a bit peculiar as tickets resto would be too difficult to put in place.
I work in the medical field, for a hospital network. We are suppose to feel "lucky" because of our medical insurance, one of our "perks". So I suppose it's relatively cheap for US standards, as a single woman I pay about $100 a month, I believe its under $300 for family plan. I have a $200 yearly deductible which again we're told we can't complain since most people on average have about $2,000 deductible. Of course there are people out there that have deductibles of $1,000 and I've even seen up to $10,000!! which you might as well not have insurance at that point unless you're very, very ill. Remember those are just yearly deductibles, that's not including copayment, and coinsurance percentage if it applies to your plan. Then we're also suppose to be lucky our copay is only $50 for medical visits, OH and because we work for this particular hospital network we're not allowed to see doctors/ providers outside of the network unless you want to pay Self Pay. It's so ridiculous. Basically everyone I know no matter where they work Always worry about medical bills. Going to the doctor is your last resort because it's going to cost you. Also many times you don't even know what amount your're going to be surprised with, or sometimes you pay waaayy MORE by having insurance. Americans need to wake up to what crappy benefits we have. NO we don't have the worse. I'm well aware some people don't even have that at all. I'm just saying we can do SO SO much better. What's wrong with wanting better for ourselves?
Another type of perk : on Large companies, you can have "accord 'intéressement" with "abondement" instrad of participation which is a bunh of money given to employees that can pe directly received or that you can spare on a "plan d'epargne d'entreprise" wtih financial performance or block for retirement ! That being said, I never saw it in companies smaller than 500 people
Thanks so much for this! I knew most of them but it's still good to think about in terms of budgeting. Intend to move back to France in 2 years - although I have always worked in the UK. Apart from maternity leave (which is better as you can take a year off - although government pay is peanuts) and healthcare (NHS is amazing), UK benefits aren't as good. And considering how expensive London is - not sure if higher salaries are really that much better. I am worried about finding work though. I'm fluent in French and English but I work in the manufacturing goods industry in a very specialised role (so not marketing) and I don't want to live in Paris (love the city but I have children and prefer not to raise them in such a big city). Not sure what my prospects will be. Also, I didn't study in France but hoping a Business Master's from a Russell Group university in the UK will be well seen.
If you are fluent even in the manufacturing industries you won't have a problem to find a job, outside of Paris a lot of companies struggle to find employees.
The legal working week is 35 hours, but in some companies you can decide to work 37 or 39 hours, which in the latter case entitles you to 24 days extra vacation, in addition to the 25 legal days, plus 11 public holidays, making a total of 60 days per year (which justifies the fact that the average salary in France is lower than elsewhere). Note that "RTT" days are accumulated on a monthly basis (2 per month), and that your employer may require you to take them each month and prevent you from accumulating them. However, it's very practical for medical appointments or to have an extended weekend, by taking leave on 2 Fridays in the month!
hi i'm french and i think the most things we speak in this video are not applies to small company less than 50 jober. 13th months, RTT, supplies hours, ticket restaurant, vacation money etc... theses are only for big company like EDF, TOTAL, ORANGE, SNCF, RATP etc... I work on automotive workshop and i never had all theses social advantages, but social security, "mutuel", health service are the same... since 10 years, i never worked less 40 hours by week and supplies hours never been paid. good night ps: sorry for my bad english skills ;)
There is another "just in case" leave that you didn't mention, the one that makes my friends from abroad most jealous: the "congé sabbatique" (gap year). After 3 years in a company, you can ask for a full year of unpaid leave, during which your contract is "suspended". When you come back, you get your position back. The employer is not allowed to refuse it if you're in a company that has over 49 employees (in smaller companies, they can refuse if it's too complicated to replace you). He can only ask you to postpone it for 9 months.
Why does ticket restaurant or cheques vacances exist? Well I think it’s a a way of paying people that’s a lot less taxed than paying them in money ( for both the company and the employees)
Indeed, employers get a tax deduction for holiday checks and meal vouchers as well as mutuelles. It's an incentive to give some extra to employees who are, as she mentioned, paid less than in Anglo-saxon countries.
Wow the advantages are amazing and massive. That's great that this stuff is allowed to happen and that companies have to provide this legally. I doubt the UK would ever make companies do such things. Some people don't realise the French have it so good. That's awesome though. Great video also and very informative. So to the French wow you are lucky wow you have it really good.
It's not all black or white. Don't forget that we have some of the highest tax rates in the world. Also it is really hard to find a stable job. Most contracts in France are CDD (contracts with a defined end date), so the protection part doesn't really account there.
@@Ayber_ nope go check your sources in France there is 88% of CDI and 12% of CDD. Vérifie tes sources mon ami, le site du gouvernement et l'insère confirme ces chiffres'
I’m from the US and this made me cry a little inside. I had to stop working because my maternity leave was unpaid for 12 weeks and to me that was insane to have to take my daughter to child care. Sadly, a lot of families do. Paid time off here is a joke. I am SO jealous right now. Given what the US is about, we the people deserve better treatment and i feel we would be happier and more productive with less stress.
In Romania, people get "meal tickets" that can be used in most supermarkets to buy food -cigarettes, alcohol, and all non-edible items are not covered. If you buy food and non-food items, and pay partially with those tickets and partially with cash or card, it's ok. i haven't heard of a lunch break over here, or at least it doesn't last an hour. 20 minutes at most. i think there's about a month of paid holiday, and then the bank holidays usually -it depends on where you work. Some employers would cover the whole cost of transportation, and in some sectors they'll give you a work phone as well.
@@norbertfontaine8524 True. Where I worked, I was yelled at if i stayed 22 minutes instead of 20. this is what happens in retail (where I had NO break at all because understaffed and many customers) and in supermarkets (identical situation). I worked office jobs as well. I had to hide in order to eat, and was again yelled at for staying 15 minutes. The law is there,but it doesn't mean people abide it. Thanks for telling me the laws, as if i don't know them.
One must also consider what's called "mission handicap", which is personal accommodation to disabled people, regardless of what it is: blindness, leg paralysis, deafness... your company has to manage it. If the company doesn't have a specific quota of handicapped people, they get fined; as such, in my company, they give bonuses to handicapped people to keep them in.
What was your French like/ how long had you been learning before you moved to Paris? I'm currently making my way through the French courses on Babbel and am really enjoying it :)
are the Babbel courses good ? i have a small level of english and i would like to improve it. just by curiosity, do you find French difficult to learn ?
Tu oublie les arrêts maladie, accident du travail, et les avantages des fonctionnaires par rapport au privé. (Dans Les services publics les congés sont de 8 semaines en tout)
Et vous, vous oubliez qu'en contrepartie des avantages de la fonction publique, les fonctionnaires gagnent en moyenne 30% de moins que dans le privé... Et c'est un employé du secteur privé qui le dit :)
Quite similar to Brazilian 'CLT' worker rights! After a labor rights reform, this type of regiment is becoming rarer in favor of a more casual sort of contract and self-employment. Under CLT, I believe we have the right to 4 weeks paid leave plus 1/3 salary, a 13th salary, transport voucher, meal voucher (or meals provided on site). Your employer also needs to make a sort of savings account, which is the FGTS. If you are fired from the company, you can withdraw all the money in the FGTS and the employer also has to pay a fine that's related to how much money the employee has in their FGTS. This savings account can also be used for an up-front payment when buying a home, for example. However, I'd say that the 'base salary' here under CLT is also fairly low. Not that it is much higher under other regiments, TBH.
You alsp forgot to mention the participation/intéressement a majority of employees receive each year. It often provides them another way to save money for retirement/buying a house etc
(automatic translation) these benefits are related to large companies and not always. I work in the building industry, and according to the collective agreement, we must have his meal refunded (restaurant vouchers or meal refund), and his travels (no 13th month or any bonus, no holiday vouchers, or anything else I have never had one) and very often I have to fight to obtain these two "mandatory" benefits and still often paid below the amount fixed by the law (collective agreement). I am currently unemployed and have just missed out on a job because I asked for a meal and travel bonus, so the employer turned to someone who will not touch them . I accepted a job a few weeks ago for a cdd (fixed-term contract), to have this work I had to agree not to have my trips reimbursed (70 km per day) and a shabby hourly rate. it's the everyday life of French. as you explain, the foreigners who listen to you will have the feeling that France is a paradise, it is very far from being the case. you even have companies that do not offer you health insurance while it's mandatory. when you want to get your points DIf (training) it's sometimes complicated (I had this case). in short, on paper it's beautiful, in reality much less. and wages are extremely low in some trades categories. ces avantages sont liés aux grandes entreprises et encore pas toujours. je travaille dans le milieu du bâtiment, et selon la convention collective, on doit avoir son repas remboursé (tickets restaurants ou primes de repas), et ses déplacements (pas de 13ème mois ni aucunes primes, ni chèques vacances, ni rien d'autre, je n'en ait jamais eu, pour un métier très difficile et usant physiquement) et bien souvent je dois batailler pour obtenir ces deux avantages "obligatoire" et encore souvent payés en dessous du montant fixé par la loi (convention collective). je suis au chômage actuellement et je viens de passer à coté d'un emploi parce-que j'ai demandé une prime de repas et de déplacement, l'employeur s'est donc tourné vers quelqu'un qui acceptera de ne pas les toucher. j'ai accepté un emploi il y a quelques semaines pour un cdd, pour avoir ce travail j'ai dû accepter de ne pas avoir mes déplacements remboursés (70 kms par jour) et un taux horaire minable. c'est le quotidien du français lambda. comme tu l'expliques, les étrangers qui t'écoutent auront le sentiment que la France est un paradis, c'est très loin d'être le cas. tu as même des entreprises qui ne te proposent pas de mutuelle alors que c'est obligatoire. quand tu veux récupérer tes point DIf (formation) c'est la croix et la bannière (j'ai eu ce cas). bref sur le papier c'est beau, dans la réalité bien moins. et les salaires sont extrêmement bas dans certaines catégories de métiers.
In Australia we get four weeks of paid leave each year (which makes Canadians and Americans very jealous), plus we get long service leave after 7 years which gets you 3 months off. Plus we get a really good pay in Australia - the average wage is $70,000AUD a year, which is 43,177.96 euros. I don't know if that's a good wage in France though! We don't have subsidised good lunches though - we just bring our own lunch to work. And like typical Anglo Saxons, we eat our lunch at our desk and just work through our break.
I just checked on Google and the average wage in France that goes straight into your bank account (so without the charge, and the money which is taken by the state to finance public healthcare etc) was in 2015 around 22 300 € a year. I'm quite shocked about the difference between us and Australia, I spent a semester in Australia and I didn't get the feeling that people where richer than in France, I do know that life is more expensive in Australia but I feel like the difference is still huge.
It's wayyyy higher than the french average wage, around 26/27 k€ (and even less considering the amount of tax in France). In a way, all the benefits Rosie spoke about don't come for free.
@@ogamiitto8627 We do pay a lot of taxs in order to finance public, public healthcare, retirement pension, unemployment benefits etc. I think the big difference is maybe that in France you will get you normal wage even when you're sick for a long time and you will get a basic wage even when you loose your job, so everything is taking care of if something happens to you and you don't have so save up money on your own.
In Canada we have some things better (like maternity leave), and some things similar, like basic health care, but most of these don't exist in the same way, or only at the employer's discretion, and usually during good economic times only. The job security piece feels particularly fragile all over North America right now. Companies have more rights than workers it seems. Although as a business owner, I wouldn't like not being able to off-load an employee who was under-performing without great expense. That said, as a business owner I am taking note: these are the types of thins I'd love to offer my own employees.
I’m French and used to live in Paris,and France is really an exception when it comes to the benefits linked to work. I live in Ireland and Comité d’entreprise and tickets restaurants don’t even exist, healthcare is bad and employers don’t pay either for half of your transports plus most of the people have a care because the transport system is so bad , and it’s around 20-25 days a year for holidays!!!
Great video, these are all wonderful benefits. The flip side though--I feel--is that the lower salaries, as compared not only with the US, but many other non-European countries, make it difficult over the span of one's career to ever accumulate wealth to the extent that it takes to move up the socio-economic ladder. To me it seems like in France it's difficult to move upward from whatever socio-economic class one starts out in. But, not everyone prioritises that, which I get, and respect.
Merci ! My partner is american and his jaw dropped listening to you. We live in the US and sometimes I wonder if I should go back to my birth country! Lol. But there are things I love about living here, and I think in general it's much easier to be an entrepreneur.
Cigarettes are a meal for some French. Same in the US. I work for the US government and we get public holidays, 4 hours of leave is standard but you accrue more as your service time gets longer. We do not get overtime.
Big companies in the US have made sure than there will be no such things as strong syndicates. Honestly i got a degree in history and any social advantages had to be win by labour class, company leaders dont give things for free no matter the era.
Lovely presentation, I liked the editing a lot. this is one of the few videos where your outlook on France is more positive than mine. I am not too impressed by the French healthcare system, this paying in advance is so annoying and even with mutuel I do not get to 100 percent. Germany and the UK were so much easier, no money exchanged, not too much hassle and paperwork.
This video is so timely! I want to transfer, but my company says they can't sponsor me, I would have to move first then be hired "local," so knowing about benefits would help. Hopefully I can come in using the new passporte talent.
So interesting. Canada - we get 4% vacation pay up to 5 years of employment with an employer and then it goes to 6% ... full time that works out to be 2 weeks and then 3 weeks - but the maternity leave is much better here. Mother’s get a combination of mat and parental leave that equals 1yr or 18 months at a lesser %. Fathers can take part or all of the parental leave in place of the mother.
As a matter of paradox, unions are not that strong (numerically) in France, but they are highly revendicative - and broadly supported by average people concerning these social issues.
Less than 10% of French employees are unionised. But unions have been recognized by law since WW2 as a reward for their role during the war. It means that even a company without unions can benefit from collective bargaining agreement depending on their industry. Typically these agreements will grant additional benefits compared with the Labour Code.
Hi. I am a native French, and I can confirm most of the things explained in the video. If I was to nitpick, the only thing I spotted that is not accurate is that you are not supposed to be able to buy alcohol from a store with your Ticket Restaurant (fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titre_restaurant#En_France). Some vendors might circumvent this rule, but this is not authorized. You often are able to pay for some alcohol as part of a meal with these tickets, though.
With new laws recently voted it's easy to fire someone... Just make a "licenciement abusif", pay the tax, depend on how many times the guy was in the company, and it's ok, you are fine... Actually it's just a little more expensive to fire someone, but it's very easy...
Actually, two different courts have declared the capped damages for "licenciment abusif" to be illegal relative to the prejudice and fined companies more.
I believe that the worked-up time off that you talked about is called “toil” in Australia. Still love your videos! Can you make a video about the best places to visit in winter in Paris? I’m going there this year and I would like to know where to avoid or what will be closed. Thanks, 🙂
Hi, the good thing about winter in Paris is that touristic places are not crowded, but it'd be wise to bring rain gear. Whether places will be closed or not, I assume this a tour operator's job to give you an answer. Or, if you already know which places you'd like to see, you can find opening times and dates online. If you have no idea about what to see, do or not do in Paris, I recommend Jay Swanson's and Wolters World YT channels, it'll give you some. And, of course, there are also multiple sources of information on the net, Paris being a very popular tourist destination.
Actually you have a lot of benefits with your company, this is the case for the best big companies. This is not the case for half of the French workers who work in small or medium-sized companies, they often don't have all your benefits. For example I have only 5 weeks for holidays and no RTT even though I work overtime, I have no help for the transport too and no 13th month. Even if I have a permanent contract "CDI", I have a France mobility clause, so basically they can send me to work everywhere in France and if I refuse they can fire me easily
Thanks for the video! Very useful! I find it very generous but it's the European mentality in general if you like. France has the best work system in Europe, benefits bring high productivity. 🇫🇷💯❤️
I watched two of your videos and loved them. Thank you! Looking forward to my new employment in France. I have a question, are over the counter medication covered by social charge/mutuelle?
A large part of the medication are covered by social security, they can also be reimbursed at different levels depending on your income or your geographical area
North America should follow France's example. It's ridiculous that people get 2 weeks there and START DEFENDING THIS SYSTEM when you point out that that's inhumane
I totally agree ginger 88 but would American workers agree on paying as much tax as in France ? Would they agree on earning only 2500-3000 € per month with a high degree education ? I love my system (I'm French ) but it comes with a price, a price that I'm very much willing to pay but some people consider this as an unnecessary sacrifice.
alfinou_13 targaryen That system sounds great! I currently work for a French company in the US and it does not follow French working conditions or even have very much workers rights. It makes me really want to not live in America.
@@alfinou_13targaryen I think a lot of people would appreciate healthier work-life balance. Things don't really bring happiness, I think most of the people have noticed that by their 30s
@@NotEvenFrench as a true French the notions of sharing and fraternity are very dear to me but as I've spent time in the UK, I also believe in meritocracy which is another taboo in France. I would like to have your insight on this Rosie; what do you think of France's obsession with egalitarianism ? (Sorry my question could be asked in a more objective way 😉)
New Zealand maternity leave is NOT that great. You are entitled to 22 weeks, however you do not get paid your normal salary, you get paid up to $500 per week, which would be about 1/3 of my normal salary, so living in Auckland, with the rent what it is, I could actually not afford to take these 22 weeks, and a single mom could not even take leave at all at that rate. I'd much rather have the 16 weeks at full pay.
And it can be split between mother and father. In BC my male doctor just did this, his wife took the first 6 months now she is back at work and he stays home with the baby.
As an HR who has worked with France and Belgium, I confirm the perks are even better in Belgium. I mean, the government can raise everyone's salary by law, through " indexation".
Not Even French Sure. France has a lot of advantages (im French) but definitely salary is not one of them. As you mentionned before, taxes are huge and people may have the impression to pay for others people. Im from a good university and most of my friend think about working abroad because of it !
@@romainstream6966 abroad it 's good when you have no family but with childrens you 'll pay more than in france. finally your benefit will be the same.
Hello madam, ur guidance on ds video is very clear, encouraging and educative. Weldone ma’am. I hope to be in France for work some day, but I hope it will be easy for English speaking personnels to cope at work, and there are no discriminations? Thanks for d video
You don't mention employees pay 20 to 25 per cent as social charges. And employers pay an additional 50 per cent. So if you have a salary of 1000€, you pre tax net income is 750€ and the costs of your work for your company is 1500€. Not sure others countries want to have a similar set up.
Does the transportation reimbursement depend on where you live? Say I live within the same zone as my office so I wouldn’t necessarily need the all zones pass 🤔 (but I want it because weekends etc)
I've been just outside Paris for over 4 years with my French husband who works in an office job in the city. Yes the cadre is good... but also you don't mention the 'metro bulo dodo' culture... he does a one hr commute, get's home around 8pm most nights, is expected to work long hours, even weekends... there is a very competitive culture. they don't pay 100% of food and travel it's a percentage. he gets 9 euros per day for food so in the city centre that limits you a bit for what you can actually eat... usually he's just eating noodles. yes you get full medical cover but in a lot of countries medical cover is always full and free! here it's insurance, and it's expensive and people are trapped by that, they get trapped in jobs just to cover health costs... that's not a good deal for me because i come from a land where health care is 100% FREE for all no matter if you're working or not.
Been researching on France for some time. Every country has its issues. But the US is a total mess. Do not feel anything for it anymore. That being said, I truly appreciate the vital info. Merci Boucoup.
Just telling you my own story, I'm french, I live in Paris for an huge IT company. As a cadre I don't work 35 hours per week, I guess it would be closer to 40 hours per week. I'm 3500 € per month (around 3920 US $). I'm happy to pay 600 € of taxes every month because it helps everyone in the country. (free school, fre university, free healthcare, and so on and so on)
It was a very informative video. Could you please share some information on the public funded French organizations (for example research institutes etc) as well? Merci! :-)
Mutuelle shouldn't exists though. It is money going to big private companies whereas social security could do the same. Plus it is only affordable for big companies, so if everybody doesn't have the same health benefit, thats not fair
