Use the portage salarial scheme to work in France, the equivalent of the UK umbrella company
WORKING for yourself in France can be tough, so the portage salarial system may be an option worth considering if you are a consultant, freelance writer, website designer or work in so-called intellectual services.
It is a system that is little known by people moving to France but which can take away much of the stress generated by registering a business and having to pay social charges before earning any money.
Portage salarial has been around since the 1980s, but has become more accepted in recent years as people relocate and work over the internet, as well as the French government’s support of the system as a way to promote employment.
In a nutshell a consultant would work with a société de portage salarial that acts as an umbrella company, so that clients are invoiced through this company who in return oversee the payment of social charges and registration details, as well as passing on a salary to the consultant minus a percentage for their services.
One such umbrella company is DIDAXIS, based in Paris. « From the point of view of a British person wanting to live in France and set up a business, it is an easy way of carrying on working or starting something new without getting embroiled with all the paperwork and administration involved, » one consultant said.
« I think the main benefit, as I used to work through portage myself, was the stress was eased of having to pay social charges from the outset, it is the same as PAYE really, you only pay if you actually earn an income. »
A number of professions can work under the portage salarial scheme such as those in IT, writers, graphic designers, training providers and people deemed as artisans or who work as legal advisers, for example, are not able to work this way.
« It is preferable that someone waits until they have a contract with a client before registering with us, for example if a person moves to France and wants to continue working for their employer in the UK, but who doesn’t want to set up a French office, then this is a good start. Or if someone starts freelance work we can take it from there.
« Portage would be able to cover certain sales agents acting on commission, even if someone was selling books through Amazon and earning commissions, what we couldn’t do is cover the sale of a chair in a shop as we can’t guarantee the quality of that product. »
Income tax payments are also made easier through the portage system as you can calculate the amount of salary you’ve earned from the payslips you’ve received, and there is no need to deal with the paperwork involved in registering with the social security system, retirement schemes or anything else, there is even a top-up mutuelle health insurance scheme available.
The Fédération Nationale des Entreprises de Portage Salarial (FeNPS) is a representative body whose members have signed up to a service charter, whilst the French language Guide de Portage provides news and in-depth information on the system.
And as more information is made available over the internet this is just one of the costs that can be claimed as an expense, so a software consultant sat in their office at home would be able to claim back some of their heating, as well as telephone charges, which are then offset against their social charges.
« Most regular expenses can be claimed back up to a maximum dependent on the invoice amount, and the monthly invoice amount is used as the basis for the cost to consultants of our services, it varies between six and ten per cent.
« What we provide is the freedom to concentrate on your business, but also take on work without worrying because of the paperwork problems involved, a position I found myself in, as the portage salarial system allows you to be properly registered and so take on this work. »
It is possible to be registered within the portage salarial system in a matter of days, enabling you to work with existing clients or find new ones very quickly and it shouldn’t cost anything until you start earning, letting you get on with living, but importantly working, in France.
