How to Write a French CDI Employment Contract

The Contrat à Durée Indéterminée (CDI) is the default form of the employment relationship in France under Code du travail art. L.1221-2. While statute does not mandate a written CDI for full-time roles, the transposition of Directive (EU) 2019/1152 by Décret n°2023-1004 now requires the employer to deliver written information on the essentials of the working relationship within fixed timeframes — and best practice (and almost every convention collective) requires a signed written contract. This step-by-step guide walks through the eight mandatory information items, the seven optional clauses worth including, and the compliance steps before, at, and after signature.

Step 1 — Identify the Convention Collective (IDCC)

Before drafting, identify the company’s convention collective de branche — the sectoral agreement governing minimum wages, classification grids, période d’essai durations, notice periods, and many other terms.

Find the IDCC at https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/conv_coll/

The IDCC determines the floor for almost everything. A CDI cannot pay less than the convention collective’s classification minimum, which often exceeds SMIC.

Step 2 — Confirm Right to Work and Pre-Hire Compliance

For non-EU candidates, verify the titre de séjour authorising salaried work under Code du travail art. L.5221-5 and L.8251-1. Verification record kept for 5 years.

Check the company’s obligation d’emploi if it has ≥ 20 employees — must employ ≥ 6% disabled workers under art. L.5212-2.

Step 3 — Draft the Mandatory Information Items (Décret 2023-1004)

The CDI document (and/or written information delivered separately) must include:

Within 7 days of start (Code du travail R.1221-34):

1. Identity of the parties — employer SIRET, employee identity;
2. Place of work — primary work address, or indication of the working pattern if mobile;
3. Job title or category (classification under convention collective);
4. Date of start;
5. Duration & conditions of période d’essai;
6. Remuneration components and frequency;
7. Working time, overtime regime.

Within 1 month of start (R.1221-35):

8. Paid leave entitlements;
9. Notice period for termination;
10. Convention collective applicable;
11. Social security regime;
12. Training entitlements.

Best practice: consolidate all 12 in a single written CDI signed by both parties.

Step 4 — Set the Pay Rate

The pay must be the higher of:

• SMIC 2026 — €12.02/hour, €1,823.03/month gross at 35h/week (Décret n°2025-1228 du 17 décembre 2025);
• Convention collective minimum for the role’s classification.

Source: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000053042520

If the convention sets €1,950 gross monthly minimum for position III.1, you cannot pay €1,823 SMIC. URSSAF will redress.

Step 5 — Set the Période d’Essai

Under Code du travail art. L.1221-19 (post Loi 2023-171, no upward derogation since 9 September 2023):

Renewal requires:

• Authorisation in the contract OR written agreement signed at hiring;
• A branch agreement extended (accord de branche étendu) authorising renewal in the sector;
• Express written consent of the employee at the time of renewal (Cass. soc.).

Step 6 — Add Working-Time Clauses

For a standard 35-hour CDI:

• State the legal weekly working time (Code du travail art. L.3121-27);
• Reference the hours of work distribution (full-time = 35h or contractually 39h with RTT or other arrangement);
• Overtime triggers above 35h: +25% (8 first), +50% (beyond) — art. L.3121-36 default; branch may modify down to +10%.

For part-time (< 35h/week — art. L.3123-6, written contract MANDATORY):

• Total weekly/monthly hours;
• Distribution of hours by day;
• Conditions of modification of the distribution;
• Complementary hours regime.

For forfait jours (cadres autonomes — art. L.3121-58):

• Annual number of days worked (typically 218);
• Annual entretien obligation (workload, work-life balance, remuneration);
• Right to disconnect;
• Monitoring of days worked.

Without all four, forfait jours is null and the employee is paid as 35h with overtime (Cass. soc. 29 juin 2011).

Step 7 — Add Optional but Strategic Clauses

Mobility clause

Geographic perimeter must be precisely defined (Cass. soc. 7 juin 2006). “France entière” alone is insufficient if the employee is hired for a specific location.

Confidentiality and IP assignment

Clauses standard. IP assignment under Code de la propriété intellectuelle art. L.111-1 — the employer owns IP created in the course of employment, but specific clauses help with edge cases (work outside hours, derivatives).

Non-compete clause

Five cumulative conditions for validity (Cass. soc. 10 juill. 2002, Bull. n°239):

1. Legitimate interest of the company;
2. Limited time (typically max 2 years);
3. Limited geography;
4. Limited scope of activity;
5. Financial counterpart paid during the clause (typically 25–33% of gross monthly salary).

If any one is missing, the clause is null. Waiver by employer must be within deadline (often 15 days post-rupture), in writing, clear and unconditional.

Restraint clauses (clauses spécifiques)

Domiciliation clause, dedication exclusivity, trial-period renewal — each requires careful drafting. Conventions règlementées disclosure under Code du travail / Code de commerce.

Step 8 — File the DPAE (Déclaration Préalable à l’Embauche)

Under Code du travail art. L.1221-10 and R.1221-1:

• Mandatory for every hire;
• Filed via URSSAF electronically — https://www.due.urssaf.fr/declarant/formulaireDueLibre.jsf
• Deadline: within 8 days preceding start, AND at the latest before the worker’s actual start (R.1221-5);
• Failure = travail dissimulé under L.8221-3 — fine €45,000 + 3 years imprisonment for natural person, €225,000 for legal person + URSSAF redressement on 6 months SMIC.

Source: https://www.urssaf.fr/accueil/employeur/embaucher-gerer-salaries/embaucher/declaration-prealable-embauche.html

Step 9 — Sign Before Start, Deliver Mandatory Documents

Sign the CDI before the first day of work. Deliver:

• Signed CDI;
• Notice of règlement intérieur (if ≥ 50 employees) — art. L.1311-2;
• Affiliation mutuelle (Loi ANI 2013 — employer pays ≥ 50% of premium);
• Affiliation prévoyance (cadres or convention collective — Convention 1947);
• DUER read (Document Unique d’Évaluation des Risques) — art. R.4121-1.

Step 10 — Schedule Medical Visit and Affiliations

Within 3 months of start, the employee must receive a visite d’information et de prévention (Code du travail art. R.4624-10) — organised by the SPSTI (médecine du travail). Cost €80–€200, employer pays.

For postes à risque (art. L.4624-2), an examen médical d’aptitude is required before taking up duties.

URSSAF DSN (Déclaration Sociale Nominative) starts monthly. AGIRC-ARRCO retraite complémentaire affiliation automatic via DSN.

Step 11 — The Hierarchy of Norms

Whatever clauses you draft, the contract is the last layer. Any clause less favourable than:

1. Constitution & treaties;
2. Code du travail;
3. Décrets / arrêtés;
4. Convention collective de branche;
5. Accord d’entreprise;
6. Usage / engagement unilateral;
7. Règlement intérieur;

is void (principe de faveur — art. L.2253-3).

Step 12 — Common Drafting Mistakes

• No mobility clause but the role is mobile → employer cannot relocate without employee consent.
• Non-compete without financial counterpart → null and void.
• Forfait jours without annual entretien clause → null and overtime owed.
• Période d’essai over the new caps → reduced to maximum legal; termination in excess part = licenciement without cause.
• Translation absent for foreign-language employee → Loi 94-665 (Toubon) art. 2 requires translation in employee’s language at request.
• No mutuelle d’entreprise → employer liable for funding equivalent care; URSSAF redressement.

Step 13 — Post-Signature Maintenance

Monthly:

• DSN (5th or 15th of next month) — Code de la sécurité sociale R.133-13;
• Pay slip within 1 working day of payment — art. L.3243-1;
• Pay social contributions.

Annually:

• DUER update if ≥ 11 employees — art. L.4121-3-1;
• Bilan formation;
• Index égalité F-H publication by 1 March if ≥ 50 employees — art. L.1142-8.

Step 14 — Termination Routes

Reminder of the CDI termination paths (different from CDD):

• Démission — art. L.1237-1;
• Licenciement pour motif personnel — art. L.1232-1 et seq.;
• Licenciement pour motif économique — art. L.1233-3 et seq.;
• Rupture conventionnelle — art. L.1237-11 et seq. (mutual termination + DREETS homologation);
• Force majeure — art. L.1234-12;
• Retraite — art. L.1237-5 et seq.

A well-drafted CDI explicitly references the convention collective notice periods (often longer than the Code defaults) and any contractually defined indemnities.

The CDI is a long-term legal commitment with built-in protections for the employee. Drafting precision at signature reduces dispute risk over the years that follow.

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Disclaimer

Legal information, not legal advice. MmowW Scrib🐮 is operated by a licensed Gyoseishoshi (行政書士) office in Japan. We are not avocats, experts-comptables, or any French regulated profession.

Sources

1. Code du travail — Livre II Le contrat de travail — https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/section_lc/LEGITEXT000006072050/LEGISCTA000006145393/
2. C. trav. art. L.1221-19 (période d’essai) — https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000019071113
3. URSSAF — DPAE — https://www.urssaf.fr/accueil/employeur/embaucher-gerer-salaries/embaucher/declaration-prealable-embauche.html
4. URSSAF — DPAE form — https://www.due.urssaf.fr/declarant/formulaireDueLibre.jsf
5. Décret n°2025-1228 (SMIC 2026) — https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000053042520