Business creation leave: everything you need to know!

Leave for business creation is a scheme that allows employees to take up to a year of renewable leave to pursue a business creation or takeover project. It guarantees they can return to their job if things don't work out.

This way, they can start their project without quitting their job. This approach is gaining popularity as entrepreneurship grows and more employees decide to go it alone!

Let's explore together everything you need to know about taking a leave of absence to start a business in France!

What are the conditions to be met to benefit from leave for business creation?

An employee can benefit from leave to create a business for only two reasons:

• If he creates a business
• If he takes over an existing business

They absolutely must have 24 months of seniority, whether consecutive or not, within their original company. If the company belongs to a group, time spent in French or international subsidiaries is also taken into account.

Keep in mind that some collective agreements or company agreements may change the required seniority. The maximum leave period cannot exceed one year, renewable for an additional year.

How to request time off to start a business?

The employee must inform their employer of their leave in writing, specifying the start date and the planned duration. The request must be sent at least 2 months before the requested start date. In your letter, you must also specify the nature of the activity you wish to create or take over.

The conditions of the request and the information deadlines depend on your profession and are set by the applicable collective agreement (or company agreement).

The employer can give three types of response:

• An agreement for leave and the approval of the desired departure date.
• An agreement for leave and the postponement of the desired departure date.
• A refusal of leave.

If there's no response within 30 days, the departure agreement for leave is considered approved.

During the entire period of leave, the employee is not paid. It is possible to negotiate a departure on leave to create a company part-time. The conditions for carrying over paid leave are specified in the applicable collective agreement. Otherwise, they can be carried over at his request for a maximum of 6 years.

At the end of the leave, the employee can:

• Return to their original company. If they choose this option, they must inform their employer at least 3 months before the end date of the leave.
• Terminate their employment contract. If they choose this option, they must inform their employer at least 3 months before the end date of the leave. The employment contract is terminated in compliance with the conditions provided by law. However, the employee is not required to pay a notice period indemnity.
• Renew their leave for an additional year. If they choose this option, they must inform their employer at least 2 months before the end date of the leave.

How to get your entrepreneurial project off to a good start?

The first decision to make when creating your company is to choose the address of your registered office. Several options are available to you.

Choosing your own home as your registered office may seem like a simple and inexpensive choice. In reality, you need to keep in mind that many co-ownership associations refuse the presence of registered offices in the building. Also, this option can only be chosen for a maximum of 5 years.

Choosing this means your home address will be out there for everyone to see, plastered on all your official documents (business cards, order forms, quotes, invoices, etc.).

Sure, renting a commercial space is nice, but it can be a real headache with all the paperwork and costs. You've got to think about guarantees, deposits, down payments, and monthly rent. Plus, you need to stick to the commitments and notice periods.

However, domiciliation companies allow all entrepreneurs to display a prestigious registered office address, lighten their daily workload and save on taxes. How? Domiciliation companies are service providers offering you the chance to choose your registered office address from a wide range of prestigious and valuable addresses.

Have you ever dreamed of having your business address on the prestigious Avenue des Champs-Élysées, for example? Now it's possible at a lower cost.

A prestigious business address significantly boosts the credibility of your project with all your commercial and financial partners.

Using a business address provider can also significantly free up your daily schedule. Customized offers are created for entrepreneurs who want to outsource time-consuming and tedious tasks : daily mail management, telephone answering service, administrative and legal assistance, meeting room rentals, etc.

It's the perfect alternative to using your home address or renting a commercial space – simple and affordable!

Thanks to SeDomicilier, get your proof of address in under 5 minutes with our 100% online process. All your services are then available in a personalized and secure virtual office.

Business domiciliation allows you to focus on the tasks with the highest added value: the ones that drive your project's growth and success!