What is freelance administration?
Portage salarial" is a three-way contractual relationship between a "portage" company, a "porté" employee and a client company. The "porté" employee signs an employment contract with a "portage salarial" company, and carries out assignments on behalf of a client company. There are therefore two contractual relationships:
-
on the one hand, the relationship between the employee and the company, which gives rise to an employment contract;
-
secondly, the relationship between the "société de portage" and the client company, which gives rise to a contract for the provision of services.
This status enables self-employed workers to carry on their business alone, while benefiting from the social security coverage of a conventional employee. With "portage salarial", you invoice your services, which you receive in the form of a salary, through a "portage" company.
Bound by an employment contract, the ported employee has rights and obligations towards the umbrella company. For its part, the "société de portage" is considered to be the employee's employer, which means that it must respect certain obligations towards the "porté", notably that of complying with the provisions of the French Labor Code.
Portage salarial is a triangular relationship that brings together :
- a self-employed consultant, with the status of a "salarié porté", who provides a service on behalf of a client company;
- a client company, which pays a fee to the "société de portage" according to the services provided by the "porté" employee;
- an intermediary company known as a "portage salarial", which collects the fees paid by the client company and pays the independent consultant a salary. In return, the "portage" company deducts a commission from the services invoiced, corresponding to the management costs incurred (between 5 and 15% of sales excluding VAT).
The freelance administration company then draws up the contracts with each of the other two parties, and takes care of the administrative management.
Who can benefit from freelance administration?
Portage salarial is the ideal status for people who want to set up their own business, while retaining the social benefits of salaried employees.
Beneficiaries
The system is open to entrepreneurs, executives, retirees, jobseekers, self-employed workers, etc. There is no exhaustive list of activities that can be carried out on a freelance basis. Often, these are one-off assignments in a wide variety of professional sectors: consulting, financial management, marketing and communications, IT, human resources, etc.
Company founders
Freelance administration is particularly well-suited to entrepreneurs looking to test out their business plans and build up an address book, while benefiting from a financial guarantee. With freelance administration, you'll be able to canvass your customers and carry out your first assignments.
What's more, this type of contract lets you concentrate on your business, without having to worry about your administrative and financial management (invoicing, customer reminders, etc.). In fact, it's the "société de portage" that will be responsible for invoicing your customers.
Retired
Are you retired and want to continue working? Portage salarial allows you to combine your retirement pension with an independent source of income.
The profiles of retired people are often highly valued by freelance administration companies, due to their long careers and solid experience.
Jobseekers
Are you unemployed and looking to supplement your income? It's possible!
By choosing this status, you can combine your unemployment benefit with your salary. This means that jobseekers can opt for freelance administration while retaining their unemployment benefits.
Micro-entrepreneurs
Would you like to be self-employed with the security and benefits of salaried employment? Portage salarial allows you to carry out your activity independently, to freely choose your assignments while enjoying the benefits of salaried employment: social protection, mutual insurance, unemployment insurance...
What's more, freelance administration allows micro-entrepreneurs to avoid the sales ceiling for micro-business.
Nature of employment contracts
The relationship between a freelance administration company and an employee can be either permanent or fixed-term. A freelance administration contract can be concluded for a fixed or indefinite period, depending on the frequency and duration of assignments.
Please note, however, that the maximum duration of a fixed-term contract is capped at 18 months, unlike a permanent contract, which is capped at 36 months. Beyond that, there is a risk that the contract will be requalified.
If you're planning several assignments over a long period, it's best to sign a permanent contract.
What are the obligations of a "société de portage"?
In order to operate a freelance administration business, companies must comply with certain rules :
- the activity must be exclusively dedicated to freelance administration ;
- prior declaration of activity to the labor inspectorate is required;
- a financial guarantee must be taken out with an institution authorized to issue sureties, to guarantee payment of sums due to the employee in the event of default by the freelance administration company.
Once a company has been authorized to operate as a freelance intermediary, it must comply with certain legal and regulatory provisions:
- draw up a fixed-term or open-ended employment contract for the ported employee and complete the administrative and social formalities required for hiring;
- administrative management of the relationship between the ported employee and the client company;
- help the employee carry out his or her project;
- draw up a rider for each service, setting out the essential elements of the contract: terms and conditions, duration of service, working time and amount of remuneration;
- take out professional liability insurance on behalf of the employee for any damage he may cause to the customer during the performance of his duties.
The freelance administration contract has a number of special features:
- there is no relationship of subordination between the ported employee and the client company;
- the "société de portage" does not have to provide work for the "porté" employee, nor pay him or her a salary between two assignments.
The advantages of freelance administration
By choosing freelance administration, you benefit from a number of advantages, including :
-
simplified administrative management: freelance administration allows you to retain your autonomy, while being freed from all administrative tasks: accounting, invoicing, customer follow-ups... You can then devote yourself entirely to your assignments, freely choose your clients and set the rates for your services;
-
protection identical to that of a "classic" employee: freelance administration gives you the same social benefits as an employee, such as social security cover, health insurance, paid vacations, retirement and unemployment insurance;
-
personalized support to help you carry out your business and realize your professional project;
- financial security: with a fixed remuneration of no less than €2,517.13, freelance administration provides financial stability for banks and lessors.
What is the status of a ported employee?
The French Labor Code stipulates that the activity of "portage salarial" is reserved for people who can demonstrate the expertise, professional qualifications and autonomy that enable them to seek out their clients themselves and agree with them on the terms and price of their services.
Ported employee classification
There are 3 categories of ported employees:
- junior employees, with less than 3 years' seniority in the freelance activity, fall into either the technicians, supervisors (or equivalent) or executives classification;
- senior ported employees, with at least 3 years' seniority in the salaried ported activity, come under the executive classification;
- employees on a fixed-day contract, regardless of how long they have been with the company, are classified as executives.
Minimum remuneration
As a matter of principle, the legal minimum remuneration for a ported employee cannot be less than 75% of the monthly social security ceiling, i.e. €2 ,898 per month in 2024.
However, the "portage salarial" collective bargaining agreement contains specific provisions on remuneration. It stipulates that the total minimum gross income (including remuneration, vacation pay and business contribution bonus) must not be less than 77% of the monthly social security ceiling applicable in 2017, i.e. €2,517.13 per month.
She adds that this income varies according to the seniority of the ported employee:
-
70% of the monthly social security ceiling for a junior porter, i.e. €2,288.3;
-
75% of the monthly social security ceiling for a senior ported employee, i.e. €2,451.75
-
85% of the monthly social security ceiling for an employee on a fixed-day contract (junior or senior), i.e. €2,778.65.
The ported employee also receives a financial reserve at the end of the assignment, equal to :
- or 10% of the base salary for the last assignment for employees on permanent contracts;
- or the amount of the precariousness indemnity for employees on fixed-term contracts.
Length of service
The seniority of a ported employee has an impact on professional elections. For elections to the Social and Economic Committee (CSE), the seniority required is 3 months to be eligible to vote and 6 months to be eligible to stand for election. This is determined by reference to the services provided during the 18 months preceding the election.
What are the rights of a ported employee?
In addition to a minimum remuneration, the ported employee benefits from guarantees in terms of professional training and unemployment insurance.
Professional training
As a ported employee, you are entitled to the same professional training schemes as "conventional" employees, in particular :
- the personal training account (CPF) ;
- validation of acquired experience (VAE) ;
- skills assessment.
Unemployment benefits
Portage salarial also allows you to benefit from unemployment insurance.
What's more, if you're unemployed, it's possible to combine your back-to-work allowance (ARE) with income from your job.
It's easy to get lost when faced with the many choices of freelance administration companies. To make the right choice, it's important to take certain criteria into account:
- management fees ;
- proposed support ;
- the company's financial health ;
- the network of consultants...
Above all, before signing a freelance administration contract with a company, it's essential to find out about its reputation and the commission fees that will be charged.
Even if you're an employee of a freelance administration company, you're still autonomous when it comes to finding clients and assignments. This step is vital to the development of your business.
Here are a few tips to help you land an assignment:
- highlight your area of expertise;
- identify your target ;
- Approach customers to promote yourself and find assignments;
- consult our mission offers ;
- exchange with professionals in your sector and create your own network of consultants...
Is it possible to combine freelance administration with a registered office?
Even if you are considered an employee of a "portage salarial" company, you retain your self-employed status. The steps you need to take to set up your company are therefore essential. These include choosing your company's registered office.
If you want to domicile your company at a lower cost, SeDomicilier is the solution for you! Thanks to our wide choice of prestigious addresses, choose your headquarters in the neighborhood of your choice and obtain your domiciliation contract in less than 4 hours.
What are the criminal penalties for non-compliance?
Penalties are provided for in the event of non-compliance with regulations applicable to freelance administration.
Penalties for an umbrella company
The wage portage company may be punished by a fine of €3,750 (6 months' imprisonment and a €7,500 fine in the event of a repeat offence), in particular in the event of :
- conclusion of a wage portage employment contract for a personal services activity ;
- conclusion of a fixed-term freelance employment contract that does not include a precise term or set a minimum duration ;
- non-compliance with the maximum duration of a fixed-term freelance contract ;
- failure to send the portage salariale employment contract to the employee within the required timeframe (2 working days), etc.
To find out more about these sanctions, please refer to article L. 1255-14 of the French Labor Code.
Sanctions against the customer company
The client company may also be fined €3,750 (6 months' imprisonment and €7,500 fine in the event of a repeat offence), particularly in the event of :
- use of a ported employee outside authorized cases ;
- conclusion with the freelance administration company of a commercial freelance administration contract that does not include the mandatory information, etc.
To find out more about these sanctions, please refer to article L. 1255-16 of the French Labor Code.
Conclusion
So if you're self-employed and want to work under a protected status, think about freelance administration! You'll be able to retain full autonomy while enjoying all the benefits of salaried employment.