Are there any issues with having more than one CDI?
I will have 2 part time jobs for uk firms registered with the tfe system. Will it be ok to have 2 contracts? What potential issues should I be aware of?
TIA
Karen
The issues are ones that ought to be taken up with an advisor on French employment law, as it can get pretty complicated. Per se, there is no theoretical problem with holding down 1 or more CDI jobs, provided that the cumulated working time restrictions and rest requirements are met, and that the one job isn’t considered incompatible with the other job. Usually, at least one of the employers will have to agree in writing to you seeking, and being engaged in, another working activity, even if it is only part-time. Whether that actually happens all of the time is a matter for another debate. Either or both of the contracts will have to specify a maximum working time in some way, whether that be by hours over the year, monthly, or whatever, the difficulty being that you don’t breach the rest/holiday entitlement/maximum working hours requirements for each branch of work, and that their sum doesn’t exceed the general maximum (I don’t recall what that is, as it is a minefield, and as an employer, I leave such issues to my employment law/social law advisor to sort out).
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Fortunately both contracts are for just 50 hours per month each, so within working hours allowed.
Thank you
In any case EWTD doesn’t prevent you from working more than 48 hours per week of you want to, it prevents employers from forcing you to do so. That said it probably is more complicated if you have two jobs.
No but French employment law does.
There are many areas where Fre nch employment law goes further than EU employment directives.
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Why does that not surprise me.
It’s a mind-set I suspect. France is big on family life and values, at least officially, but for someone outside of the French system the idea that the government can tell me not to work 60 hours a week if I am willing and able and need the money seems odd, Big Brotherish even.
What do they do about the self employed?
No offence Paul but that is the same problem David Frost seems to be having. He cannot understand why some countries insist on fair competition and worker protection, when a race to the bottom is so much more profitable for the economy.
Well, none taken - we have quite often observed that things are often done quite differently on the two sides of the channel, I was merely observing that such behaviour looks odd from this side of that particular divide.
As you ssy it is different mind-sets
When I first went into business in Frsnce I did not get it either. I had many a robust discussion with my French business partner and even with the labour inspectors. I tried to show them the error of their ways lol.
But little by little I went over to their way of thinking in spite of myself.
I am now back in the UK and the UK mind -set seems very misguided to me. Who knows if I stay here maybe I will revert back but I don’t think so. The way the uk lets employers treat workers and the gap between haves and have nots in the uk is shocking.
You would think though that the uk could have found a negotiator who understood and respected the differences. As you seem to.
They tax/charge them to hell and seem increasingly inclined to try and make them become an employee - at least that’s my take on it as an independent. I had salaried employment in conjunction with independent work at one stage, to help out a colleague, it was the worst of both worlds IMO. Paying into 2 different systems and only having pension contributions counted for my independent activity.
Nobody will ever come and check the hours an independent lawyer works though, 
I hear that private practice nurses often have checks on the number of acts they carry out and get fined if they exceed their given quota.
Why weren’t all of your pension payments counted?
In France, your pension contributions are counted in quarters - you can only have 4 quarters per year. If you contribute to 2 different pension regimes at the same time, so in my case the CIPAV for independents, and the régime général for salaried executive workers, only one of those contributions can be counted in the quarter. In other words, you can’t add to your pension by simultaneously contributing to two different regimes at the same time, you just lose them. In theory, you should be able to claim back the extra paid in from the URSSAF, but in practice is is like getting blood out of a stone, according to both my own accountant and my previous employer’s accountant. The irony is that you can buy supplementary pension rights by paying a huge premium into your independent state pension management organisation (the CIPAV for me), but the returns on investment is rubbish.
I will be paying into the same regime for both employers, will it all go into my pension pot?
I honestly have no idea, but would advise you check with a specialist.
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Thank you.
Trying to get straight answers on this is not easy!
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