Photo:AFP

Frenchjobspeak:Allthetermsyouneedtoknow
OliverGee9Sep2016,12:52

Frenchworkinglifecomeswithawholeglossaryofworkterms(andacronyms)thatyounever
learnedatlanguageschool.Here'swhatyouneedtoknow.
Hereisthejourneythroughworklifefromunemployment,tofindingajob,enjoyingtheperks,thenlosing
yourjob.

Emploi

Well,wemayaswellstarteasy.Emploi,asyoumayhaveguessed,means"employment".French
newspaperswilloftenhavetheirown"Emploi"sectionsifyouwanttoreaduponthelatestemployment
news.HereisonefromLeFigaro.

Pleemploi

Withemploymentcomesunemployment,whichtypicallyleadspeopletoFrance'snationaljobcentre
knownasthePleemploi.

RSARevenuedesolidaritactive

ThisisFrance'sbasicformofjobseekersallowanceandyoumaybeabletoclaimitwhileyoulookforwork,
althoughtherearevariousandvariedconditions.

CV

Yes,you'llneedoneoftheseinFrench.Don'tbetemptedtoputresumatthetop.Thisisapeskyfalse
friend.

Visityourlocalonehere.

Photo:AFP

Entretiend'embauche

IfyourCVisgoodenoughthenitshouldleadtoajobinterviewan"entretiend'embauche"orjustan
entretien.Fingerscrossed.

Contratdetravail

Gotthejob?Welldone.Nowyou'dbettersignyouremploymentcontract,knowninFranceasa"contratde
travail".Thisisahugelyimportantpieceofpaper,andisoftenneededwhenmovingintoanewhouse,
applyingforabankaccount(orindeedabankloan).

CDI

Ifyou'relucky,thepaperthatyousignwillbeCDIcontract,whichstandsfor"ContractDuration
Indetermine"oranopenendedcontract.Thisessentiallymeansyouareapermanentemployee.Well
done.

CDD

Theother(morelikely)optionisthatyou'reonaCDD(ContractDurationDetermine),orafixedterm
contract.Thisisjustatemporarygig,butcanbeextended,twoorthreetimes.Itmayeventuallyturnintoa
CDIifitworksoutwell.

Thereareothertypesofjobcontractsonofferthatdependingonyourlineofworkcouldseeyouendupa
pigiste(shifter),anintermittent(occassionalworkeroftenemployedinartsscene)orasaisoniere(a
seasonalworkermightdoaskiseasonorwineharvest).

Photo:VFS.com/Flickr

SMIC

Timetotalkpay.France'sminimumwage,knownasSMIC,is9.67asof2016,or1,466.62amonth.

Salaris

Employees.Thisisyou.

Cadres

Ontheotherendofthespectrum,youhavethe"cadres"thesearethemanagers,theexecutives.These
luckyonesgetbettersalariesandbettersocialprotectionifthey'remaderedundant.Althoughtheywillhave
paidmoreintothesystemsoit'sallfair.

Autoentrepreneur

Anotherpossibilityistorunyourownbusiness,ofcourse.There'sminimalredtape(onceyouhaveset
yourselfup),noneedtopaytaxesorchargesupfrontandmanyemployerswillwelcomeyouwithopen
armsastheyavoidhavingtopaythesteepchargesthatcomewithhavingacontract.

Ticketrestos

Timetotalkperks."Ticketsrestos"orluncheonvouchersaremandatoryinofficeswithnoonsitecafeteria
orselfservicekitchen.Managersandworkerssplitthecost50/50,andemployeesendupwithvouchers
theycanuseinmostsupermarketsandrestaurantsaroundthecountry.

Photo:AFP

RTT

Bossesmustcompensateyou,inmostjobs,forworkingmorethan35hoursperweek,andifyoudosoyou
shouldbeentitledtoRTTdays(RductionduTempsdeTravail).

TheseareinadditiontoyourusualpaidholidaysandarepartofthereasonwhyFrenchworkersareoften
abletotakethewholeofAugustoff.Intheoryemployerswhodontgiveyouthistimeoffshouldhavetopay
youovertime.

ITT

Injured?AnITT,whichstandsforIncapacittemporairedetravail(or"Temporaryworkincapacity"),refersto
howmanypaiddaysadoctorsuggestsyoushouldtakeoffaftersomekindofinjuryortrauma.Theterm
cropsupofteninnewspaperstodescribehowbadlysomeoneisinjured"Hegot45daysofITT".

Photo:AFP

Treizimemois

Somebusinessesoffera"thirteenthmonth"ofpayanendofyearbonusofsortsofteninabidtoboost
staffretention.

Commitd'enterprise

Thisisakindofcouncilinsomecompaniesthatoffersyouanythingfromcheapcinematickets,holiday
discountsandanicewadofvoucherstospendatChristmas.

Imptssurlerevenue

Oh,thefamousFrenchtaxman.No,it'snotalllaughterandperksintheFrenchworkplace.Bereadyforthe
incometax.

Thegraphbelowexplainshowmuchincometaxyouwillpaydependingonyourearnings.

L'imptlasource

Franceissettogetasimplifiedtaxsystemthisyearwhichwillseeincometaxtakenautomaticallyatsource
(lasource)ratherthanthefollowingyearaftertheindividualannualdeclarations.

Fichedepaie

France'spayslipsarenotoriouslycomplicated.Theycanstretchto40linesoftextofgobbldygook,butthe
goodnewsisthatthey'reworkingtomakeitsimpler.Readmorehere.

Franceismakinglifesimplerforbusinesses,includingmakingthepayslipsmorereadable.Photo:
ScreengrabBFMTV

Mutuelle

Thisisatopuphealthinsurancethat,dependingonthesizeofyourcompany,isnormallyofferedtoyou
automatically.ItbasicallymeansthatyoureverydayhealthcostsinFrance,likegoingtoadoctorthehuge
theprescriptiontheynormallygiveyou,willallbecovered.

Mtro,boulot,dodo

Thisphraseliterally"subway,work,andsleepytime"isagreatlittlephrasethatmeans"Theratrace".

Basically,you'relivingtowork.Perhapstimetomakethingsinteresting?

Augmentationdesalaire

Nothappywithyoursalary?Thenwhynotaskforapayrise,oran"augmentationdesalaire"?

Licenciements

Hopefullyyouwon'thearthiswordinyourcompany,butifyoudoitspellsbadnews.Itmeanslayoffsor
redundancies.

Ruptureducontrat

Oops.Perhapsyouweren'tworththepayraise,huh?Well,timetogetstartedontheterminationofyour
contract,orthe"ruptureducontrat".

Ruptureconventionelle

Thisisaterminationofemploymentthatismutuallyagreeduponbyemployerandemployee.Bothparties
canbenefitfromthearrangement,astheemployercanescapelabourlawrequirementswhiletheemployee
canbenefitfromunemploymentbenefits.

Youcanbepaiduptoaround6,000permonth.Thesystemwasbroughtintostoppeoplefromtryingtoget
sackedjusttogetunemploymentbenefits.

Potdedpart

Thisiswhatyou'llhaveifyouleaveongoodterms.Potdedpartmeansleavingdrink.


Chomeur

Nowyou'reanunemployedperson,youareknownasa"chomeur".Bestreadourtoptipsforbeing
unemployedinFrance.

APleEmploiinFrance.Photo:JacquesDemarthon/AFP

Chomage

Andunemploymentitselfisknownas"chomage",whichisalsothetermtorefertothebenefits.

Allocationschmage

Aslongasyouweren'tsackedforgrossnegligence(fautelourde)thenyou'reprobablyeligiblefor
unemploymentbenefits,andinFrance,thesearegenerallyquitegenerousatupto80percentofyoursalary.

Timetostartagainwiththewholeprocess.Boncourage.

AnymoresuggestionsforthekeytermsofFrenchjobspeakthenemailusat
news.france@thelocal.fr

Yourcommentsaboutthisarticle
GhosteryblockedcommentspoweredbyDisqus.

Today's headlines

France:Onekilledinaccidentonworld'sbiggestcruise
liner
1hourago

TelegramappcomplicatesjobofFrenchantiterrorpolice
1hourago

Francetoshift12,000migrantsacrossthecountry
2hoursago

FrenchgovernmentfightstosavehistoricTGVtrain
factory
2hoursago

TheancientundergroundshellsflavouringFrance's
Champagne
4hoursago

WildboarandpigletsshareFrenchbeachwithbathers
4hoursago

ThreewomenandteenageboychargedoverParisterror
plots
5hoursago

Hailstorms,wildfiresandheatwaveputFranceonalert
6hoursago

WhoisthemanguidingjihadistattacksinFrance?
20hoursago

Localsfighttoblockopeningoffarrightbarincentral
Lille
21hoursago