Payslips

Employer

The employer is identified using the following information:

• Company Name
• Address of the registered office
• APE/NAF code number (the code used to identify the business category or sector: agriculture, trades or commercial)
• SIREN number
• Branch agreement applicable to the company

Employee

The employee is identified using the following information:

• Surname and forename
• Position held and classification (grade or hierarchical coefficient provided for in the collective agreement)
• Start date at the company
• Years of service
• Type of contract (permanent, fixed-term, etc.)
• Gross monthly salary
• Nature and sum of additional wages subject to employee and employer contributions.
• Period and number of hours of work during the month in question:
  • Hours worked and overtime (with overtime rates).
  • If the employee works a fixed number of hours, the number of hours considered is specified (fixed number of hours per week or month, or fixed number of hours or days per year).

The gross salary must appear on the payslip. The gross salary is the employee’s remuneration before social security and tax deductions :

• Gross remuneration of the employee   
• Amount and basis of social contributions and social security contribution by the employer before deduction of exemptions and exemptions  
• Rate of social contributions and social security contributions by the employee before deduction of exemptions and exemptions  
• Nature of other payments and deductions (for example, coverage of home-work transportation costs)  
• Amount actually received by the employee  
• Payment date 

The information used to calculate this gross salary is also indicated:

• Number of hours paid at the standard rate.
• Number of hours paid at an increased rate (public holidays, night shifts, overtime, etc.).
• Days of paid leave and holiday pay
• Nature and sum of additional wages received: bonuses, 13th month, benefits in kind (travel expenses, meal vouchers, etc.)

The social security contributions displayed are the total sums paid, either by the employee or the employer, to government and private social security schemes.

They are deducted from the gross salary. 

Social security contributions are broken down into five sections, which correspond to the five components of the French social security system: health, workplace accidents and occupational illness, pensions, family and unemployment.

Each of these amounts must be mentioned in the payslips. 

Find out more about the French social security system

The net salary is the salary received after social security contributions have been deducted, but before the deduction of income. 

This net salary is taxable. It covers a all the remuneration received by the employee, including benefits in kind serves as the basis  calculating the income tax withheld at source. 

The social net amount is the net income after deduction of all compulsory social security contributions.   

This amount corresponds to the reference amount that the employee must declare to benefit from the Activity Bonus or the RSA (Active Solidarity Income). 

Since January 1, 2019, tax has been deducted directly from net salary. Consult our sheet dedicated to withholding tax (PAS)

Must therefore appear on the pay slip:   

• the net taxable amount (basis for calculating withholding tax);  
• the annual total of the net taxable amounts used as a basis for calculating the withholding tax; 
• the amount of income tax deducted at source;  
• the annual accumulation of the amounts of income tax deducted at source;  
• the Net amount of additional and/or overtime hours exempt.  ;  
• the annual accumulation of the amounts of additional and/or additional hours exempt 

While the French Labor Code requires the employer to keep an electronic copy of every payslip for five years, the employee must keep their payslips indefinitely. To claim their pension, they must be able to provide them to the tax authorities if requested.

The employer must not include on the employee’s payys slip :  

• Any information related to the exercise of the right to strike or the roles of the employees’ representative ; and
• Nature and amount of remuneration to the role of the employee representative. It should be detailed on a separate document attached to the payslips.