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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
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