Are you experiencing a slow period and don't want to put your employees on furlough? Is a partner company looking for a skill you have in-house? Employee secondment between companies is a perfectly legal, flexible, and often overlooked solution for managers of very small and small businesses. However, it's crucial to understand the rules, as even the slightest deviation can expose your company to severe penalties. Here's everything you need to know to use this system safely.
Labor lending: definition and principle
Labor lending is an operation by which a company, called lending companytemporarily makes one or more of its employees available to another company, called user companyThroughout the period of secondment, the employee performs his duties under the authority of the user company, but his employment contract with the lending company remains fully in force: it is neither terminated nor suspended.
This mechanism is based on a logic of solidarity and skills sharing between companies. It allows one company to weather a downturn in activity without laying off staff, and the other to access expertise it needs on a temporary basis, without recruiting. It's a win-win situation, provided that a strict legal framework defined in the Articles L. 8241-1 to L. 8241-3 of the Labour Code.
What's the difference with temporary work?
Temporary work is a form of staff provision profit-makingThis is reserved for temporary employment agencies (TEAs) holding an accreditation. The temporary employment agency charges a commercial fee that includes a profit margin. The loan of labor between ordinary companies, on the other hand, is necessarily non-profit : no profit margin can be made on the transaction.
What is the difference with umbrella company employment?
Umbrella companies involve a different three-way relationship: the employee is autonomous in carrying out their services, but retains a subordinate relationship with the umbrella company, not with the client company. Temporary staffing, on the other hand, transfers operational authority to the user company, while maintaining the contractual link with the original employer.
How does this differ from subcontracting?
Subcontracting implies that a company commits to a result and manages its employees to achieve it. On the other hand, temporary staffing has the sole purpose of making personnel available: the user company provides the day-to-day instructions.
The golden rule: non-profit
This is the central principle of the entire system, established by theArticle L. 8241-1 of the Labor Code : any profit-making operation whose sole purpose is the lending of labor is prohibited.
What does non-profit status actually mean?
The lending company cannot invoice the user company. that three elements, As the Ministry of Labour :
No management fees, commissions, or margins can be added to these three items. Invoicing must be completed. to the nearest euro, nothing more and nothing less. The non-profit principle also implies that invoicing cannot be lower at the actual cost borne by the lending company: under-invoicing amounts to granting an advantage to the user company, which also constitutes an indirect profit.
Numerical example: An employee receives a gross monthly salary of €2,800. Employer contributions amount to 42% of the gross salary, or €1,176. Travel expenses of €150 are reimbursed. The legally valid monthly invoice is therefore €2,800 + €1,176 + €150 = € 4Charging more than this amount would shift the transaction into the realm of illegal profit-making lending.
The risks of illegal profit-making lending and the crime of trafficking
Two distinct offences can be characterized in the event of non-compliance with these rules.
Illegal labor lending is constituted when the operation is for profit and its sole purpose is the provision of labor. According to the Ministry of LabourIn particular, it is unlawful when the lending company charges more than the actual costs (profit for the lender) or when it charges less (profit for the user).
The crime of labor trafficking, as defined in article L. 8231-1 of the Labor Code, is characterized when the loan of labor for profit causes harm to the employee concerned (lower remuneration, loss of benefits) or constitutes fraud against legal or contractual provisions.
The penalties are severe: up to 2 years imprisonment and a €300,000 fine for natural persons, and € 150 fine For legal entities (Article L. 8243-1 of the French Labor Code), these penalties can be increased to 5 years imprisonment and a €75,000 fine if the offense is committed against several people or a vulnerable person. Additional sanctions include: exclusion from public procurement contracts for 5 years, withdrawal of public subsidies, and a ban on subcontracting labor for 2 to 10 years.
Conditions of validity
For a loan of labor to be lawful, four cumulative conditions must be met, as defined by theArticle L. 8241-2 of the Labor Code and specified on entreprendre.service-public.fr.
The employee's prior and explicit agreement
The employee must give their consent in writing, before the start of the mission. This agreement takes the form of a amendment to his employment contractwhich must include:
If the employee refuse The employee cannot be sanctioned, dismissed, or subjected to discriminatory measures for this reason alone. Refusal is an absolute right.
The provision agreement
The lending company and the user company must sign a provision agreement for each employee loaned out. This document must specify:
There is no mandatory official form, but the required information is stipulated by law. A poorly drafted or incomplete agreement can, in itself, be an indication that the transaction is illegal.
The amendment to the employee's employment contract
Distinct from the inter-company agreement, the addendum is the document that personally binds the employee. It reiterates the essential elements of the agreement and formalizes the employee's informed consent. Without this signed addendum, the secondment is legally invalid.
Prior consultation with the CSE
When a Social and Economic Committee (CSE) exists in either of the companies, it must be informed and consulted before the implementation of the labor loan.
This consultation is not an optional formality: its absence may invalidate the entire operation.
The rights of the loaned employee
The seconded employee benefits from enhanced protection throughout the loan period. Here's what the legal framework guarantees.
The maintenance of the employment contract and remuneration
Throughout the duration of the loan, the employment contract that binds the employee to the lending company is neither broken nor suspendedThe employee remains part of the lending company's staff. The latter is responsible for paying their salary, preparing their pay slips, and managing their paid leave, sick leave, and any disciplinary sanctions.
Maintaining conventional benefits
The loaned employee retains the benefit of all the provisions of the agreement applicable within the lending company: collective agreement, company agreements, group agreements. He does not lose any of the benefits linked to his original status.
He also has access to the facilities and public transport of the user company, just like its own employees.
Working conditions during the secondment
The user company is responsible for conditions for carrying out the work During the period of assignment: compliance with maximum working hours, rest periods, and hygiene and safety rules specific to the position. The employer must provide the necessary personal protective equipment and train the employee on the specific risks of their work environment.
Returning to the original company
At the end of the loan period, the employee returns to his original job or an equivalent positionwithout affecting their career progression or remuneration. This means that no demotion, classification change, or salary adjustment can be imposed on the employee on the grounds of their secondment.
Since Law No. 2024-344 of April 15, 2024, the maximum duration of a non-profit labor loan has been extended to three years (compared to two years earlier), according to the Ministry of Labour.
How to set up a temporary staff loan step by step
Here are the steps to follow to organize a loan of labor according to the rules.
Step 1: Identify the need and the willing employee
Before taking any formal steps, ensure that the prospective employee is willing. Present the project to them, outlining their assigned tasks, the anticipated duration, and the working conditions at the client company. Only proceed to the next stage once they have given their consent.
Step 2: Verify the legitimacy of the operation
Ask yourself the right questions: Is the operation truly temporary? Does the user company have a need that its own employees cannot meet? Will the billing be strictly limited to actual costs? If the answer to any of these questions is no, the operation risks becoming illegal.
Step 3: Consult the relevant Works Councils
If your company or the user company has a Works Council (CSE), organize the consultation before the start of the assignment. Document this consultation (agenda, minutes) so you can provide evidence in case of an audit.
Step 4: Draft the provision agreement
Draft the inter-company agreement, ensuring it includes all mandatory information: the employee's identity and qualifications, duration, workplace, working hours, job description, and a detailed method for calculating billing. Have it signed by the legal representatives of both companies before the first day of the assignment.
Step 5: Have the amendment to the employment contract signed
Provide the employee with a reasonable period to consider the amendment. Do not have it signed on the day of departure for the assignment. The amendment must reiterate the essential elements of the agreement and specify the duration of the assignment.
Step 6: Implement mission monitoring
Don't sign the agreement and move on. Schedule regular meetings with the employee to ensure their working conditions are as agreed. Keep expense receipts and payslips for each billed period.
Step 7: Organize the return
Anticipate the end of the assignment. Prepare the employee's return to their original position and ensure that their situation (salary, classification, career prospects) has not been affected by the loan period.
Typical use cases for a micro-enterprise/SME
The loan of labor addresses concrete situations that many managers of small and medium-sized enterprises encounter regularly.
Coping with a downturn in business without laying off staff
This is the most common scenario. Your order book is temporarily empty, but you don't want to lay off employees you've trained and retained. Rather than resorting to partial unemployment, you can loan these employees to a partner company that is experiencing a surge in business. Your employee receives their full salary, you recover the costs, and you avoid losing valuable skills.
Sharing a rare skill
You have an in-house expert (a specialized maintenance technician, a developer, an experienced accountant) whom a partner company needs on an occasional basis. Rather than leaving this skill underutilized, you make it available for a few weeks or months. The client company benefits from expertise it couldn't afford full-time, and your employee gains experience in a new environment.
Inter-company cooperation within the same economic area
Companies within the same region, sector, or network can arrange cross-lending of staff according to their respective seasonal or cyclical needs. This form of cooperation strengthens ties between local economic players and allows for smoother management of human ressources without going through intermediaries.
Avoiding redundancy
When restructuring is on the horizon, temporary staffing can be an alternative to redundancy, allowing employees whose jobs are threatened to work temporarily in another structure until the situation stabilizes.
The responsibilities of each company
Temporary staffing creates a triangular relationship between the lending company, the user company, and the employee. Each party assumes specific responsibilities, and it is essential not to confuse them.
The responsibilities of the lending company
The lending company remains the employer throughout the entire period of availability. In this capacity, it assumes:
The responsibilities of the user company
The user company exercises theoperational hierarchical authority on the seconded employee. She is responsible for:
In its judgment of February 18, 2026, the Court of Cassation confirmed that both companies are bound by a safety obligation. in parallel : it is not one or the other, it is both, each in view of the obligations that the law places upon it.
Advantages, limitations and alternatives
The advantages of the labor loan
The loan of labor offers several advantages for a very small business or SME:
Limits to be aware of
The system also has real constraints:
Alternatives to consider
Depending on your situation, other solutions may meet your needs:
The employer group (GE) An employer group is an association or cooperative structure that recruits employees and makes them available to its member companies on permanent or fixed-term contracts. Unlike traditional temporary staffing arrangements, the group is the sole and direct employer of the employee. This model is particularly well-suited to SMEs that want to access specialized skills on a long-term, part-time basis without having to manage recruitment and administration themselves. As France Travail points out, employer groups allow you to employ staff according to your needs for very short periods, with no minimum or maximum duration imposed.
The interim This remains the most responsive solution for meeting a specific and urgent need. The coefficient applied by temporary employment agencies varies between 1,8 and 2,5 depending on qualifications and sector, making it a more expensive option than temporary staffing, but without the constraints of internal formalities.
Subcontracting This is relevant when you need a defined result, not simply the provision of personnel. The service provider retains control over its employees and commits to delivering a service. This arrangement avoids any ambiguity regarding the employer-employee relationship, but it assumes that the service provider company truly possesses the necessary skills and organizational autonomy.
Djaboo: Manage your human resources and projects in one place
Setting up a temporary staffing arrangement involves coordinating several elements simultaneously: monitoring agreements, managing schedules, invoicing at actual cost, and communicating with teams. For managers of very small and small businesses, this administrative burden can quickly become a deterrent.
Djaboo is a CRM tool designed specifically for small and medium-sized businesses, centralizing the management of your projects, teams, and customer relationships in one place. With an interface accessible without requiring any special technical skills, you can track your employees, manage your invoicing processes, and seamlessly run your operations, whether your team is on-site or working at a partner's location.
FAQ
Can an employee refuse to be made available as part of a temporary staff loan?
Yes, absolutely. In accordance with Article L. 8241-2 of the French Labor Code, the employee's agreement is an essential condition for the validity of the temporary staffing arrangement. A refusal does not constitute misconduct, grounds for dismissal, or grounds for disciplinary action or discrimination. The employer must find a volunteer or abandon the temporary staffing arrangement.
Is it possible to arrange a loan of labor between two companies within the same group?
Yes, but the same rules apply. There is no automatic exemption for intra-group transactions. The secondment agreement, the amendment to the employment contract, consultation with the Works Council, and invoicing at actual cost are mandatory, even between subsidiaries of the same group. Invoicing with a markup, even a nominal one, constitutes an illegal loan.
What is the maximum duration of a non-profit labour loan?
Since Law No. 2024-344 of April 15, 2024, the maximum duration is three yearsThis limit applies regardless of the initial planned duration and the number of potential renewals. Beyond this limit, the operation loses its temporary nature and becomes illegal.
What are the concrete risks for a company in the event of illegal labor lending?
The penalties are both criminal and administrative. Criminally, individuals (managers) face up to two years' imprisonment and a €30,000 fine; legal entities, up to a €150,000 fine (Article L. 8243-1 of the French Labor Code). Administratively, the company may be excluded from public procurement contracts for five years, have its public subsidies withdrawn, and be ordered to reimburse any subsidies already received. The secondment agreement may also be annulled, entitling the employee concerned to damages.
