Conditions of employment of a contractor in the public service

Verified 20 February 2026 - Public Service / (Prime Minister)

Are you a public service contractor and wondering about your contract, your remuneration, your leave entitlements, etc.? We present you the useful information according to your public service (State - FPE, territorial - FPT, hospital - FPH).

Any job offer is published on the website Choosing the public service.

The offer specifies that the job concerned is open to contract workers.

The vacancy or job creation notice shall include, in particular, following information :

Job vacancy date
Missions of the post
Qualifications required to perform the duties
Experience and/or skills expected of the candidate
Diplomas and training required by regulation
Conditions of practice and, where applicable, subjections job-specific
Legal basis for opening up employment to a contractor.

The vacancy or job creation notice also lists the documents required to apply and the application deadline.

The deadline for applying may not be less than 1 month from publication date the vacancy or job creation notice.

The administration acknowledges receipt of each application.

Shortlisted candidates are invited to one or more recruitment interviews.

The recruitment interview(s) shall be conducted by one or more persons belonging to the recruiting administration.

For the organization of the interview(s), the administration may use the videoconferencing. In this case, the job offer shall indicate whether the use of videoconferencing may be requested:

Either only by candidates residing in a French overseas territory or abroad, in a situation of disability, in a situation of pregnancy or whose state of health requires it
Either by any candidate.

If you wish to use videoconferencing, the hiring administration will inform you of the material conditions for organizing the interview.

Information on the ethical obligations of the public official is given to you during the interview.

The administration decides on the follow-up to the recruitment procedure.

It shall inform, by any appropriate means, unsuccessful candidates of the decision to reject their application.

You are recruited by written contract.

Your contract includes the following information :

Legislative provision and, if applicable, paragraph under which you are recruited
Identity of the parties
Address of agent and employer administration
Start date and duration of the contract
Employment held and hierarchical category to which it reports
Place(s) of performance of the duties, or, if you do not have a fixed or principal place, an indication that the duties are performed in more than one place and, where the duties are performed abroad, a reference to the State(s) in which they are performed
Duration of the trial period and possibility to renew it
Amount of remuneration, components, periodicity, payment terms
Rights and obligations
Conditions of employment (working time, particular subjects...)
Where applicable, rights and obligations specific to the job held.

Your contract also includes a precise definition of the reason for recruitment, where it is concluded on any of the following grounds :

Temporary replacement of an absent agent
Temporary vacancy pending the recruitment of a staff member
Temporary or seasonal increase in activities.

If you are recruited to fill a temporary vacancy, pending the recruitment of a staff member, the specific job description is attached to your contract.

Your work certificates issued by previous state administrations are attached to your contract.

If you are recruited on a project contract, your contract must include the following additional clauses:

Description of the project or operation
Definition of the tasks to be accomplished
A precise description of the event or objective result that will determine the termination of the contract and the conditions for evaluating and controlling this result
Possibility of early termination by your employer community
Right to payment of compensation for early termination of contract.

You also receive communications essential information and rules concerning the performance of your duties.

Your contract may include a trial period.

The duration of the trial period shall be determined by the administration within the following limits :

1 working day per week of contract duration up to a maximum of 3 weeks for a CDD less than 6 months

1 working day per week of contract term up to 1 month for CDD less than 1 year
1 working day per week of contract term up to 2 months for CDD less than 2 years
1 working day per week of contract term up to 3 months for a CDD of 2 years or more
1 working day per week of contract duration up to 4 months for a CDI.

The trial period can be renewed 1 time for a maximum duration equal to its initial duration.

The duration of the trial period and the possibility to renew it must be specified in the contract.

No notice is required when either party wishes to terminate the contract during or at the end of the trial period.

No probationary period can be provided if your contract is concluded or renewed by the same administration to perform the same functions or occupy the same job as before.

Your remuneration is set by the administration.

In particular, it shall take into account the following:

Functions occupied
The qualification required to exercise them
Your qualification and experience.

Your compensation can take into account your professional results and the collective results of your service and evolve within your administration.

Your remuneration consists of index treatment, and possibly, of a residence allowance, of a family treatment supplement and bonuses and allowances.

If you are in CDI, your remuneration is reassessed at least every 3 years, in particular in light of the results of your professional interviews or the evolution of your functions.

Your remuneration is also reassessed at least every 3 years, if you are employed in CDD on permanent employment with the same employer administration for the following reasons :

Absence of a body of State officials capable of performing the functions you perform
Recruitment justified by the nature of the functions or the needs of the services (in particular to perform functions requiring specialized or new technical skills or in the absence of an application from a State official with the appropriate expertise or professional experience for the tasks to be performed)
Recruitment on a job not requiring statutory training leading to tenure in a corps of State officials
Recruitment on an incomplete job.

You must have completed the 3-year period on a continuous basis.

If you are recruited on a project contract, your remuneration may be reassessed during the contract, in particular in the light of the results of your annual professional interview.

Upon presentation of a medical certificate, you are placed in sick leave.

In case of serious condition requiring prolonged treatment and care, you can be placed in sick leave provided that they have at least 4 months' seniority.

In the event of an accident at work or occupational disease, you benefit from leave during the entire period of incapacity for work until your complete recovery or consolidation from your wound.

In case of pregnancy or adoption, you benefit from a maternity leave or of adoption or a leave of 3 days of birth or for adoption and a paternity and childcare leave.

Annual leave

You are entitled to a annual leave under the same conditions as an official.

Leave for family reasons

If you are employed for more than a year, you are entitled, at your request, to leave without pay for one of the following reasons :

Raising a child under 12
Giving care to a dependent child, to your spouse or partner of Civil partnerships or to a ascending as a result of an accident or serious illness or a disability requiring the presence of a third party
Following your husband or Civil partnership partner forced to move for professional reasons.

This leave is granted for a period of 3 years maximum.

It may be renewed if the conditions for obtaining it are still met.

It is granted in a maximum period of 2 months from the receipt of your request.

However, in the case of leave to care for a loved one, the leave begins on the date of receipt of your request, in the event of an emergency related to the state of health of the injured, sick or disabled person.

You must request the renewal of your leave or re-employment by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, at least 3 months before the end of your leave.

In the absence of a request within this period, you are considered as giving up your job.

The administration shall inform you without delay in writing of the consequences of your silence.

If you do not reply within 15 days, your contract will be terminated automatically and without compensation at the end of the leave.

You can ask for the early termination of your leave by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, at least 3 months in advance.

However, in case of serious reasons, especially in case of a decrease in your household income, you can be re-employed as soon as the administration receives your request.

Whether you apply for early reinstatement or return to work on schedule, you are re-employed on your previous job to the extent that operational requirements permit. If this is not possible, you have a priority to be re-employed on a similar job with equivalent pay.

If you are in CDD, this re-use applies for the remainder of your contract.

Leave for personal convenience

If you are in CDI, you can benefit from unpaid leave for personal convenience if the service requirements allow it.

To be eligible for this leave, you must not have taken company-creation leave or vocational training leave of at least 6 months during the 6 years preceding your application.

Leave for personal convenience is granted for 5 years maximum renewablewithin the 10-year limit for all contracts concluded in the public service.

You must send your leave request to the administration by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt at least 2 months before the start of the leave.

You must request the renewal of your leave or re-employment by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, at least 3 months before the end of your leave.

In the absence of a request within this period, you are considered as giving up your job.

The administration shall inform you without delay in writing of the consequences of your silence.

If you do not reply within 15 days, your contract will be terminated automatically and without compensation at the end of the leave.

You can ask for the early termination of your leave by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, at least 3 months in advance.

However, in case of serious reasons, especially in case of a decrease in your household income, you can be re-employed as soon as the administration receives your request.

If you are in CDD, this re-use applies for the remainder of your contract.

Warning

If you are recruited on a project contract, you cannot take leave for personal convenience.

Leave for Creating a company

You can take unpaid leave to start or resume a company.

Such leave shall be granted subject to service requirements and compatibility of the envisaged activity of the company with the functions performed during the previous 3 years.

The duration of this leave is one year renewable once.

You must send your leave request to the administration at least 2 months before the start of the leave by registered letter with .

It must indicate the desired start date and length of leave and the nature of the company's activity that you plan to start or resume.

You must request the renewal of your leave or re-employment by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, at least 3 months before the end of your leave.

In the absence of a request within this period, you are considered as giving up your job.

The administration shall inform you without delay in writing of the consequences of your silence.

If you do not respond within 15 days, your contract will be terminated automatically and without compensation at the end of your contract.

You can ask for the early termination of your leave by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, at least 3 months in advance.

However, in case of serious reasons, especially in case of a decrease in your household income, you can be re-employed as soon as the administration receives your request.

If you are in CDD, this re-use applies for the remainder of your contract.

Warning

If you are recruited on a project contract, you cannot take company creation leave.

Leave to prepare for a competition, for internship or schooling

You may, at your request, be granted unpaid leave if you are eligible to take a preparation for a public service entry competition.

It may also be training for access to one of the following jobs:

Military employment
Employment of official of parliamentary assemblies
Magistrate of the Judiciary
Employment of the international civil service.

This leave may also be granted to follow a probationary period or a period of schooling prior to the internship.

This leave is granted for the duration of the preparatory cycle, the internship or the schooling.

It is renewed automatically when these periods are extended.

If, at the end of the internship, you become a permanent employee, your contract is automatically terminated without compensation or notice.

If you are not a permanent member or a successful candidate, you will be re-employed on your previous job to the extent that operational requirements permit. If this is not possible, you have a priority to be re-employed on a similar job with equivalent pay.

Warning

If you are recruited on a project contract or to deal with a temporary increase or seasonal activity, you cannot take this leave.

Other leave

You can benefit, possibly under seniority requirements and subject to service requirements, the following leave:

Parental Leave
Family solidarity leave
Parental Attendance Leave
Caregiver Leave
Unpaid leave of up to 6 weeks to travel overseas or abroad for the adoption of one or more children
Unpaid leave of up to 15 days per year for family reasons
Vocational Training Leave
Leave for Validation of Experience (VAE)
Leave for skills assessment
Period of professionalization
Leave for Union Training
Health, safety and working conditions training leave if you are a staff representative on the social committee
Leave for representation
Citizenship Leave.

You can make a mobility, under certain conditions, through a provision or a mobility leave:

Making available

If you are in CDI, you can be made available with your consent.

Mobility Leave

You can take mobility leave if you are in CDI and are recruited by another public employer (general case) or if you are recruited on a government management job.

General scenario

If you are in CDI, you can apply for mobility leave if you are recruited by the same employer administration or by another public employer that cannot immediately recruit you to CDI.

Such unpaid leave shall be granted if the service requirements allow it.

It is granted for 3 years maximum, renewable up to 6 years in total.

You must request the renewal of your leave or re-employment at your home administration by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, at least 2 months before the end of your leave.

In the absence of a request within this period, you are considered to have given up your employment and are not entitled to any compensation.

If you apply for re-employment, you are re-employed on your previous job to the extent that operational requirements permit. If this is not possible, you have a priority to be re-employed on a similar job with equivalent pay.

When, during or after the maximum period of 6 years, you are offered a CDI by your host administration, you must resign from your home administration.

You can take a new mobility leave provided that you return to work for at least 3 years.

Mobility on a State management job

You can apply for a mobility leave if you are recruited on a state management job.

In this case, you cannot be denied mobility leave.

Mobility leave can be granted whether you are in CDI or CDD.

At the end of the leave or if you cease your duties for reasons other than disciplinary, you are re-employed on your previous job or on an equivalent job in your home administration.

If you are in CDD, this re-use applies for the remaining term of the contract.

Please note

If you are recruited in CDD on a project contract, you cannot take mobility leave to take up a position in the State’s executive.

If you were recruited because of the nature of your duties or the needs of the services, the renewal of your contract is only possible in the absence of an official application corresponding to the desired profile.

This is particularly the case if you have been recruited to perform functions requiring specialized or new technical skills or if you have been recruited in the absence of an official with the appropriate expertise or professional experience to carry out the tasks you perform.

Your contract can only be renewed by written decision of the administration.

If you have been recruited on a renewable contract, the administration must inform you of its decision to renew or not by respecting a notice period.

The notice period depends on the duration of your previous contract(s):

8 days when the duration of the previous contract is less than 6 months
1 month when the duration of the previous contract is 6 months or more and less than 2 years
2 months when the duration of the previous contract is equal to or greater than 2 years
3 months in case of passage in CDI.

The decision to renew or not renew your contract must be preceded by an interview when your contract is renewable in CDI or when the term of your contract or all your contracts on a permanent job is greater than or equal to 3 years.

To calculate the length of the notice period, all of your contracts are taken into account (not just the last contract).

In case of interruption between 2 contracts, the 2 contracts are taken into account if the interruption did not exceed 4 months and if it is not due to your resignation.

The notice period is counted from date to date from the end of the contract.

You must give your answer within 8 calendar days.

If you refuse to renew your contract, you are considered involuntarily deprived of employment and are entitled to unemployment benefits provided that your refusal is motivated by one of the following reasons:

Legitimate ground relating to personal considerations
Or substantial modification of your contract not justified by the administration.

In the absence of a decision by the administration at the end of a CDD, your retention gives rise to a new CDD.

The term of this new contract is the term of the original contract or a term agreed between you and your administration.

Warning

If you are employed on a project contract, the period of advance notice is different.

At the end of your contract, the administration issues you a certificate that contains only the following information:

Date of your recruitment and end of contract date
Functions held, the category to which they belong and the length of time they were held
Where applicable, periods of leave which do not constitute periods of actual work.

When the duration of your contract, including renewal, has not exceeded 1 year, you can benefit, under certain conditions, from a termination indemnity commonly called precariousness allowance.

Any job offer is published on the website Choosing the public service.

The offer specifies that the job concerned is open to contract workers.

The vacancy or job creation notice shall include, in particular, following information :

Job vacancy date
Missions of the post
Qualifications required to perform the duties
Experience and/or skills expected of the candidate
Diplomas and training required by regulation
Conditions of practice and, where applicable, subjections job-specific
Legal basis for opening up employment to a contractor.

The vacancy or job creation notice also lists the documents required to apply and the application deadline.

The deadline for applying may not be less than 1 month from publication date the vacancy or job creation notice.

The administration acknowledges receipt of each application.

Shortlisted candidates are invited to one or more recruitment interviews.

The recruitment interview(s) shall be conducted by one or more persons belonging to the recruiting administration.

For the organization of the interview(s), the administration may use the videoconferencing. In this case, the job offer shall indicate whether the use of videoconferencing may be requested:

Either only by candidates residing in a French overseas territory or abroad, in a situation of disability, in a situation of pregnancy or whose state of health requires it
Either by any candidate.

If you wish to use videoconferencing, the hiring administration will inform you of the material conditions for organizing the interview.

Information on the ethical obligations of the public official is given to you during the interview.

The administration decides on the follow-up to the recruitment procedure.

It shall inform, by any appropriate means, unsuccessful candidates of the decision to reject their application.

You are recruited by written contract.

Your contract includes the following information :

Legislative provision and, if applicable, paragraph under which you are recruited
Identity of the parties
Address of agent and employer administration
Start date and duration of the contract
Employment held and hierarchical category to which it reports
Place(s) of performance of the duties, or, if you do not have a fixed or principal place, an indication that the duties are performed in more than one place and, where the duties are performed abroad, a reference to the State(s) in which they are performed
Duration of the trial period and possibility to renew it
Amount of remuneration, components, periodicity, payment terms
Rights and obligations
Conditions of employment (working time, particular subjects...)
Where applicable, rights and obligations specific to the job held.

Your contract also includes a precise definition of the reason for recruitment, where it is concluded on any of the following grounds :

Temporary replacement of an absent agent
Temporary vacancy pending the recruitment of a staff member
Temporary or seasonal increase in activities.

If you are recruited to fill a temporary vacancy, pending the recruitment of a staff member, the specific job description is attached to your contract.

Your work certificates issued by previous state administrations are attached to your contract.

If you are recruited on a project contract, your contract must include the following additional clauses:

Description of the project or operation
Definition of the tasks to be accomplished
A precise description of the event or objective result that will determine the termination of the contract and the conditions for evaluating and controlling this result
Possibility of early termination by your employer community
Right to payment of compensation for early termination of contract.

You also receive communications essential information and rules concerning the performance of your duties.

Your contract may include a trial period.

The duration of the trial period shall be determined by the administration within the following limits :

1 working day per week of contract duration up to a maximum of 3 weeks for a CDD less than 6 months

1 working day per week of contract term up to 1 month for CDD less than 1 year
1 working day per week of contract term up to 2 months for CDD less than 2 years
1 working day per week of contract term up to 3 months for a CDD of 2 years or more
1 working day per week of contract duration up to 3 months for a CDI.

The trial period can be renewed 1 time for a duration at most equal to its initial duration.

The duration of the trial period and the possibility to renew it must be specified in the contract.

No notice is required when either party wishes to terminate the contract during or at the end of the trial period.

No probationary period can be provided if your contract is entered into or renewed by the same community to perform the same duties or occupy the same job as before.

Please note

If you are recruited on a managerial functional employment, the trial period may be a maximum of 6 months.

Your remuneration is set by the administration.

In particular, it shall take into account the following:

Functions occupied
The qualification required to exercise them
Your qualification
Your experience.

Your compensation can take into account your professional results and the collective results of your service.

It consists of a index treatment and optionally of a residence allowance, of a family treatment supplement and bonuses and allowances.

If you are in CDI, your remuneration is reassessed at least every 3 years, in particular in light of the results of your annual professional interviews or the evolution of your functions.

Your remuneration is also reassessed at least every 3 years, if you are employed in CDD on permanent employment with the same community for the following reasons :

Lack of a framework for public servants to perform the functions you perform
Recruitment justified by the nature of the functions or the needs of the services and if no territorial civil servant could be recruited
Recruitment on a job of a municipality of less than 1,000 inhabitants or a group of municipalities of less than 15,000 inhabitants
Recruitment on a job of a new commune resulting from the merger of communes of less than 1,000 inhabitants, during the 3 years following the creation of the new commune or until 1^er renewal of city council
Recruitment on a non-full-time job with a working time of less than 17 hours 30
Recruitment on a job of a municipality of less than 2,000 inhabitants or a group of municipalities of less than 10,000 inhabitants whose creation or elimination depends on the decision of an authority that is binding on the community.

You must have completed the 3-year period on a continuous basis.

If you are recruited on a project contract, your remuneration may be reassessed during the course of the contract, in particular in the light of the results of the annual professional interview.

If you are recruited on a functional executive job, you are classified in one of the steps corresponding to this job according to the duration and level of your previous professional experience. You can also benefit from the compensation accessories and bonuses and allowances corresponding to these jobs.

Upon presentation of a medical certificate, you are placed in sick leave.

In case of serious condition requiring prolonged treatment and care, you can be placed in sick leave provided that they have at least 3 years' seniority.

In the event of an accident at work or occupational disease, you benefit from leave during the entire period of incapacity for work until your complete recovery or consolidation from your wound.

In case of pregnancy or adoption, you benefit from a maternity leave or of adoption or a leave of 3 days of birth or for adoption and a paternity and childcare leave.

Annual leave

You are entitled to a annual leave under the same conditions as an official.

Leave for family reasons

If you are employed for more than a year, you are entitled, at your request, to leave without pay for one of the following reasons :

Raising a child under 12
Giving care to a dependent child, to your spouse or partner of Civil partnerships or to a ascending as a result of an accident or serious illness or a disability requiring the presence of a third party
Following your husband or Civil partnership partner forced to move for professional reasons.