Employment Contract Translation for France

Which document, and in which procedure

A work permit procedure in France may call for a translation of the employment contract (contrat de travail) or of a promise of employment (promesse d’embauche); the document serves to confirm the post and the terms before the préfecture or the employer. The type of contract, fixed-term (CDD) or open-ended (CDI), is carried across in the translation as it appears in the document; the translator does not alter that type by interpreting it. The document is translated with all its pages and annexes.

Because the French authority reads the post, the term and the salary as a whole, a missing annex opens the completeness of the file to question. The translation therefore covers the whole of the document.

The text of a French employment contract often takes its meaning from a reference to a collective agreement (convention collective); where the contract carries such a reference, the translation carries it across as it stands, but does not interpret its scope. References to statutes or regulations appearing in the document are carried across in the same way. The translator’s task is not to fit these references into a category of French law but to translate them faithfully, as the document has them; classification and assessment are for the authority concerned or the employer.

Annexes, working hours and the signature block

The annexes attached to the contract – the job description, the salary scale, the working hours – are included in the translation. Weekly working hours (durée du travail), the probationary period (période d’essai) and the notice period are translated exactly as the document has them. Signatures and seals are marked in square brackets; the place of signature and the date are carried across exactly. In contracts running to several pages the page order is preserved, and the translation is presented in the same arrangement as the source document.

Where the document sits in the work permit file

The work permit (autorisation de travail) procedure in France is most often begun by the employer, and the employment contract is one of the basic documents in that file. Because the authority compares the post, the salary and the working hours against the rest of the information in the file, translating the contract in full and consistently matters. The translation carries across the terms stated in the contract without interpreting them; it preserves the salary with its currency and translates the post faithfully. The type of contract (CDD/CDI) and its term can affect the scope of the permit, so both are carried across as they appear in the document. Every page and every annex of the document is included in the translation; a missing annex opens the completeness of the file to question. Where required, the translation follows either the route of a sworn translator on a court of appeal list or the Türkiye chain, and is presented attached to its source.

Title, post and the mould of French law

French employment law reads contracts by reference to a collective agreement (convention collective) and to the coefficient attaching to a post. The title in a Turkish contract is translated with its intelligible French counterpart, but it is not fitted, on the person’s behalf, to a convention collective category or to a coefficient; that would be to add a classification the document does not carry. The translator carries the post and the terms across exactly; the classification is made by the French employer or authority.

Salary, currency and the numbering of the articles

The salary is carried across as it stands, with its currency (TL/₺); it is not converted into euros, because the document shows the amount agreed in the contract. The numbering of the articles (the article arrangement) is preserved exactly; reordering the articles breaks the cross-references. Items such as the probationary period, the notice period and benefits are translated exactly as the document has them; figures and dates are preserved exactly.

The court of appeal list (Cour d’appel) requirement

A translation submitted to an official body in France has to be carried out by a sworn translator (traducteur assermenté) on the list of a court of appeal, and that condition holds for an employment contract too. Where the translation is produced in Türkiye, a sworn translator signs it, a notary certifies it and an apostille is added. Confidentiality clauses (clause de confidentialité) and non-competition clauses carry legal consequences and are therefore translated in full. Mind the following points before delivery:

• Verify that the title has not been fitted to a coefficient or a convention collective category.
• Check that the salary is preserved with its currency.
• Confirm the listed-translator or Türkiye chain and the order of the apostille.

France is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention; confirm the current position on the official HCCH list. You can see the level of certification required for other documents on our document types page, review the cost on our pricing page, and upload your document for a quote. This page is for general information and is no substitute for legal advice; confirm current requirements with the authority concerned.