Two employment contracts, one umbrella status
Umbrella employment always rests on the same three-way relationship: you negotiate the mission and the daily rate with the end client, the umbrella company signs the commercial contract, and you are bound to that company by a genuine employment contract. French law has recognised two forms of it since the 2015 ordinance: a fixed-term umbrella contract (CDD) or a permanent umbrella contract (CDI). Under both, you are a salaried employee in the full sense — monthly payslips, complete social protection, pension and insurance cover. The financial mechanics are identical too: management fees of 5 to 10%, employer contributions of around 42%, employee contributions of around 22%, leaving a net income that typically lands between 47% and 55% of invoiced turnover.
The payslip may look much the same either way, but almost everything else differs: how long you are committed, how the contract ends, what happens to your unemployment rights, and — the blind spot most contractors discover too late — how a mortgage lender will read your file. Here are the four differences that actually matter.
Duration and renewal: how long are you committed?
The fixed-term contract tracks a single mission
The fixed-term umbrella contract is shaped around one specific assignment. Its duration is capped at eighteen months, renewals included, with a flexibility specific to umbrella employment: the end date can be pushed back by up to three months so you can prospect for your next mission while remaining an employee. It suits projects with a clear finish line — a cloud migration, a compliance programme, the delivery of a defined product, or short-term reinforcement on an application run. You know when you start, and you know when you leave.
The permanent contract spans successive missions
The permanent umbrella contract has no end date. The employment contract stays live while missions follow one another: each new client is documented through a simple mission schedule or annexe, with no new employment contract to sign and no break in status between clients. One important nuance: between missions the contract survives, but the umbrella company is not obliged to pay you. That is exactly what the financial reserve of around 10%, built up during invoiced periods, is designed for — cushioning the gaps.
Termination: a scheduled end date or a negotiated exit
A fixed-term contract simply expires on its agreed date, with no procedure and no negotiation. The trade-off is rigidity along the way: early termination is only possible in limited cases — mutual agreement, gross misconduct, force majeure, or leaving for a permanent role elsewhere. An end-of-contract indemnity is also payable under the ordinary rules, subject to the statutory exceptions.
The permanent contract offers the three classic exits of salaried employment: resignation if you want a quick departure, a mutually agreed termination (rupture conventionnelle) if you want to control the timing and protect your rights, or dismissal in the situations set out by the sector's collective agreement, notably after a prolonged period without client activity. You keep control over when and how you leave — a genuine lever when a client offers you an internal role or a personal project takes shape.
| Criterion | Fixed-term (CDD) | Permanent (CDI) |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum duration | 18 months, renewals included | None |
| End of contract | Automatic on expiry | Resignation, agreed termination, dismissal |
| Access to unemployment benefit | Yes, when the term is reached | Yes, except plain resignation |
| Mortgage file | Harder to defend | Read as a standard permanent contract |
Unemployment rights: two routes to the same benefit
Both contracts can lead to the French unemployment benefit known as ARE, but not by the same route. The expiry of a fixed-term umbrella contract is, by nature, an involuntary loss of employment: provided you meet the affiliation condition — at least six months worked over the last twenty-four — your rights open without difficulty when the term arrives.
Under a permanent contract, everything depends on how you leave. A plain resignation generally closes the door to benefits; a mutually agreed termination or a dismissal keeps it open. The practical rule is simple: if you expect a long gap between missions or a career pause, plan your exit with your umbrella company rather than let it happen to you.
For cross-border consultants working in Luxembourg while living in France, EU coordination rules apply in both cases: full unemployment is compensated by the country of residence, based on the salaries earned in the country of employment. The choice of contract does not change that rule — but it does determine whether your job loss counts as involuntary.
Mortgage applications: where the permanent contract earns its keep
For many contractors in their thirties and forties, this is the deciding factor. Banks think in categories: a permanent contract past its probation period, backed by regular payslips, ticks the boxes of their scoring grids, whereas a fixed-term contract or a self-employed status triggers requests for extra evidence, income discounts or an outright refusal. The permanent umbrella contract holds a structural advantage here: on paper — and in law — it is a permanent employment contract, supported by traceable monthly salaries.
Two adjustments maximise your chances: smooth your salary rather than mirroring your invoicing, so your income looks stable month after month, and build a track record of twelve months of payslips or more before submitting your file. Our salary calculator shows the regular net salary your daily rate can produce once fees and contributions are deducted — the exact figure your lender will look at.
Which contract fits your situation?
There is no universally better contract, only the right contract for where you stand today:
- You are trying umbrella employment on a first mission: the fixed-term contract is a natural entry point. Validate how the model works, then switch to a permanent contract if the experience convinces you.
- You chain missions across several clients: the permanent contract avoids rebuilding a contract at every change and gives you a valuable continuity of status.
- You are preparing a property purchase: the permanent contract is the obvious choice, paired with a smoothed salary and a solid payslip history.
- You are planning a single mission before another chapter — a return to salaried employment, a move abroad, founding a company: the fixed-term contract offers a clean exit with automatic unemployment rights.
Think of the choice as a sequence rather than a fork in the road: nothing stops you starting on a fixed-term contract and signing a permanent one once your pipeline stabilises. To find your next assignment, browse our open IT missions with major accounts; and if you are still weighing the two contracts, book a call with our team — we review your daily rate, your property plans and your mission horizon before you sign. Secure, optimise, innovate: that is precisely what a well-chosen contract is for.
