IT Umbrella employment
The job market in France is constantly evolving, and the IT sector is no exception to this trend. Faced with a growing need for flexibility and specialization, IT umbrella employment has become a popular solution for many independent workers, including those from British companies looking to work in France. This practice offers both significant professional freedom and advantageous social coverage, while ensuring a secure contractual relationship with clients.
A hybrid solution suitable for international mobility
Umbrella employment is a hybrid form of employment that combines the benefits of self-employment and salaried work. The independent worker, called a “contracted consultant”, entrusts the administrative management of their activity to an umbrella company, which becomes their employer and pays them a salary. In exchange, the contracted consultant carries out assignments for clients, who are billed by the umbrella company. Umbrella employment allows the consultant to focus on their expertise without having to worry about the administrative, tax, and social constraints associated with setting up and managing a sole proprietorship.
In the IT sector, umbrella employment has established itself as a solution adapted to the specific needs of professionals. Indeed, the demand for IT skills is constantly increasing, and companies often seek experts for short-term or fixed-term assignments. Developers, system architects, network administrators, project managers, cybersecurity consultants, data scientists, and other digital specialists can find varied and rewarding mission opportunities through umbrella employment.
An alternative for British companies looking to hire French talent
This system allows foreign companies to easily access a pool of French IT skills without the constraints associated with directly hiring an employee in France. The benefits are numerous:
- Simplification of the recruitment process and collaboration with French consultants: The umbrella company handles administrative formalities, such as obtaining a work visa and a residence permit for the contracted consultant, and drafting service contracts in compliance with French legislation.
- Increased flexibility: British companies can hire French consultants for short-term or fixed-term assignments, depending on their specific needs. The areas of expertise covered by IT umbrella employment are vast, including development, network administration, cybersecurity, data science, project management, and many others. Thanks to this flexibility, British companies can quickly adjust their strategy and optimize their human resources according to the evolution of their projects.
- Guarantee of a secure legal framework: The umbrella company ensures compliance with legal and social obligations in France and offers comprehensive social protection to the contracted consultant, including health insurance, pension, unemployment benefits, and professional liability insurance.
Supporting IT consultants: why is it important?
At Régie Portage, we place great importance on supporting freelance IT professionals:
Our motto at Régie Portage is that an IT consultant can more easily find a project with personalized support. And not just any project: a project close to home and within their area of expertise.
With the help of our advisors, freelance IT professionals can more easily navigate the peculiarities of a project (relationship difficulties, overload, etc.).
As much as possible, we also try to increase the chances of our consultants obtaining loans or rentals (salary smoothing, down payment).
Lastly, we support our members in maximizing their benefits:
- Maintaining salary during holidays/paid time off;
- Reimbursement of professional expenses;
- Access to the maximum social benefits (meal vouchers, profit-sharing plans, retirement savings plans, childcare vouchers, gift vouchers).
What salary can you expect?
As a rule of thumb, it is often said that a contracted consultant earns a salary equivalent to 50% of the pre-tax invoice. However, when comparing this to the salary of an IT consultant working for a consulting firm, this calculation isn’t entirely accurate. In addition, it is necessary to deduct the amounts allocated for maintaining salary during holidays and the sums set aside for the end-of-contract bonus (also called the financial reserve in section 21 of the umbrella employment collective agreement).
Salary example
For three years, Daniel was a SQL consultant for a consulting firm, earning approximately €2,800 net per month. Through perseverance, he eventually managed to secure IT project management training from his employer, along with SCRUM and ITIL4 certifications. After two years of experience as a project manager, he received so many LinkedIn notifications that he decided to offer his services as a freelance IT professional under umbrella employment. Since then, he has worked simultaneously for several consulting firms, including his former employer.
He charges an average of €800 per day under umbrella employment. Based on an average of 19 working days per month, he invoices €15,200 pre-tax per month. Without benefits or expenses, he can earn up to €7,900 net (after deducting €850 for expenses and €6,450 for social contributions) or slightly more than 51% of the pre-tax amount.
If he purchases a computer for €1,800 including tax (which is reimbursed as a professional expense) or €1,500 pre-tax, the remaining balance is €13,700, resulting in a net salary of €7,000. In the end, Daniel has earned €7,000 + €1,800 = €8,800, or 58% of his pre-tax billing.
Setting up umbrella employment
If you are now convinced that IT umbrella employment is the right solution for you, the next question is how to get started?
First, the IT consultant must secure their first assignment. To do this, they need to adapt their CV/LinkedIn profile and define a price range for their services. Before prospecting their network, they must also develop a transition strategy between being an employee and becoming a freelancer (resignation, mutual termination agreement). Note that a mutual termination agreement with your current employer is not mandatory, as the termination of the fixed-term contract by the umbrella company provides the same rights.
Once this is done, the future freelancer can prospect for clients through their existing network, job websites, or consulting firm job offers.
Finally, the consultant should define a negotiation method, such as the famous Japanese method.
Here are the topics on which we can assist you: CV adaptation – Price range – Transition strategy – Prospecting – Negotiation.