Multi-activity Compatibility: Legal Implications

Carrying out several activities at the same time is lawful under French law, and that is the guiding principle. The limits therefore do not stem from a general prohibition, but from three sets of rules that apply in parallel: maximum working hours, obligations arising from the employment contract, and specific statuses. Conflating these three levels leads to the belief that a combination of activities is prohibited when it is simply poorly organised — or the opposite, which is more dangerous.

The principle: freedom, subject to exceptions

No provision prohibits an employee from carrying out another activity outside their working hours. They may set up a company, carry out a self-employed activity, or hold a second salaried job.

This freedom has a practical consequence that is often overlooked: an employee has no general obligation to inform their employer of an activity carried out outside their working hours. This obligation only exists if a clause in the contract provides for it, or if the situation touches on one of the limits set out below.

First limit: maximum working hours

This is the strictest limit, and the only one whose breach also engages the employer's liability.

Where an employee combines several salaried jobs, the total hours worked may not exceed the statutory maximum working hours: ten hours per day, forty-eight hours over one week, and an average of forty-four hours over twelve consecutive weeks. These caps are assessed across all employers combined.

An employer who is aware of an irregular combination of jobs and allows it to continue is exposed to sanctions. This is why many employers request a signed declaration confirming compliance with the maximum working hours: this request is legitimate, even though no information about the nature of the activity is owed.

Combining salaried employment with a self-employed activity does not count towards this cap, as self-employed activity is not counted as working time. The calculation of hours owed under the first job remains governed by the ordinary rules, set out in our article on overtime.

Second limit: obligations arising from the contract

Three distinct mechanisms, often confused with one another:

The duty of loyalty applies without any clause being needed. It prohibits the employee from carrying out an activity that competes with their employer's business during the term of the contract, and from diverting customers or information. It applies at all times, including during leave and periods when the contract is suspended.

The exclusivity clause prohibits any other professional activity, even a non-competing one. Its validity is conditional: it must be essential to protecting the company's legitimate interests, justified by the nature of the task, and proportionate to the aim pursued. A general exclusivity clause, inserted as a matter of course in every contract, is regularly set aside. It is, moreover, unenforceable for a set period against an employee who sets up or takes over a company, as well as against part-time employees — for whom it would amount to prohibiting them from supplementing their income.

The non-competition clause only takes effect after termination of the contract. Its validity requires it to be limited in time and space, to protect legitimate interests, to take account of the specific features of the job, and above all to include financial compensation. Without compensation, it is void.

The distinction is decisive: a poorly drafted exclusivity clause does not prevent a combination of activities during the term of the contract, and a non-competition clause, even a valid one, has no effect while the contract is ongoing. These stipulations fall within the general obligations set out in our article on the employer's legal obligations.

Third limit: specific statuses

Certain statuses reverse the principle.

Civil servants are, in principle, subject to an obligation to exercise their duties exclusively, with tightly regulated exceptions: production of intellectual works, ancillary activities subject to authorisation, and temporary combination for setting up a company.

Certain regulated professions have their own incompatibilities, set out in their regulations or code of conduct, independently of employment law.

Combining employment with a pension is subject to specific rules depending on the scheme and on whether the pension has been drawn at the full rate or not, with direct consequences for the continued payment of the pension.

Social security and tax consequences

Combining activities creates parallel affiliations. An employee who also carries out a self-employed activity contributes to both schemes, with specific rules of attachment for health insurance and for pensions. Income is declared in its respective categories — salaries and wages on one side, industrial and commercial profits or non-commercial profits on the other — and is aggregated to determine total income.

Two points require particular attention: health cover falls under the scheme of the main activity according to precise criteria, and exceeding certain turnover thresholds in a self-employed activity changes the applicable social security scheme without prior notice.

Usage scenarios

Employee setting up a self-employed activity. Check for the existence of an exclusivity clause, whose temporary unenforceability against company founders applies precisely in this situation. The duty of loyalty, on the other hand, applies without any clause being needed: the activity set up must not compete with the employer.

Combining two part-time jobs. The key check is compliance with the maximum working hours across all employers combined. An exclusivity clause in a part-time contract is, in principle, ineffective.

Employee carrying out another activity from home. The place of work changes nothing as regards the rules, including for an employee working remotely. What matters remains the effective separation of working time and compliance with the maximum working hours.

Frequently asked questions

Do you have to inform your employer? Not in principle, unless a contractual clause provides for it. The employer may, however, request a declaration confirming compliance with the maximum working hours, which does not inform them of the nature of the activity.

Is an exclusivity clause always valid? No. It must be essential to protecting the company's legitimate interests, justified by the nature of the task, and proportionate. It is set aside for a given period for company founders and, in practice, for part-time employees.

Can you work for a competitor? No, during the term of the contract: the duty of loyalty prohibits it without any clause being necessary. After termination, only a valid and paid non-competition clause can prohibit it.

What are the maximum working hours to comply with? Ten hours per day, forty-eight hours over one week and an average of forty-four hours over twelve weeks, across all salaried employers combined.

Does a self-employed activity count towards these caps? No, it is not counted as salaried working time. The duty of loyalty and any exclusivity clause, however, continue to apply.

Can a civil servant combine activities? The principle is that of exclusive performance of duties, with tightly regulated exceptions that are often subject to prior authorisation.

Key takeaways

Combining activities is free as a matter of principle. What governs it comes down to three independent levels, to be checked separately: maximum working hours, which apply across all salaried employers combined; the terms of the contract, distinguishing between the duty of loyalty, which always applies, the exclusivity clause, which is only valid if justified, and the non-competition clause, which only takes effect after termination; and specific statuses, which sometimes reverse the principle.

The most common mistake is to invoke a non-competition clause to prohibit a combination of activities during the term of the contract. It serves no purpose there. The only basis that can be used during performance of the contract is loyalty, and it requires no clause at all.