French authorities crack down on ‘cash-in-hand’ work practices

Thousands of employers were penalised for hiring workers ‘on the black’ in France last year, social security body Urssaf reported in its latest bulletin. 

The organisation carried out over 38,000 actions including preventative (to advise on correct practice) and targeted (where fraud has been identified), against employers and workers for illegal cash-in-hand practices.

The targeted actions totalled 7,665, a 13% increase on 2024, with the vast majority resulting in unpaid contributions being collected.

Overall, the organisation recuperated over €1.5 billion in unpaid social security contributions and fines against malpracticing companies.

This is slightly lower than the €1.586 billion in 2024, but again almost double that of preceding years – in 2023, some €788 million was recuperated.

Urssaf increased the number of warnings against employers by 25%.

Since the start of 2025, around 13% of identified fraud cases relate to tax credits when using the ‘Pajemploi’ or ‘Cesu’ systems. 

As a reminder, individuals who employ workers using cash-in-hand at home (without declaring it to Urssaf) risk the same penalties as major companies. 

Law debate in parliament

The government estimates that working ‘au noir’ (cash-in-hand) costs France up to €7 billion per year, and has made reducing the practice a major element of a new anti-fraud bill. 

A major concern is the prominence of subcontractors for non-EU companies, often Chinese e-commerce sites, understood to regularly employ people cash-in-hand. 

The bill, debated in parliament, would allow the state to target both subsidiaries using cash-in-hand workers and their parent companies. 

Currently, only subcontractors themselves can be targeted, allowing the company to simply restart operations elsewhere. 

Penalties would also be issued quicker, replacing the current 15-day closure period for companies using cash-in-hand employment with a 48-hour period. 

The bill has already been approved by the Senate, and is currently being debated by MPs. 

It faces opposition from left-wing MPs however due to its wider elements which include authorities having greater access to certain data of benefits receivers, requiring all benefits to be paid to a bank account in the SEPA (European) system, and greater powers for the France Travail service.