Getting started in teaching

Once you find work as an independent teacher you have to decide on the best way of carrying out that work administratively.

Any income earned in France must be declared however informally or irregularly this employment may occur.

If you are only looking at doing the odd hour of teaching here and there you could look at using the cheque emploi service universel.

It is used by people to pay for home services, such as private lessons with your employer paying you with a particular type of cheque.

Being paid in this way means you are declared and therefore receive social benefits and will be covered for any kind of accident at work.

To enter the system an employer must first register with their local branch of URSSAF in the Chèque Emploi Service department and will be able to benefit from tax reductions. See www.cesu.urssaf.fr for more information.

If you are looking to earn a living rather than just pocket money as an independent teacher you will have to set yourself up as a business.

One option is the use of portage services, or umbrella companies.

Many people now operate through this work organisation which enables a teacher (in this particular case) to charge their services through the umbrella company who, in turn, invoice the student.

The teacher is hired as an employee for the duration of the project.

The umbrella company deals with all the social security paperwork and takes a percentage of the consultant's pre-tax fee. This can vary between 3% and 10%.

The alternative is to set up as self-employed. The first step is to decide what category you fit into.

Language-orientated jobs are considered professional libérale, defined as an intellectual service, as opposed to commerçant, shopkeepers or small traders who sell products, or the artisan craft person.

The next step is to determine what sort of statut juridique or legal structure is suitable. The entreprise individuelle or one-person business is the least complicated option.

A first visit to the Centre de Formalités des Entreprises (the company formalities centre) is necessary. For profession libérale, this is URSSAF, the organisation that collects contributions for France's social security system.

Once you are registered, you receive a 14-figure SIRET which means you can start invoicing clients.

No matter how little you earn you still have to pay social charges which vary between 27 and 35% of income.

Serena Di Iorio (pictured) registered her business in Nice and recommends taking up professional advice if your French is not of a reasonably high standard.

She said: "There is a lot of admin and you definitely have to have a good grasp of French to understand all the different forms.

“Also people should make sure they get every reduction they can.”

Working 'on the black' can have serious consequences. According to the Code du travail such activity can result in three years in prison, a €45,000 fine and the sentences can be doubled in the case of a second offence.

Various other sanctions can also be taken against an offender including the banning of an individual from carrying out the activity in question, and company could face a €225,000 fine and being shut down.