▷ Salary portage, an adapted solution for web business?

The digital transition embraced by companies is a real advantage for IT professionals. Accelerated by the Covid crisis, the web professions are the first actors in this, strongly required to carry out the changes necessary for this transition …

Unfortunately, companies looking to make this transition to digital are often faced with low HR resources that prevent them from hiring.

Going through freelancers can be a solution to fix this. However, the steps to becoming one can seem complicated and tedious.

Self-employment, business creation (SASU, EURL, EI), payroll transport…: there are several legal statuses that allow you to operate freely. The choice of legal status determines the legal basis on which you will carry out your activity, as well as the social and tax regimes on which you will depend. Therefore, it is a very important option that deserves serious consideration.

There is no better status for a freelancer: it is up to you to choose the one that best suits your goals, preferences, project, needs, situation and activity.

In this article, we focus on salary portage, a rising status that is still unknown to the general public. Because while it is widely used by developers and other transition managers, it is less used by marketing professionals.

Note that the “freelance” status is not like that. This term simply means that you are free to choose your clients, services or prices, and this is possible through one of the laws: SASU, wages etc.

What is the salary?

A salary portage is a status that allows a person to be both a freelancer and an employee. Thus, it is defined as a hybrid professional status that combines the advantages of paid work and freelance work. According to INSEE, there are more than 3 million self-employed people in 2019, and among them there are 100,000 workers. Since then, the numbers have increased dramatically.

The legal framework for wage portability is too advanced to be legally recognized in France. According to article L. 1254-1. Decree No. 2015-380 of April 2, 2015 on the payment of wages:

Wage portage refers to an organized whole consisting of:

“1° On the one hand, the relationship between the so-called “salary carrier company” that provides services for the benefit of the client company, which gives rise to the conclusion of a commercial contract for the payment of wages;

“2° On the other hand, an employment contract concluded between a wage carrier company and an employee designated as a “transported worker” who is remunerated by this company.

Salary outsourcing works as a three-way relationship that requires an intermediary (salary company) between the person being shipped (the freelancer) and the company (the client). There are many payroll companies in France today and choosing the right one is very important.

This form of employment allows client companies to fulfill a need or service, whether short-term or not.

The process to become a supported worker is very simple. It is possible to start a new mission on the salary portage in less than 24 hours.

Supported, autonomous workers must explore and find their own tasks. However, it is not uncommon to see paid portage companies accompany independent consultants in their quest for assignments.

After defining and negotiating the terms of his mission, an employment contract is concluded between the mobile worker and the payroll company. At the same time, a service contract is concluded between the client company and the payroll company. In short, the moving company turns the invoice into a payslip for the moving worker. The latter will handle all administrative aspects, which are often perceived as tedious and time-consuming.

Salary portage and web jobs

Web players play a major role in the digital transition we are experiencing. Companies often call on freelancers to avoid various hiring restrictions. However, the steps taken to become independent can sometimes seem limiting and exhausting. To overcome this, mobile worker status is a very good alternative. Really, it’s up to the IT specialist, marketing, etc. starting work as a self-employed person easily and without risk (while maintaining stability regarding the status of an employee).

Many occupations qualify for this status:

Scrum Master
Expert (web) marketing
Web developer
communications consultant
Web editor
Community manager
web designer
web project manager
UX / UI designer
SEO/SEA
Procurement specialist
Communications Manager
data analyst
data scientist

Web professions are very diverse and constantly evolving. Their missions and clients are often highly diversified and punctual, which perfectly suits the work of a payroll porter.

Thanks to their skills, payroll portage web specialists are able to work independently and complete missions trusted by client companies without being distracted by the various tasks that traditional freelancers undertake.

What are the advantages and disadvantages?

The benefits of salary porting are many for both the company and the ported employee.

Indeed, by combining the status of an employee with the status of a freelancer, the mobile worker remains his own boss and therefore controls his own choices and working hours.

In other legal forms, administrative procedures can be a real source of anxiety and often seem tedious. By being a supported employee, you benefit from employee benefits that give you, among other things, access to business setup procedures, invoices, year-end balance sheets, and more.

The advantage of this is to save time and therefore focus 100% on their mission. Employee status provides comprehensive protection: social security, civil liability, mutual insurance, pension contributions, but also the training system such as CPF and many others.

However, wage carriage regulations require that a porter be paid a minimum wage. The average daily rate must be at least 250 euros excluding tax or 35 euros per hour excluding tax for a wage carrier company to be able to pay this minimum, the so-called “conditional wage”.

Also note that the wage portage does not have a turnover ceiling, unlike micro-enterprises where the turnover ceiling is around €70,000.

Note: it is possible to combine salary portage with other statuses.

Salary portage has many advantages for the company and its various departments, both for purchasing departments and for HR and legal departments.

For shopping

Experience using consultants with key skills and experience for the company;
Respond to an urgent request, a new project, etc. ;
Flexibility by being able to add skills without increasing your workforce on specific missions that require specialized expertise;
Simplicity by signing a service contract that governs all previously agreed contractual terms;
Cost control;
Lack of administrative management due to the management of HR tasks by an umbrella company.

For human resources

Wages are not affected;
Continue cooperation with retirees or support employees in professional transition;
Business fluctuations;
Adapting the workforce to certain needs;
Exempting you from pre-employment declarations, drawing up employment contracts, drawing up payroll, managing social and wage payments, contract termination formalities, etc. ;
Portage Company Liability Insurance;
Zero risk of re-qualification, no economic dependence, no breach of contract;
According to the order dated April 2, 2015, the lending of illegal labor is excluded.

For legal

Regulated legal framework;
Security: bank guarantee, single action;
Requalification;
Illegal labor credit is excluded;
There is no collusion crime.

As for the negative aspects, they are few, but it is important to mention them. Not all jobs are eligible for salary. Indeed, it is reserved for consulting or expert professions. Professions such as doctor, lawyer, notary… cannot be performed within the scope of the wage contract.

Another point: a commission of between 5 and 10% is charged by the salary carrier. In the end, net wages account for about 50% of turnover.

The result

In summary, salary porting is a particularly suitable solution for web professionals, as it allows them to benefit from employee status while maintaining their autonomy and flexibility.

As a self-employed worker, salary porting allows freelancers to benefit from employee social security, which includes web, marketing, and more. can be particularly useful in changing and competitive sectors such as In addition, salary portability allows you to avoid the administrative and financial restrictions associated with the creation of a company, which can be a real asset for professionals who want to devote themselves to their activities without worrying about administrative and financial aspects.

Finally, salary portability is a great way for companies to gain access to the sometimes specialized and rare skills and knowledge of experienced IT professionals over a period of time, without having to worry about hiring and managing them.