Getting a Job in Rural Brittany - October 2006
Comments from the author:
This article details my experiences of finding work in rural France. It is not meant to be a definitive guide and is bound to contain many factual errors (and mabye a few spelling mistakes, as well). However, factual errors (and spelling mistakes) aside, it tries to explain (to the best of my knowledge) what one needs to do to find work and what one can expect (having found it).
Obviously, as soon as they're published, any figures are going to be out of date. This data is as accurate as I can make it, as of 24th October 2006. To find out why I decided to move to France (and what I did before), take a look at... About Me
How I got my job
When I first moved over to France in November 2002. I was intending to start a business providing professional IT support to the English speaking community over here. However, I quickly realised that...
1). There's a huge difference between the corporate IT support that I did in London, compared to normal, home IT.
2). The lure of a regular paycheck (with associated benefits) was rather tasty.
3). By intending to only service the English speaking community, I was ignoring 99% of the total community (and associated revenue/profits) and....
4). By working, I might learn to speak a little French.
Thus, I went to ManPower (in Ploermel). I told them that I would do anything. 2 hours later I was being interviewed at a poultry abbatior at Serent. Not quite what I expected (or, was used to) but after being walked through the abbatoir (which was the total extent of the interview) I was told to turn up at 6am the next day.
I worked there for a week and although I hated my first 3 days, I soon grew to enjoy it. My colleagues were great (considering that I was useless!). I wasn't asked to do anything too horrible. My overiding memory was Christmas Eve, working in the packing department (with lots of girls) with "Eye of the Tiger" & "We are the Champions" being played over and over again on the PA.
After Christmas, I went back to ManPower. I started work at another abbatior the next day (you have to bear in mind that, at the time, my French was only good for buying a beer or buying fishing tackle - in other words, holiday French).
The job
I had a contract for one day's work in a department where the pallets and crates are washed. My job was to man an 'indoor carwash' sort of machine. The contract ended up being for eight weeks. When it finished (to the relief of my colleagues), I got a 4 week extension in the packing department. There, my job was to put crates onto 2 production lines so that 22 very pretty girls could pack the pork chops into carboard boxes.
It was the hardest work that I have ever done but also, probably, the most enjoyable. I didn't have a clue but everyone seemed to adopt me and try to explain - that's a very French thing, I think.
When the 4 weeks came to an end, I got a 9 month CDD (temporary) contract. That was a bit of a suprise as many of the other temps didn't get taken on (or were only given 3 month contracts). I decided to repay my boss's confidence in me by working hard, very hard. It must have worked as, when my 9 months came to an end, I was offered a CDI (permanent) contract.
Once again, my colleagues on CDD contracts (who, by now, were my good friends) were laid off. I felt sorry for them but, if I had been the boss, I would laid them off as well (more of which later).
I've since moved to the bottom of the packing lines to a large hall where I'm responsible for putting the cardboard boxes onto pallets. It's not quite as easy as it sounds as I have 71 different products and 41 different methods (depending on the product, who the product is for and what day of the week it is). I manhandle 65 tonnes of 'bits of dead pig' each day.
Since January of 2004 (when I got my CDI) I have moved from co-efficient 130 to 140, then to 160 (June 2005), to 180 (July 2006) - according to the Union, it normally takes 11 years for that to happen.
As I've spent today training someone else to do my job, I have a nice warm feeling that I'm going to be moving again. This time from the packing hall to the office (much warmer, and another payrise as well).
What has worked for me?
I worked hard - my boss asked for 100% but expected 80%. I gave him 110%.
I was cheerful - it makes a big difference.
I was interested in my work.
I kept my work area tidy - my boss and I are the only 2 people (out of a team of 50) who notice litter on the floor (and, obviously, pick it up and put it in the bin).
I didn't know (or understand) the un-written rules that all my French colleagues have grown up knowing (how to pull a sicky, in other words).
I didn't spend most of my time talking - well, I couldn't, could I?
I helped my colleagues - even if it wasn't my job to do so.
Contracts and Wages
Wages
For manual work, expect to start around about 1000 euros take home per month (if temp, perhaps a bit more as you would be paid for overtime - here it is easy to pick up some overtime if you show willing. Perhaps not all companies are the same).
However 1000 euros equates to (£670) = £154 weekly basic take home plus....
13th month bonus (you get it weekly/monthly if you are a temp) = £19
Holiday pay (5 weeks a year - paid as 13th month) = £14
Total weekly take home (for temp) = £187
It's a bit different for CDDs as you get the 13th month bonus, the holiday pay and an additional bonus (I think 10% of the total earned) at the end of the contract (assuming you don't get a CDI) which is one of the reasons that French youngsters don't go directly from one job to another - too much money in pocket at end of contract (I think I'd be the same if I was young and didn't have to put food on the table).
This all assumes that 1 euro = £0.669
We all tend to assume that wages are terrible here but minimum wage in France is about the same as minimum wage in the UK but, in France we get the 13th month bonus and the end of contract bonus as well.
You shouldn't ignore any benefits that might be on offer. I get staff discount on our products - I pay trade price (or less) for my pork chops. I get cheap tickets to football matches. There's a subsidised restaurant - Steak and chips, starter, side salad and soft drink for just over 4 euros. I now really feel part of my local community (and my local community feels that I am part of them, too). Paid sickleave. Paid holidays. 13th month bonus. Lots of friends. A legal right to training. Free medical checkups.
And probably a whole host of other things that I now take for granted.
Contracts
There are 3 basic types of job contracts in France (a more detailed listing can be found here.... http://brittany.angloinfo.com/countries/france/contracts.asp) ....
Interim - this is being a temp. There is no stigma to being a temp in France. Adecco is the second largest employer here (after the state).
CDD - this is a fixed term contract. In other words, guaranteed work for 3, 6 or 9 months. Your employer is only allowed to give you two of these. After that he either has to lay you off or give you a permy contract which is...
CDI - permy contract. Once you get one of these it is very difficult to get laid off. It costs a lot of money to lay off someone with a CDI!
You won't get a CDI straight away (unless you are incredibly lucky or have a skill that is in demand). You will have to start as an Interim, work hard and hope for a CDD. When the CDD ends, if you are lucky (I was) you'll get a CDI.
Co-efficients
France has a standard pay rate system (as least as far as I have encountered pay in France). This is called SMIC and guarantees a minimum wage for all. Within each business, there are augmentations to SMIC (so that staff can be motivated and people with higher skills can be paid more).
I can only explain it as it is implemented here at EuroPig.
From what I can understand, the Syndicate have negotiated wages rates throughout the company. These are related to SMIC (minimum wage).
The rates are for manual work, the butchers (or people with other desired skills) might start at a higher rate.
When we start work (at the abbatior) on a CDD, we all start on coefficient 130. I believe that this relates to about 950 euros take home.
After six months, we move to coefficient 140 - about 1000 euros, take home.
A lot of people stay on this forever - most of the girls on the packing lines are on coefficient 140 and have been for many years.
As an encouragement to keep you from looking for other work or, as a reward for hard work, the next step up is coefficient 160. This is worth about 1070 euros a month, take home.
Finally, coefficient 180 is for 'key people'. It used to be used to reward long service but our new Director General believes that people should be rewarded for contribution rather than how many years they have worked. I agree.
I got to coefficient 180 very quickly and that caused me some problems (my colleagues who took 10 or 12 years to get there didn't speak to me for a few days - nothing that upset me - if I were them, I would have been upset too).
After my first year here I did start getting a Prime d'Anciennete (part of aforementioned take home) - this is about 14 euros a month. I believe that it goes up to about 50 euros after 5 years.
I also get a Prime D'Assidute which is 30 euros a month - not too sure what this is for. I think that it is because I turn up for work, 5 days a week.
There is also a payment (about 1 euro a day) for wear and tear on my clothing.
One of my colleagues is a junior teamleader and he is on coefficient 200 - I don't know what that is worth but I understand it is quite a big jump up from coefficient 180.
If I were to transfer (within the group) to, for example, the egg packing place at Ploermel, I would keep my current coefficient but would take home slightly less as the deal that the Syndicate has negotiated there takes into account that the work is not as hard as abbatoir work. Thus, the coefficients that I quote will be different in different industries and in different regions (more in cities, I think).
How to get a job
Go to your local agency and tell them you'll do anything.
Hey, even if you end up in an abbatoir (which is probably the worst place where you could end up) - you're not going to be asked to kill anything. That's a specialist job!
Where I work, my workplace is a large hall; there are piles of pallets, pallets loaded with boxes, maybe a forklift or two. And that's all. I used to see more blood and guts when I was an IT manager in the city, before I moved to France - it's true!
When you go to the agency, go early. If we're short staffed, we phone ManPower at 8AM. If you're the guy/gal hammering on the door at 7.55am, it'll be easier for the agency staff to give you the temp job than to phone round all the jobseekers on their list (getting them out of bed etc.).
If you go to the agency and there's nothing available, go back the next day. Thiery (one of my friends at work) wasn't looking too well today - he's got a bad cold. I don't think he'll be in tomorrow. I think we'll be phoning ManPower tomorrow at 8am to source a replacement for him. If you'd been to ManPower today, there might not have been any work - tomorrow, there will be. I'm sure.
It might also be worth printing out 20 or so copies of your CV (in French and in French format) and sending them off (or better, delivering them) to any local industries that you might like to work for. The advantages of that would be that you would only be focusing on local businesses (thus less travelling costs) and you could choose which businesses you wouldn't want to work for.
This might work very well as many firms have strict rules about staffing levels. Thus, if someone goes sick, that firm might be requied to pelaced the poor guy/girl with a temp. If ouy've just handed your CV in then you might get chosen because the alternative (to go to an agency) costs about 12% more (agency markup).
Why would your boss want to employ you?
We, the Brits, have a reputation for working hard. I have friends (French) on temp contracts who outright refuse to do my job. "I'm not paid enough to do that", they tell me. They're the guys on co-effiecient 130 (i.e. 200 euros a month less than me) who aren't going to get taken on. And they just don't understand why (no matter how hard I try to explain the facts of life to them).
We don't spend all our time talking - most of the time, we can't!
We tend to be grateful - very grateful!
