A person wishing to work freelance can generally choose between wage portage and self-employment. While it is true that it is possible to combine these two statuses, each of them exists fully by itself and is distinguished by its own operating rules.
Wage portage is a work model combining salaried work and freelance work. Under contract (CDD or CDI) with a carrier company, the employee carried is always free to negotiate his contracts and choose his missions. The company is responsible for carrying out all the administrative, accounting and tax procedures. The carried employee receives each month, in the form of salary, the turnover he has achieved and from which the charges are deducted (generally, 50%). With the wage portage status, the turnover is not capped.
While being self-employed, the employee is entitled to the same benefits as other employees: health insurance, unemployment benefit in the event of inactivity, etc.
The auto-entrepreneur status, which has become a micro-entrepreneur since 2016, was launched in 2008 to offer a simplified legal and administrative framework to self-employed workers. Adopted by service providers such as graphic designers, web developers or even personal coaches, it is essentially characterized by simplified accounting.
The creator of the micro-enterprise has the only obligation to keep a log of entries and exits, in order to be able to declare a turnover. Turnover is capped at €70,000 for services and €170,000 for commercial activities. The taxes incumbent on the micro-entrepreneur then depend exclusively on this turnover, and are zero if he has not made any sales.
Affiliated to the social system for the self-employed (RSI), the auto-entrepreneur or micro-entrepreneur only benefits from minimal social protection. He receives reimbursements for his health expenses only through his personal contributions. Furthermore, he is not entitled to unemployment benefits.
In Law No. 83-634 of July 13, 1983, on the rights and obligations of civil servants, article 25 septies authorizes employees to carry out various professional activities outside their employment contract. Like all employees, the ported employee therefore has the right to work freelance, in parallel with his wage portage contract.
The accumulation of auto-entrepreneurship and wage portage can then be done with one or the other of these two statuses as the main status. The free choice is up to the self-employed person.
To associate a wage portage contract with an independent exercise, it will be necessary to ensure compliance with certain principles. In any case, this formula seems perfect for finding the right balance between autonomy and ease of management, while having the right to social protection.
The combination of micro-enterprise and wage portage provides access to the advantages of these two statuses, while eliminating their disadvantages. Thanks to this dual status, the salaried freelancer has on the one hand the autonomy that any self-employed worker seeks, and on the other hand the social protection that any employee enjoys. He can be reimbursed for professional expenses by deducting them from his taxes, benefit from unemployment benefit, etc. At the same time, if the turnover ceilings of the micro-enterprise remain valid, portage makes it possible to optimize its income.
By working both as a micro-entrepreneur and as an employee, the professional is free to direct his service contracts towards one status or another. However, he must ensure that certain rules are observed.
The first principle to be respected in order to reconcile wage portage and micro-enterprise is to choose a main status. To make the most of the combination of these two statuses, it is recommended to opt for wage portage as the primary status.
When he exercises with the double status of micro-entrepreneur and supported employee, the freelancer is bound by the obligation of loyalty. This obligation is based on articles 1104 and 1194 of the Civil Code, and on article L1222-1 of the Labor Code. It therefore conducts its activities within the limits of what is specified in any exclusivity clauses. The employee and micro-entrepreneur must also respect the maximum working time (legal duration = 35 hours/week, maximum duration with overtime = 48 hours/week).
In the end, it seems easy to combine micro-enterprise and wage portage, these two statuses being complementary to a certain extent. The real challenge lies in the capacity of the freelancer to organize his activity well and to manage his finances effectively, in order to live fully from his skills.
