Employing a childminder or a nanny in France: guides in English
Living in France with a young child? Families who use a registered childminder (assistante maternelle) or a home nanny usually become employers themselves. These guides explain the French rules in plain English and keep the official French terms you will see on the Pajemploi, Caf and Urssaf websites.
Guides and tools
- Childminder salary in France
How much does a childminder (assistante maternelle) earn in France? Minimum hourly rate, monthly salary, maintenance allowance and Pajemploi, explained in English.
- Nanny salary in France
Hiring a nanny at home in France: minimum hourly rate, monthly salary, overtime beyond 40 hours, Pajemploi, CMG and tax credit, explained in English.
- Pajemploi and the CMG explained
Pajemploi is how parent employers in France declare a childminder or nanny: monthly declaration, one per child, CMG childcare benefit, Pajemploi+ and tax credit.
- Childminder paid leave
How many days of paid leave does a French childminder get, how is holiday pay calculated (1/10th or salary maintenance) and when is it paid on a partial-year contract?
- Ending a childminder contract
Parent employer in France: how to end your childminder's contract (retrait de l'enfant), notice period, severance pay, final settlement and documents, in English.
- Childminder salary calculator
Free calculator in English: monthly gross and net salary of a French childminder (full or partial year, rotating schedule), maintenance allowance and Pajemploi amounts.
French terms you will come across
- Assistante maternelle (assmat)
- Registered childminder who looks after children in her own home or in a MAM. She needs an approval (agrément) from the département.
- Garde d'enfants à domicile
- Nanny working in the parents' home, also called assistant(e) parental(e). No approval required.
- Pajemploi
- Urssaf service where parent employers declare the salary every month; it calculates contributions and issues the payslip.
- CMG
- Complément de libre choix du mode de garde: the childcare benefit paid by the Caf to families who employ a childminder or a nanny.
- Année complète / année incomplète
- Full year (care all year round) or partial year (46 weeks of care or fewer): this changes how the monthly salary and paid leave are calculated.
- Mensualisation
- Spreading the yearly salary evenly over 12 months, so you pay the same amount every month.
- Indemnité d'entretien
- Daily maintenance allowance paid to a childminder for the costs of caring for your child in her home.
- Urssaf, Caf, PMI
- Social-contribution agency, family-benefits office, and the département's mother-and-child health service that approves childminders.
Amounts in force on 26 October 2026, read from our dated register of official rates and updated automatically at each revaluation.