Temporary work in Monaco: how intérim works, your rights and the agencies

The short version

Intérim is a large part of how Monaco's economy staffs itself — several thousand temporary workers at any time, concentrated in construction, industry, hotels and restaurants, and office work. What surprises people arriving from France or Italy is that Monaco has no law on temporary work at all. The Principality's labour law is a set of separate statutes rather than a code (see employment law in Monaco), and none of them deals with the three-way relationship between an agency, a client company and a temp.

The sector filled the gap itself. Since 1991 the temporary-work agencies have operated under a Code de déontologie signed through their syndicate — the Syndicat des Entreprises de Prestations de Services et de Personnel Intérimaire (EPSPI), affiliated to the FEDEM — most recently revised on 7 July 2016. Its signatories include Adecco, Manpower, Elit Intérim, Boss Intérim, Interplus and M.I. Monaco, and the code notes that even the one non-member agency accepts it. This page explains what that code and the ordinary law give you as a temp, and how an employer should use the system. For the wider job-search picture — the Service de l'Emploi, where offers are published, the agencies' addresses — see finding a job in Monaco.

The legal frame: what applies and what does not

What applies. A temporary-work company is an employer like any other under Monegasque law. That brings in loi n° 729 of 16 March 1963 on the employment contract, ordonnance-loi n° 677 on working time (39 hours, overtime at +25% then +50%), loi n° 739 on wages, loi n° 619 on paid leave, and the minimum wage with its compulsory 5% supplement. Temps are declared to the Caisses Sociales (CCSS for health, CAR for the pension) and, like every employee in Monaco, are covered by French unemployment insurance. And crucially, agencies are subject to loi n° 629 of 17 July 1957 on hiring priority and the work permit exactly like any employer — a temp agency cannot be used to get around the six-tier priority described on the job-search page.

What does not exist. There is no Monegasque equivalent of the French rules on contrat de mission, no statutory list of forbidden uses, no statutory maximum duration, no legal délai de carence between missions. The press has reported since 2019 that the Government has a bill drafted to fill the gap — the version described in 2023 would list the situations in which a temp contract cannot be used and cap recourse to intérim at 24 months in the same company — but as of September 2026 no such law has been passed. Until it is, the code of ethics is the operative rulebook, and it is worth knowing what it says.

What the Code de déontologie commits agencies to

Three grounds for recourse. A client may call on a temp for seasonal work, for a temporary increase in activity, or to replace an absent employee. When it books the temp it must state the ground, describe the post and give the approximate duration.

Three situations the syndicate asks its members to refuse. Particularly dangerous work; the six months following a redundancy (licenciement économique) at the client, unless the Inspection du Travail grants a derogation; and replacing staff during a collective dispute.

The work permit is the agency's. The temp is the agency's employee, and holds a permis de travail issued for the agency and for the activity concerned. The agency checks every temp's status — permit, residence, right to work — before the first mission, and the code states that without a permit refusal is automatic. For the client this is the main attraction: the permit paperwork sits with the agency.

A financial guarantee. Every signatory agency must post a bond of at least €75,000 from a bank, insurer or mutual guarantee company, covering unemployment, pension and prévoyance contributions if the agency fails, in addition to the wage guarantee of the collective agreement. If the client goes bankrupt, the agency guarantees the temp's wages for the work done.

Pay parity. A temp's base pay is that of a permanent employee of equivalent qualification in the same post at the client — the client's collective rates apply. On top come overtime and the usual Monegasque premiums, holiday pay for public holidays, and the two indemnities below.

Two indemnities specific to intérim.

• Indemnité de fin de mission (IFM): 10% of gross pay, paid at the end of the mission or monthly. Not due if the temp breaks off a mission early without the agency's agreement, or is hired on a CDI by the client at the end of it.
• Indemnité compensatrice de congés payés: at least 10% of pay for every mission. Construction temps affiliated to the Caisse des Congés Payés du Bâtiment (CCPB) are paid their holidays by the CCPB instead, once they have worked at least 8 hours in the reference year — in a full year that is four weeks in summer and one at Christmas, and a holiday bonus above 1,400 hours.

Hiring by the client. The code treats the mission as a two-way trial: the client may hire the temp permanently, provided it respects the hiring priority at that moment and applies for its own permit.

Training and medical follow-up. Signatories undertake to train temps according to need, and temps go through the same occupational-medicine visits with the OMT as permanent staff.

What a temp should check on the first payslip

• The base hourly rate is at least the client's rate for the job — and never below the Monegasque SMIC plus the 5% indemnité exceptionnelle.
• The 10% IFM and the 10% holiday indemnity appear as separate lines (or, for construction, the CCPB affiliation is shown instead of the holiday line).
• Overtime beyond 39 hours a week is at +25% for the first eight hours and +50% beyond.
• Your CCSS and CAR registration numbers are on the slip; you pay nothing for health cover, 6.85% for the pension and 2.40% for unemployment — the same as any employee (social security).
• The mission's stated ground and approximate duration match what you were told.

If something is missing, the agency is your employer and your first call. If the agency will not fix it, the Inspection du Travail at 17 rue Princesse Florestine (+377 98 98 87 26) is the authority, and the Tribunal du Travail is the court.

For employers: intérim, CDD or direct hire?

What it costs. Agencies bill an hourly rate built as the temp's gross pay multiplied by a coefficient that covers employer contributions (roughly 35–40% in Monaco), the two 10% indemnities and the agency's margin. There is no tariff agreement between agencies — the code only commits them to prices that reflect wages and direct and indirect charges — so ask for the coefficient per profile and compare. For most posts the all-in cost is materially above a direct CDD, which is the price of flexibility and of not carrying the permit.

What you must still do. Give the agency a precise post description and its risks, provide safe working conditions and equipment, and respect the same working-time rules as for your own staff — the client is responsible for health and safety on its premises. You may not use a temp to replace staff on strike or, within six months of an economic redundancy, without the Inspection's agreement. For the full employer side — registrations, declarations, contributions — see hiring in Monaco and employer obligations.

The agencies

All the main agencies do both intérim and permanent placement; details checked on their own sites in September 2026.

• Adecco Monaco — 4 rue Baron de Sainte-Suzanne. Two agencies under one roof: industry/office (+377 97 97 53 00, monaco.m10@adecco.mc) and construction (+377 97 97 54 00, monaco.m11@adecco.mc). Monday–Friday 8:00–12:30 and 14:00–18:00. In Monaco since 1990.
• Manpower Monaco — 15 rue de la Turbie. Temp agency +377 97 97 47 47; recruitment consultancy +377 92 00 24 38. Intérim, CDD, CDI, apprenticeships and interim management.
• Randstad Monaco — 11 boulevard Albert 1er, +377 93 30 08 83. Construction, industry, hotels and restaurants, with Expectra (executives) and Appel Médical (healthcare) at the same address.
• Local independents — around fifteen more, listed in the Monaco business directories: Monte-Carlo Intérim, Elit Intérim, M.I. Monaco, MGTT, Essential TT, Boss Consultant and others, often specialised in hotel and event staffing or construction.

Candidates never pay an agency. The full table with what each one covers is on the finding a job page.

Related

• Finding a job in Monaco: the Service de l'Emploi, the agencies and the offers
• Work permits in Monaco
• Employment law in Monaco: the framework
• Employment contracts and their types
• Workplace rights and the Inspection du Travail
• Hiring local vs cross-border workers
• Minimum wage in Monaco