dmu

"Jupiter" is certainly hoping to, but potential newcomers shouldn't hold their breath...

HKG3

While I am not trying to give false hope to the OP, but would it be possible if the OP and his wife take on low level jobs not a lot of French people are willing to do (like being a farmhand?) or zero hour contracts in France?

HKG3

Given his party has full control of the French parliament, it is possible. He may be able to do what Margaret Thatcher did in the UK during the 1980s.

BritInParis

En Marche! has an absolute majority in the National Assembly but very few senators.

EuroTrash

Zero hour contracts in France wash your mouth out HKG3!
The new labour laws are causing enough fuss over things like making short term contracts slighly more flexible. Precarity is seen as a great social enemy. France is millions of light years away from allowing zero hours contracts.
Which is a big part of why unemployment is so high... but at least people who have jobs, have a degree of security.
Likewise, there is a lot of solidarity in the agricultural sector, ref all the farmers' demos etc. It's a bit of a closed shop. Yes there is seasonal work, but even then it helps if you have experience and a farming background.

dmu

It would be possible (and even then, many "foreigners" are already doing this), provided that they're declared, with social security contributions paid. As mentioned above their joint income must be 3-4 times the rent, otherwise French landlords won't consider their application. Money in the bank doesn't count.... A short-term rental of a gîte would be less complicated, but the Authorities might not consider that such a rental agreement complies with their requirements. Something to look into...
With all the info and pointers given so far, the OP knows what to expect if he still intends to use France for the S.S. route! I wish him well
P.S. Missed out on the mention of zero hour contracts. What are they? I've been too long out of the UK to know what it means....

HKG3

As far as I know, a zero hours contract is for the employer to offer someone a job but without any guarantee on the number of working hours. You can 'work' for zero hours (i.e. no work) to as many hours as your employer offers in a week.

HKG3

May be so, but one needs to remember the same thing was said when Thatcher came up with her labour relations policies in the 1980s.

dmu

Even if this existed in France, the Authorities would consider it insufficient for the OP's application. In his circumstances, he needs a regular-income salaried job.

EuroTrash

As I understand it and someone will correct me if I'm wrong, it's basically what we used to call casual work but these days the employer keeps you on the books even during the periods when he has no work for you, so you still count as employed and off the UK chômage statistics even though you have no work and no income.

The thing is HGK3 that French labour law has always been very strong on workers rights and even the tiniest change that erodes these rights is met with lots of opposition. In the UK it was just the union men fighting for workers rights but here it's the culture. Some years back the government was considering scrapping the entire auto entrepreneur scheme because although it enabled people to earn a living, it was felt that it was too "precarious", and a precarious living that gives a false sense of security is worse than no sense of security at all. Hard for us Brits to understand but that's a mindset that people hold here. So from contracts that give the employer next to no wiggle room at all as regards CDDs (in what circumstances they can be offered, minimum duration, minimum hours, how many times they can be renewed, obligation to provide health top up, etc etc etc), to contracts that let him pick workers up and drop them again at will, is just not going to happen in our lifetime, it's unimaginable. IMHO.

Tweedpipe

The french unions CGT, CFDT, FO etc would bring back the guillotine and enforce it's use before allowing zero-hour work contracts - such is their might!

cyrian

Zero hours contracts also take away several employee protections.
No holiday pay. You can have holidays but on zero pay. There are statutory minimum holiday entitlements.
No sick pay. As above your sick pay is zero pay.
No notice for termination of employment. Statutory notice but on zero pay.
Zero hours contracts can undermine all the legal entitlements that most people would consider to be fair in a caring society. (USA excluded )

BritInParis

The flipside to that is the normal obligations you have to your employer are also taken away - no fixed hours and flexible shifts so you only work when you want to.

holly_1948

Yes, exactly.
The OP needs to understand that the British strictly require a showing that he has been "economically active" to qualify under Surinder Singh.

I don't think "economically active" is a term of art, rather it has its plain meaning. To most people this means employment. Unless one is wealthy, experienced in business administration and worldly wise enough to be setting up a bona fide business. With the emphasis on bona fide. Licences, advertising, offices etc..

So the OP (the UK citizen, not the spouse) will need to get employed for some months, at least on and off. It doesn't matter that the job(s) may be short term, poorly paid or part time. But it does matter that the job is 100% above board, honest, no under-the-table dealings. That is to say the employer must do the necessary paperwork, preferably deducting income tax at source since this clearly demonstrates the required "economically active" status.

The problem, of course, is that a lot of the opportunities requiring little language skill, experience and part time etc. are also commonly with "employers" who wish to take short cuts with the tax people and/or the business regulators. And that kind of thing will only lead to tears in a context of Surinder Singh.

cyrian

Quite correct but uk employers don't offer zero hours contracts to benefit their employees. It basically reduces the (potential) costs to the business.