Create a business as a public servant
Creating a business as a civil servant: what are the possibilities? How to proceed to create a business while being in the public service? Here are the opportunities, whether you are a full or part-time public servant.
Despite popular belief, being a civil servant does not prevent you from starting a business.
If there are real constraints surrounding this specific status, it is however possible to adapt your project according to them and to realize your dream of independence.
Let us first look at the legislation for setting up a business as a public servant.
Setting up a business as a public servant: possible?
The law stipulates that any person having the status of the civil servant must devote all of his activity to carrying out the tasks entrusted to him within the framework of his mission towards the State.
The law relating to ethics and the rights of civil servants mentions and governs the prohibition to exercise a gainful activity, whether salaried or self-employed, in an annex. However, exceptions are possible and specified in the decree of January 27, 2017.
How to combine the status of a civil servant and the creation of a business?
The civil service precisely regulates the accumulation of activity.
The possibilities vary depending on the precise status and the length of the official’s working time.
Full-time civil servant.
It is impossible for a full-time civil servant to exercise a gainful activity in parallel with his mission in the public service. The only solution will be to ask for a reduction in working time.
The authorization of his superiors will be necessary. He will have to make the request at least three months before the date of creation (or takeover) of his business.
Its creation project will be examined in committee: the compatibility with its mission and the expected neutrality will be evaluated. If the conditions are met, cumulation will be possible for a period of two years, renewable for one year after filing a new application.
Part-time civil servant.
When the civil servant works part-time, the legislation is more flexible because the combination with the creation of a business is considered a priori compatible.
It is however essential to ensure, upstream of the creation process, that the ancillary activity does not prejudice the exercise of his civil servant activity. The civil servant will therefore have to declare his new activity to his superiors.
The purpose of these rules is to guarantee the civil servant’s full availability during his mission. If he were to derogate from these conditions, he would be forced to disciplinary sanctions as well as the possibility of being withheld, from the payment of his salary, the sums received during his self-employed activity.
Leave the public service to start a business.
When a civil servant wishes to leave the public service to set up a company, he must inform his superiors within a minimum of 3 months preceding the date of registration.
Business creation assistance bonus for civil servants.
It is possible to request severance pay. This can represent the equivalent of two years of remuneration.