Starting second-hand selling on parental leave: what the law allows

The idea comes up often, and it makes sense. You are on parental leave, you spend your days at home, you sort through children's clothes that have grown too small, and you tell yourself that this time could be used to build something.

In principle, the activity is made for it: it is done from home, in sessions, with no set hours. Except that there is one rule almost nobody knows about before looking into it, and it completely changes the picture.

Better to say it straight away, because it is the heart of the matter.

The rule most people miss

Statutory parental leave, the kind an employee takes with their employer, bans you from carrying out any other professional activity. This is not a grey area or a matter of interpretation: it is written in the French Labour Code, in article L1225-53, and the only exception provided for concerns childminding.

In other words, opening a sole trader business to buy and resell clothes during statutory parental leave is not allowed. Neither full-time nor part-time, and the fact that your employer is unaware of it changes nothing.

It is a rule that surprises people, because it differs from the one that applies to an employee in post. An employee who is working can set up a self-employed activity alongside their job, subject to their duty of loyalty and any exclusivity clause, as we explain in our article on combining it with a salaried job. On parental leave, the ban is broader.

Clearing your wardrobe is not a professional activity

We now need to draw a distinction between two things everyone mixes up, and the difference is essential.

Selling goods that belong to you, because you no longer wear them or because your children have grown, is part of managing your own personal affairs. It is not a professional activity. No one will hold it against you for reselling your eldest's clothes that have become too small, or for clearing out your wardrobe while the baby sleeps.

Buying to resell is something else. As soon as you buy a bundle at a thrift shop with the intention of putting it back up for sale, you are running a business. Repetition, organisation, selling on behalf of someone else: all of that characterises a commercial activity, which requires registration and therefore falls under the ban.

The line is not a question of amount but of intent and regularity. Two or three boxes of family clothes is a wardrobe clear-out. A monthly restock at the thrift shop is an activity, whatever the turnover.

And if your personal sales end up exceeding certain thresholds, they can have tax consequences even without being a professional activity. The subject is developed in our guide on the status of the second-hand seller.

Family benefits add their own conditions

If you receive a benefit linked to caring for your child, its conditions layer on top of those of the Labour Code, and they do not say the same thing.

These benefits generally depend on the level of activity you keep: full stoppage or reduced activity, with different amounts depending on the case. Setting up a self-employed activity, even a modest one, can therefore change your entitlements.

On this precise point, do not rely on a blog article or on an account read in a group. The rules evolve and depend on your exact situation, the number of children and the date of birth. A call or a message to your benefits office, describing precisely what you have in mind, will give you an answer you can rely on. It is ten minutes well spent.

What you can do during this period

The ban covers carrying out an activity, not preparing for it. And that is where parental leave becomes genuinely useful, because most sellers who fail, fail on things that can be prepared in advance.

Clear out your own wardrobe and your children's. You have the volume, you have the time, and it is the best training ground there is. You learn to photograph, to describe, to set a price, to reply to a lowball offer, to package and to ship, with no financial risk since you are not buying anything back.

Find your niche. This is the decision that has the most effect on results and the one that demands the most observation. Look at what sells, at what price, at what pace. A period when you can observe the market without pressure is a real and rare advantage.

Scout your sources. The thrift shops, the reuse centres, the restocking days, the car boot sales in your area: this map is built by visiting, not by reading. You can draw it up without buying anything.

Get trained. Your legal status, margin calculation, keeping records, organising a week: all of this is learned beforehand, and it is what makes the difference between a clean start and six months of fumbling.

The options if you really want to start now

Three routes exist, and they all involve changing your situation rather than getting around the rule.

Cut short or do not renew your parental leave. The leave is taken in renewable periods. Going back to your job, possibly part-time, puts you back in the position of the working employee, where combining activities becomes possible again under conditions.

Switch to ordinary part-time work. Be careful not to confuse the two: part-time work taken as part of statutory parental leave remains subject to the same ban. It is ordinary part-time work, outside the scheme, that opens the possibility of setting up alongside it.

Wait until the leave ends. This is the least spectacular option and often the most sensible. A resale activity requires real availability for sourcing, shipping and replying to buyers. With a young child and no childcare, many sellers discover that the time available on paper is not effective working time.

What to remember

Statutory parental leave bans you from carrying out any other professional activity, with childminding as the only exception. Setting up a resale sole trader business during this period is therefore not possible.

Selling your own belongings and your children's remains perfectly legitimate: it is managing personal goods, not running a business. The switch happens at buying to resell, not at the amount taken in.

If you receive a family benefit, check your conditions with your benefits office before taking any step: they add to those of your employer and do not say the same thing.

And above all, this period is not wasted. Clearing your wardrobe, choosing your niche, scouting your sources and getting trained are exactly the four things on which a successful start is decided, and they can all be done before registration. When you take the plunge, you will start with a head start most people do not have. It is also the moment to choose the tools you will work with, so you do not have to redo everything six months later.

FAQ

Can you set up a sole trader business during parental leave?

Not during statutory parental leave taken with an employer. Article L1225-53 of the French Labour Code prohibits an employee on statutory parental leave from carrying out any other professional activity, the only exception being childminding. This ban also applies to part-time work taken as part of parental leave. Public-sector staff fall under separate rules, to be checked with their own administration.

Am I allowed to sell my children's clothes during my parental leave?

Yes. Reselling goods that belong to you, because they are no longer worn or because your children have grown, is part of managing your own personal affairs and not a professional activity. The line is crossed at buying to resell: as soon as you source from thrift shops or in bundles with the intention of putting items back up for sale, you are running a business, which requires registration.

Can selling online reduce my family benefits?

Benefits linked to caring for your child depend on the level of activity you keep, with different amounts depending on whether the activity has stopped completely or has been reduced. Setting up a self-employed activity, even a modest one, can therefore change your entitlements. The rules evolve and depend on your exact situation: contact your benefits office and describe your plan precisely rather than relying on someone else's account read elsewhere.

What is the difference between a wardrobe clear-out and a commercial activity?

It is not a question of amount but of intent and regularity. Selling your family's belongings that have become useless is a wardrobe clear-out, even if the total reaches several hundred euros. Buying bundles every month to put them back up for sale is a commercial activity, even at a low turnover. Selling on behalf of other people is also a professional activity.

What can I prepare during my parental leave?

The ban covers carrying out the activity, not preparing for it. You can clear out your own wardrobe and your children's, which is the best possible learning with no financial risk. You can observe the market to choose your niche, scout the thrift shops and the restocking days in your area, and learn about your legal status, margin calculation and organisation. These are precisely the four points on which a successful start is decided.