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The standard working hours in France are a maximum of 35 hours (7 hours a day, five days a week) per full-time week for all companies regardless of their workforce. This is the point from which, with some exceptions, overtime is calculated.
Employees can work more than the statutory working hours either on a one-off basis (overtime) or as part of a specific working time arrangement. Specific rules apply to both circumstances.
Standard working hours can vary based on the industry and is subject to any collective bargaining agreements.
The standard working days in France are Monday to Friday.
With occasional exceptions, employees must not work more than:
Also, employees must rest at least once a week for 24 consecutive hours and must not work on Sundays (with occasional exceptions).
In the absence of an agreement, the minimum working time for a part-time employee is set at 24 hours per week or a shorter duration provided by a collective bargaining agreement.
Overtime is hours worked over the established standard weekly limit of 35 hours. There is a maximum of 220 hours of overtime per year.
No, however, an employer cannot employ an employee more than 6 days a week and employees must rest at least once a week for 24 consecutive hours. In general, employees should not work on Sundays but there are several exemptions from the right to Sunday rest.
Not strictly speaking, but it is possible to negotiate a more flexible working schedule for all employees at the company level. Working time can notably be reorganised on a multiple-week basis: the employee works an average of 35 hours over four (or more) weeks, while their working time is different each week. However, statutory restrictions on working time must be met and the employees duly informed of the working schedule.
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Yes. There is a maximum of 220 hours of overtime per year.
Unless a collective agreement provides for a different rate of overtime pay (which cannot be less than an additional 10% of the normal rate of pay), overtime pay must be paid at the rate of:
A common arrangement in France involves trading hours for more days off during the year, or RTT (Réduction du temps de travail, or Reduction of working time). Because many employees do actually work longer work weeks, this means offering a certain number of compensatory days off during the year, in addition to existing leave entitlements. This lets French workers be more flexible with their work hours.
