Working Time Rules: France
France: standard working hours, overtime, rest, annual leave, and record-keeping rules - a practical overview, not legal advice.
Statutory working time
Under the Labour Code (Code du travail, Art. L3121-27), the legal working week is 35 hours. The maximum is 48 hours in any single week or an average of 44 hours over 12 consecutive weeks.
Overtime
Hours beyond the 35-hour statutory week are overtime. Absent a collective agreement, they are paid at +25% for the first eight hours in a week and +50% beyond; an agreement may set other rates, no lower than 10%. An annual quota applies, and hours beyond it also give a right to compensatory rest.
Rest periods
At least 11 consecutive hours of daily rest and at least 35 consecutive hours of weekly rest.
Record-keeping
Employers must be able to account for the hours their employees work; the exact method depends on the working-time arrangement, such as a day-count (forfait-jours) contract.
What to check before you rely on this
- The current statutory limits, reference periods, and any opt-outs.
- Sector or collective-agreement rules that may override the defaults.
- How overtime is authorised, recorded, and compensated.
- What working-time records you must keep and for how long.