France's working time rules are among the most structured in Europe. For foreign employers, the concept of RTT, Réduction du Temps de Travail, or reduction of working time, is often the first source of confusion. It is not annual leave. It is not overtime. It is a category of its own, rooted in French labour law, and it affects payroll, scheduling, and HR administration in ways that matter from day one of employing staff in France.
This guide is written for HR managers and business leaders who are not familiar with the French system. No prior knowledge of French employment law is assumed.
What is RTT? The basics of France's working time reduction system
A note on terminology. Throughout this guide we refer to additional rest days, commonly called "RTT" (Réduction du Temps de Travail). Strictly speaking, the legal term "RTT" applies to employees on hourly contracts working more than 35 hours per week. For executives on a forfait jours (day-rate package), these are technically jours de repos supplémentaires (additional rest days) linked to the annual day cap rather than the weekly 35-hour threshold. In everyday practice, French employers, employees and payroll systems use "RTT" for both categories. We keep the term "RTT" here because it is the one you will encounter on payslips and in contracts, but the legal distinction matters when drafting employment agreements.
RTT days are additional paid days off granted to employees who work more than 35 hours per week, France's statutory working week. They are a mechanism to compensate for the hours worked above that threshold without triggering overtime pay for every extra hour.
The concept exists because French law sets a strict ceiling on working time, but simultaneously acknowledges that many roles require more than 35 hours. RTT is the legal compromise: work more, but receive time off in return.
The Loi Aubry and the 35-hour week: where RTT comes from
France reduced the statutory working week to 35 hours through two pieces of legislation: the Loi Aubry I (Law 98-461 of 13 June 1998) and the Loi Aubry II (Law 2000-37 of 19 January 2000), named after then Labour Minister Martine Aubry.
These laws did not simply cut working hours. They introduced a framework where companies could maintain longer working weeks, in practice, many roles operate at 37 to 39 hours, provided employees received compensatory days off. Those days are RTT.
For a foreign employer, the key takeaway is this: the 35-hour week is a legal reference point, not a rigid daily reality. Many French employees work more than 35 hours. RTT is how the system balances that out.
RTT vs annual leave (congés payés): they are not the same thing
This distinction matters. Annual leave (congés payés) is a statutory entitlement of 25 working days per year, accrued at a fixed rate. RTT days are separate, variable, and conditional on working more than 35 hours.
If you are familiar with the UK's Time Off In Lieu (TOIL) system or the US concept of comp time, RTT may feel superficially similar, but it is not. The table below illustrates the key differences:
In short, RTT is more formalised and legally structured than TOIL or comp time. For a foreign employer, this means you cannot manage it informally.
RTT vs overtime: the employer's choice
When an employee works more than 35 hours, you face a choice: compensate through RTT days or pay overtime (heures supplémentaires). The two mechanisms are not cumulative, you select one framework at the time of contracting and formalise it in the applicable collective agreement.
Overtime above the legal annual contingent of 220 hours triggers compulsory compensatory rest. RTT, by contrast, distributes the compensation throughout the year in a more predictable way. For most companies employing white-collar staff, RTT is the preferred route.
Who is entitled to RTT days in France?
Employees working more than 35 hours per week (hourly contracts)
Full-time employees on standard hourly contracts who work more than 35 hours per week are entitled to RTT days. The number of days depends on how many additional hours they work above the 35-hour threshold, calculated over the full year.
Executives on a "forfait jours" (day-rate package): a French specificity
The forfait jours is a distinctly French employment arrangement with no direct equivalent in UK or US law. Under this scheme, certain employees, typically managers and professionals who have genuine autonomy over how they organise their working time, are not tracked by the hour. Instead, their contract defines a maximum number of working days per year.
Important: for these executives, the correct legal term is jours de repos supplémentaires (additional rest days), not RTT. The mechanism is different: where RTT compensates for weekly hours above 35, forfait jours rest days compensate for annual days worked above the cap. The word "RTT" is still used in practice on most payslips and in company policies, but the distinction matters when you are drafting a contract or facing a labour inspection.
The default statutory ceiling is 218 days per year (Article L3121-64 of the Code du travail). This is a maximum: each collective bargaining agreement sets its own day cap, often below 218 (for example 215 or 216 days under certain sectoral agreements). Identifying the applicable CBA and the exact day cap it provides is therefore the very first step. Any day worked beyond that contractual cap translates into an additional rest day. The forfait jours must be explicitly agreed in writing and covered by a valid collective agreement authorising the scheme.
If you are hiring a senior manager or a technical lead in France, it is highly likely they will be on a forfait jours arrangement. Understanding the rest day entitlement that comes with it is essential before you draft the contract.
RTT and part-time employees in France
Part-time employees working fewer than 35 hours per week do not accumulate RTT, as they are already below the statutory threshold. Self-employed contractors (auto-entrepreneurs, freelancers) are outside the scope of the Code du travail entirely. Public sector employees are subject to a separate regime with its own RTT rules, which differ from private sector arrangements.
For part-time staff on a forfait jours arrangement, a less common but legally possible configuration under some agreements, RTT is calculated on a prorated basis. The terms must be explicitly set out in the employment contract and ratified by the applicable collective agreement.
How many RTT days are employees entitled to?
The number of RTT days is not fixed by law. It varies by year, by working arrangement, and by the applicable collective agreement.
Calculation method 1: actual hours
For employees on standard hourly contracts, the formula is:
(Hours worked per week − 35) × working weeks per year ÷ 7 = RTT days
Example for 2026: an employee working 38 hours per week accumulates 3 additional hours per week. France has 252 net working days in 2026 (261 Monday-to-Friday days minus the 9 public holidays that fall on a weekday). Deducting 25 days of statutory annual leave gives approximately 227 worked days, equivalent to roughly 45.4 working weeks. At 3 extra hours per week, that is 136.2 hours above the 35-hour threshold. Dividing by 7 (hours per working day) gives approximately 19.5 RTT days for an employee on a 38-hour week in 2026. The precise figure shifts each year depending on which day of the week public holidays fall.
Calculation method 2: flat-rate basis (forfait jours)
For executives on a forfait jours, the calculation is based on theoretical working days minus the legal ceiling:
Theoretical working days − 218 (legal cap) − public holidays falling on working days = RTT days
For 2026, there are 261 theoretical weekdays (Monday to Friday across 52 weeks + 1 day). In 2026, 9 of France's 11 public holidays fall on a weekday: 15 August (Saturday) and 1 November (Sunday) both fall on a weekend and do not reduce the working day count. Deducting 25 days of statutory annual leave and those 9 public holidays from 261 gives 227 available working days. Subtracting the 218-day legal cap yields 9 RTT days for a cadre on a standard forfait jours agreement in 2026.
How many RTT days in France for 2026?
The question "how many RTT days France 2026" does not have a single universal answer, the figure depends on the working arrangement (hourly vs forfait jours) and the applicable collective agreement. Based on the 2026 calendar:
- Hourly contract at 38h/week: approximately 19.5 RTT days
- Forfait jours at the legal ceiling (218 days): 9 RTT days
As a rule of thumb, forfait jours executives in professional services typically receive between 8 and 12 RTT days per year, while hourly employees on a 38- or 39-hour week accumulate between 18 and 23 days.
Does the number change year to year?
Yes. Because public holidays fall on different days of the week from one year to the next, the number of RTT days fluctuates. A public holiday falling on a Saturday or Sunday does not reduce working days, and therefore increases RTT entitlement. In 2026, two public holidays fall on a weekend: 15 August (Saturday) and 1 November (Sunday), which is why the forfait jours RTT count is slightly higher than in recent years. This is why an employee's RTT allocation should be recalculated at the start of each calendar year.
How RTT days are taken: employer vs employee rights
The split between employee-initiated and employer-imposed RTT
French law requires that RTT days be split between employee-chosen days and employer-chosen days. The proportion is typically defined in the collective agreement applicable to your company. In many sectors, the split is roughly half-and-half, though some agreements give employees the right to choose the majority of their RTT days.
Employer-imposed RTT days are commonly used to schedule collective closures, for example, bridging days between a public holiday and a weekend (journées de pont, the practice of taking the day between a public holiday and a weekend as a day off).
What happens to unused RTT days?
RTT days not taken by the end of the reference period (usually 31 December) are, in principle, lost. However, several options exist:
- Carryover: some collective agreements allow limited carryover into the following year.
- Compte Épargne-Temps (CET, time savings account): employees can transfer unused RTT days into a time savings account, to be used later for leave or converted to a financial supplement.
- Buyback scheme: since the 2022 supplementary budget law (LFR 2022), employers can buy back RTT days from employees. The buyback amount is exempt from pension contributions and income tax up to a ceiling of €7,500 net per year (Article 5 of Law 2022-1157). This exemption was extended and is currently valid until 31 December 2026. This mechanism is worth knowing about: it gives employees a concrete financial benefit and can help employers manage leave balances at year end. Always verify the current validity period with your payroll provider, as the exemption is subject to renewal by parliament.
RTT and payroll: what foreign employers must manage
How RTT days appear on French payslips
Les bulletins de pFrench payslips (bulletins de paie) include a dedicated line for RTT. The accrual (days earned), consumption (days taken), and balance (days remaining) must all be visible. This is a legal requirement. If you use an external payroll provider in France, verify that their system tracks RTT separately from congés payés, the two are never consolidated on a compliant payslip.aie français incluent une ligne dédiée au RTT. L'acquisition (jours gagnés), la consommation (jours pris) et le solde (jours restants) doivent tous y figurer. C'est une obligation légale. Si vous faites appel à un prestataire de paie externe en France, vérifiez que son système trace le RTT séparément des congés payés, les deux ne sont jamais regroupés sur un bulletin de paie conforme.
Collective agreements (conventions collectives) and RTT: why the rules vary by company
Here is a point that surprises almost every foreign employer: RTT entitlements are not set in the Code du travail. The Code only provides the framework. The actual rules, how many days, how they are split, how they carry over, are defined in the collective agreement (convention collective) applicable to your company, or in a company-level agreement.
This is why two companies in France can have very different RTT policies. A technology or consulting firm operating under the Syntec collective agreement (one of the most widely applied agreements in the tech and professional services sectors) is a clear illustration. Under Syntec, there are three categories of working-time organisation, ETAM hourly, cadre integrated (fixed hours), and cadre autonome (forfait jours). For the cadre autonome category, Syntec sets the forfait at 218 days, which is the statutory ceiling; RTT days are calculated accordingly each year. Syntec also allows for a CET to absorb unused RTT. Companies hiring engineers, consultants or project managers in France will almost always fall under Syntec, which makes understanding RTT Syntec rules essential before drafting the first contract.
Before you finalise your employment contracts, you need to identify which collective agreement applies to your business. If you are unsure, specialist HR and payroll compliance advice in France is the fastest route to an accurate answer.
Managing RTT in your HRIS: tracking and compliance
Every company employing staff in France needs a reliable system for tracking RTT accrual and consumption. Whether you use a dedicated HRIS platform or a spreadsheet-based approach, the tracking must be accurate and auditable, French labour inspectors (DREETS) can request this data during an inspection.
For foreign employers without an in-house French HR function, the most practical solution is to delegate RTT tracking and payslip management to a local expert. HReact's day-to-day HR support covers exactly this: monitoring leave balances, flagging year-end RTT surpluses, and ensuring your payslips are compliant.
RTT is also closely linked to your broader leave management obligations in France. If you are still building your understanding of annual leave and sick leave rules, that is a logical next step alongside RTT.
Managing RTT as a foreign employer: where to start
RTT is one of several features of French employment law that shapes work-life balance in France in ways that are structurally different from the UK or US model. French employees, particularly those in professional services and tech, are accustomed to a clearly tracked combination of annual leave, RTT and public holidays. Getting it right signals to candidates that your organisation understands the local market.
Managing RTT correctly from the outset avoids disputes, payroll errors, and inspection risk. The rules are not complicated once you understand the framework, but that framework is genuinely different from anything you will find in UK or US employment law.
Four things to do before you hire your first employee in France:
- Identify your collective agreement, this determines your RTT framework, the forfait jours ceiling, and the split between employee- and employer-controlled days.
- Set up compliant payslip tracking, RTT accrual and consumption must appear as separate lines on every payslip.
- Calculate RTT at the start of each year, the number changes annually based on the calendar, so a standing allocation set once and never revisited will create compliance gaps.
- For forfait jours employees, plan the mandatory annual interview, the employer must hold at least one documented annual meeting with each cadre autonome to review workload, working hours amplitude, and work-life balance. Skipping this step is one of the main grounds on which courts invalidate forfait jours agreements.
HReact's HR and payroll compliance service in France covers all three: we identify the applicable collective agreement, configure your payroll system to track RTT correctly, and recalculate entitlements each January. If you are still building your understanding of French leave obligations, our guide to annual leave and sick leave in France is the logical companion read, and our day-to-day HR support means you never have to manage these calculations alone.
