The 35-hour workweek is the most well-known legal threshold in French labour law, but it is rarely the most relevant in practice. Most employees exceed this limit, and an inappropriate working time framework can lead to non-compliance, payroll errors, and costly disputes.
As part of our HR Project Management offering, this is a structured, one-off mission: we assess your workforce, define the appropriate framework, and implement it along with the required documentation. You remain in control of your operations; we ensure solid legal foundations for your team in France.
France's Loi Aubry (2000) set the legal threshold at 35 hours per week. In reality, very few contracts are written at exactly 35 hours. Most employers and employees operate under frameworks that have been layered on top of this threshold by legislation, collective bargaining agreements, and individual contract clauses.
Most employees fall under the standard hourly framework: a contractual weekly schedule, with any hours worked above 35 tracked as overtime. In practice, many contracts are written at 39 hours per week, with the four additional hours paid at an overtime surcharge and deducted from the annual overtime cap of 220 hours.
The cap itself can be modified by a collective bargaining agreement, which means the actual threshold varies by industry. Employers are also legally required to maintain a time tracking record for every employee on an hourly contract; a straightforward obligation to set up with the right guidance.
French law sets two overtime surcharge rates. Hours 36 to 43 are compensated at a minimum of +25%. Hours 44 and above are compensated at a minimum of +50%.
A collective bargaining agreement may reduce the surcharge on the first bracket to +10%, but cannot go below that threshold. Beyond the surcharge, employees may also be entitled to compensatory rest rather than, or in addition to, an overtime payment, depending on the applicable agreement.
Choosing the right scheme is a decision that should be made before you draft your employment contracts, not after. The three frameworks are not interchangeable, and applying the wrong one exposes you to requalification by a labour court.
| Framework | Eligible Employees | Time Tracking | Overtime Applicable | Legal Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Hourly | All employees by default | Weekly - mandatory | Yes (+25% / +50%) | None |
| Day-rate (Forfait jours) | Autonomous executives (cadres autonomes) | Daily count (no hourly tracking) | No - replaced by day count | Collective bargaining agreement + individual written clause |
| Hourly-rate (Forfait heures) | Non-executive employees with genuine autonomy | Annual hours total | Calculated annually | Collective bargaining agreement + individual written clause |
To illustrate the choice in practice:
The right setup matters, but so does simplicity. A forfait jours arrangement removes the complexity of hourly tracking entirely. A forfait heures can be managed with a straightforward monthly count. Neither requires sophisticated software. Our recommendation always balances legal compliance with practical usability for your team.
We begin with an audit of your current and planned workforce profiles, then recommend the appropriate framework for each employee category. We draft or review the required documentation, including employment contract clauses, individual written agreements (avenants) where applicable, and verification that your applicable collective bargaining agreement actually permits the regime you want to use.
For forfait jours in particular, a valid collective bargaining agreement is a non-negotiable prerequisite, and where a comité social et économique (CSE) is involved, their consultation may also be required. We work through the legal chain so you do not have to. For support on the collective bargaining and CSE dimension, our Collective Agreements & CSE service covers that scope directly.
Audit of your workforce profiles and current contractual arrangements
Recommendation of the appropriate framework per employee category
Drafting of contract clauses and individual written agreements where required
Verification of your collective bargaining agreement's provisions
Internal HR briefing for your team on the resulting obligations
Employment contract clauses that reflect the chosen framework correctly
A simple time tracking guide adapted to the framework in use (no overcomplicated tooling)
An employer obligations checklist covering rest periods, right to disconnect, and record-keeping
Clarity on what a labour inspection would expect to find, before one arrives
Foreign companies established in France regularly commit the same structural errors, not through negligence, but due to a lack of institutional knowledge of French law.
The Cour de cassation has consistently ruled that a forfait jours clause is null and void if the underlying collective bargaining agreement does not meet the required guarantees. The consequence: retroactive reclassification as an hourly employee, with full overtime payments due. URSSAF reassessments are retroactive up to three years.
Employers on a standard hourly framework must maintain weekly records. Without them, the burden of proof typically shifts to the employer in the event of a dispute. Setting up this tracking from the outset is straightforward and provides lasting protection.
The droit à la déconnexion is a legal obligation for all employees, including those on forfait jours. Its absence from HR policy is increasingly cited in employment tribunal claims.
The cadre dirigeant category (company directors with genuine decision-making authority and remuneration in the top bracket) is exempt from working time rules entirely. Misclassifying a senior manager as a cadre dirigeant to avoid overtime obligations is a well-documented source of litigation.
For broader compliance topics beyond working time, including social declarations and payroll accuracy, our HR & Payroll Compliance service covers the ongoing operational dimension. If you operate a round-the-clock team, our article on running a 24/7 business in France addresses the specific constraints that apply to shift work and continuous operations.
Tell us your workforce profile; we will recommend the right arrangement and deliver the documentation your team needs to operate with confidence.
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