Overtime in France: Calculation, Limits, and Employer Obligations

When Does Overtime Begin in France?

In France, any hour worked beyond the legal weekly threshold of 35 hours is classified as overtime (heures supplémentaires). Article L.3121-28 du Code du travail (Any hour worked beyond the legal weekly duration or the equivalent duration is an overtime hour) defines this clearly. For companies using annualized working time arrangements, overtime is calculated based on hours exceeding 1,607 per year.

Overtime can only be performed at the employer’s request or with the employer’s implicit agreement. An employee who works overtime on their own initiative, without the employer’s knowledge, is technically not entitled to overtime pay — though in practice, courts often side with employees who can demonstrate the employer was aware of the extra hours.

Overtime Pay Rates

Article L.3121-36 du Code du travail establishes the default overtime pay rates when no collective agreement provides otherwise:

However, a collective agreement (at company or industry level) can set different rates, with a minimum floor of 10% pursuant to Article L.3121-33 du Code du travail. This flexibility was introduced by the Ordonnances Macron and allows companies to negotiate overtime costs down from the statutory 25%/50% rates.

The Annual Overtime Cap (Contingent Annuel)

French law limits the total number of overtime hours an employee can work per year through the contingent annuel (annual overtime quota). The statutory default is 220 hours per year per employee, as set by Article D.3121-24 du Code du travail. A collective agreement can increase or decrease this quota.

When overtime hours exceed the annual quota, the employer must provide mandatory compensatory rest (contrepartie obligatoire en repos) of 50% of the excess overtime in companies with up to 20 employees, and 100% in companies with more than 20 employees. Additionally, the CSE must be informed before any overtime beyond the annual quota is performed.

Compensatory Rest Instead of Pay

Under Article L.3121-33 du Code du travail, a collective agreement may provide for overtime to be compensated partly or fully through repos compensateur de remplacement (compensatory rest in lieu of pay) instead of overtime pay. When this mechanism is used, the compensatory rest hours are not counted toward the annual overtime quota.

This is a common practice in France: rather than paying the 25% or 50% premium, the employee receives equivalent time off. For example, one overtime hour at 25% could be compensated with 1 hour and 15 minutes of rest.

Overtime for Part-Time Employees: Heures Complémentaires

Part-time employees cannot work « overtime » in the traditional sense. Instead, hours worked beyond their contractual hours but below the 35-hour threshold are called heures complémentaires (supplementary hours). These are subject to specific rules:

Record-Keeping Obligations

Employers are required to track and document working hours. While the Code du travail does not mandate a specific method, the employer must be able to demonstrate compliance with working time rules. In practice, this means maintaining reliable records of daily and weekly hours worked, particularly for overtime.

In case of dispute, the burden of proof is shared: the employee must present sufficiently precise elements of their claimed hours, and the employer must then respond with their own records. Courts tend to side with employees when the employer cannot produce adequate time records.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

Violations of overtime rules carry significant penalties. Failing to pay overtime correctly can lead to claims before the Conseil de Prud’hommes for back pay covering up to 3 years of unpaid overtime (the statute of limitations for salary claims under Article L.3245-1 du Code du travail). Systematic failure to comply with maximum working hour limits constitutes a criminal offense punishable by fines of EUR 750 per employee per violation.

Key Takeaways for Foreign Employers

Need help navigating French employment law? DAIRIA Avocats specializes in advising foreign employers operating in France. Contact us at s.coly@dairia-avocats.com or try DAIRIA IA, our AI-powered legal assistant at dairia.ai