Working time: legal duration of work

The project aiming at generalizing the opening of the stores Sunday in certain big cities of France is very discussed, including with the bosom even of UMP. Initially provided for before the end of the year, the examination of the proposal on the extension of Sunday work is thus finally deferred. A compromise however was suggested by the partisans of this reform: in particular, the mayors could authorize the opening of the stores a year 8 Sundays, against 5 currently. The debates will begin again as from mid-January…

The selected hours are overtime that the employee wishes to carry out, with the agreement of its employer, beyond the annual quota of overtime. These hours must be provided for by a Convention or a collective of branch, group, corporate agreement or of establishment. They give place obligatorily to an increase of wages, whose rate cannot be lower than that of overtime (in theory 25% for the first 8 hours and 50% for the following hours). On the other hand, the counterpart in rest is not obligatory. The law carrying restoration of the social democracy and reform of the working time of August 20th abolished this operative paragraph. Only the collective agreements concluded before the coming into effect from the law and having set up this operative paragraph continue to be implemented.

A new decree, published on September 2nd, 2008, amends certain rules relating to the working time of the young people of less than 18 years in certain lines of business. The items R 3142 4 and R 4864 2 of the New Labor regulation are thus amended. From now on, in the sectors of the spectacles and the horse-races, the night-work is authorized “until” 24 hours (and either only “10 p.m. at” 24 hours). In addition, the list of the sectors in which the specific characteristics of the activity justify, the employment of the young workers the holidays recognized by the law, (hotel trade, restoration, bakery, pastry making,…) is supplemented by the sector of the spectacles. This decree also creates an addition record R 7124 45 1 according to which “in the sector of the spectacle, the night-work of the children of less than 16 years cannot be authorized that up to idnight.”