Hours of work in the State Civil Service (EPF)

General framework

The legal duration of the actual work in public administrations and establishments is fixed at 1 607 hours per year or 35 hours on average per week.

Reduction related to specific subjects

The annual working time may be reduced by ministerial decree, after consulting the ministerial social committee, to take account of subjects special features, including:

• Night work
• Work on Sunday
• Staggered hours work
• Teamwork
• Significant modulation of the work cycle
• Difficult or dangerous work.

Obligation to provide services

Certain categories of staff are subject to a service obligation scheme which is lower than that provided for in the general framework.

Teachers in schools (teachers) must, for example, provide 24 hours of instruction per week.

Equivalence Regime

A period equivalent to the legal period may be established by decree for some body or posts whose tasks involve more attendance than actual working time.

For example, the attendance time of drivers from the central administration of the Ministry of Education is 1,800 hours per year. This is equivalent to an effective annual working time of 1 607 hours.

Daily working time

The working time may not exceed 10 hours per day.

You have a minimum rest of 11 hours a day.

The maximum working day, i.e. the maximum working day, including break time, shall be 12 hours.

You will have a break of at least 20 minutes after a maximum of 6 hours of work.

Night work shall comprise at least the period between 22 hours and 5 hours or another period of 7 consecutive hours between 22 hours and 7 hours.

Weekly Duration

The actual working time, including overtime, may not exceed 48 hours in any one week, nor may it exceed 44 hours on average over a period of 12 consecutive weeks.

Weekly rest normally includes Sunday.

The weekly rest period may not be less than 35 hours.

Derogations from maximum working hours and minimum rest periods

Where the activity of a service so requires on a permanent basis, maximum daily and weekly working hours and different minimum rest periods may be fixed by decree.

This concerns, in particular, the services responsible for the protection of persons and property.

Counterparties are granted.

Furthermore, if exceptional circumstances so warrant, maximum daily and weekly working hours and minimum rest periods may be applied by a head of service for a limited period.

The staff representatives on the Social Committee must be informed immediately.

Work Cycles

The work is organized according to reference periods called work cycles.

The duration of the work cycle can vary from week to year.

The work cycle is defined by department or by function nature.

The work cycles to which the services may have recourse are defined by ministerial decree.

These orders lay down in particular the duration of the cycle, the daily and weekly limits and the rest and rest conditions.

The conditions for the implementation of these cycles and the resulting working hours shall be defined for each service or establishment, after consulting the Social Committee.

Working hours are defined within the work cycle so that the annual working time is within the legal duration (1,607 hours or less).

When the work cycle consists of several weeks, the duration of work may vary from one week to the next within the cycle. Example: 2-week cycle including 1 week at 32 hours and 1 week at 38 hours, or 35 hours on average per week.

Where the working cycle provides for a working time of more than 35 hours per week or 1 607 hours per year, hours worked in excess of the statutory working time shall give rise to RTT. Example: a 39-hour week entitles you to 4 hours of RTT

And hours worked beyond the legal duration, once RTT days are granted, if applicable, constitute overtime.

Variable Hours

Working time may be organized in variable hours, subject to operational requirements, after consulting the Social Committee.

This organization defines a reference period (usually a fortnight or a month) during which you must work a number of hours corresponding to the prescribed duration.

The working hours are counted by a time-keeping system and a device debit credit allows you to carry a limited number of working hours from one period to the next.

A maximum number of hours can be charged to your debit or credit.

For a reference period of 15 hours, this ceiling may not exceed 6 hours.

For a reference period of one month, it may not exceed 12 hours.

The variable hours are organized as follows:

• They shall provide for a minimum period of work of at least four hours per day.
• Either they provide fixed ranges of at least 4 hours (during which you must be present) and mobile ranges (during which you choose daily your arrival and departure times).