35 hours and overtime: what does the government do? – The world

• What the current law says

An employer may require employees to work beyond 35 hours, the legal working hours in France since the Aubry laws. However, the Labour Code provides limited working hours to forty-eight hours per week (up to sixty hours in exceptional circumstances) or forty-four hours on average over twelve consecutive weeks (up . forty-six hours maximum if a company agreement provides)

An increase based on the hourly rate then applies: it is around 25% for the first eight hours Additional and 50% above. – from the 44 ^th hours of work

But the collective agreements and company agreements may provide for special provisions. A business manager can thus drop to 10% additional compensation, if agreed with its representatives. This is currently the floor rate below which a company can go.

• Blur on the future level of overtime pay

Based on the proposals of the former Minister of Justice, Robert Badinter, Manuel Valls announced Monday that the legal working hours (35 hours) and the right to compensation for overtime would be entered in the preamble of the future labor law. It will be presented at the beginning of March by the Minister of Labour, Myriam El Khomri

He was firm on the remuneration of extra work time, saying:. “We need overtime is increased and they will always be increased. “

The Prime Minister has however left the door open to a change of the mode of remuneration of overtime, without specifying the future applicable ratio or the number of hours in question.

In doing so, the head of government expressed its opposition to the proposal of the Minister of Economy, Emmanuel Macron. The latter has, on several occasions, expressed its wish to remove the mark of floor 10% of the hours in excess of thirty-five, a de facto unraveling of the law.

• M. Macron, a supporter of unraveling

On the sidelines of the Davos summit, Emmanuel Macron had thus suggested, January 22, the government would leave companies the opportunity in the future law, setting the rate of increase overtime. “The track is (…) to go below 10%” , said the minister at a press conference, refusing to say whether he wanted the applicable ratio is zero

Read also:. Emmanuel Macron ready to end “de facto” 35 hours

Known for his liberal positions, the Minister had also suggested that the level of overtime pay ratio could possibly be the result of an agreement “simple [30% of votes in the minimum staff representatives] or majority. “

• M ^me El Khomri favorable to the floor 10 %

With such remarks, Mr. Macron had clearly demarcated from the line taken by his colleague from the Department of Labour. Shortly after the vows to French Francois Hollande, who opened the way to a “rewriting of working time rules,” Myriam El Khomri was repeated on January 20, his wish that ‘overtime still increased “.

Reached by Le Monde , his office explained, January 23, that the goal is to “a larger field for business negotiation. But there is no questioning of the minimum rate of increase overtime “, or the floor of 10%.