As a restaurant owner or future restaurant owner, you certainly have questions about the legal working hours of your employees. Knowing the specific rules regarding working hours not only allows you to comply with the law, but also to optimize your employees' schedules and improve their working conditions.
Maximum daily and weekly working hours, working hours, night work, vacations and rest, discover the regulations in force in the HCR sector. And because we couldn't talk about working hours without mentioning the hot topic of the moment, the 4-day week, we devote a few lines to it at the end of this article. Will you be tempted by this new organization?
Legal working hours in restaurants: what does the law say?
What obligations do you have to respect regarding the working hours of your employees in the restaurant industry? The answer below in 5 key concepts!
1. Daily working time
While the French Labor Code sets the legal working time at 35 hours per week, the HCR sector benefits from a derogation within its collective agreement that allows it to remain on a 39-hour working week basis. However, you are free to choose a shorter working week. This choice must be included in the employment contract and, should you wonder, it cannot be reduced in the event of a decrease in activity.
You should know that above 35 hours, the hours worked are considered as overtime and the salary must be increased.
- Hours worked between the 36th and 39th hour are increased by 10%.
- Hours worked between the 40th and 43rd hour are increased by 20%.
- The hours worked from the 44th hour onwards are increased by 50%.
You can replace the payment of overtime hours and their increase by a compensatory rest of 110% for the first four hours, 120% for the next four and 150% for the others. This can be implemented following a collective agreement or a unilateral decision by the employer, provided that the staff representatives do not object.
2. The maximum working time
There are several figures to keep in mind here. 46 hours is the maximum weekly working time over any period of 12 consecutive weeks. 48 hours is the absolute maximum weekly working time.
The maximum daily working time differs depending on the job. For administrative staff outside the operating site, it is 10 hours per day. For a cook, it is 11 hours, for reception staff and night watchmen 12 hours and for other staff 11.5 hours.
If employees work in split shifts, any half-day worked must not exceed 5 consecutive hours with a maximum span of 6 hours.
3. Maximum working hours
What is the difference between maximum working hours and working hours?
The second term refers to the time that elapses between the time employees take their shift and the time they leave the establishment after their work day. To the actual working time are added the break times as well as the breaks.
Remember that the maximum working hours must not exceed 13 hours per day for adults, in order to respect the 11 hours of daily rest imposed by the law. If you fail to comply with this requirement, you may be fined 750 euros.
Dressing and undressing time is not taken into account in the calculation of the working hours. When the wearing of work clothes is imposed and dressing and undressing must be done within the restaurant, employees may benefit from compensation in the form of rest or financial compensation, it is up to you to decide.
4. Time off and days of rest
Legally, the daily rest period must be 11 consecutive hours, 12 hours for 16 and 17 year olds and 14 hours for 14 and 15 year olds. An employee who finishes at 9:00 p.m. will not be able to return to work until 8:00 a.m. the next morning.
Employees in the HCR sector have 2 days off per week. These days are not necessarily consecutive. They can, in fact, be broken down into 1 day and 2 non-consecutive half-days. If you opt for this formula, make sure that the full day of rest between the two days worked is at least 35 hours in a row.
5. Night work
Any work performed between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. is considered night work. The weekly working time for night staff, calculated over any period of 12 consecutive weeks, is set at 44 hours, i.e. 2 hours less than day work. If employees work more than 6 hours at night, they must be given a break of at least 20 minutes during which they can relax and/or eat.
Want to learn more about the subject? Consult the HCR collective agreement of April 30, 1997 as well as the amendments dedicated to the organization of working time(amendment no. 2 of February 5, 2007, amendment no. 19 of September 29, 2014).
The 4-day week: the revolution?
The 4-day week is more and more talked about. As its name indicates, it consists in working 4 days instead of 5 without loss of salary. A tempting proposition, isn't it?
Implementation of the 4-day week
Do you want to go to the 4-day week? There are several options available to you. You can decide to decrease the number of hours worked per week from 35 to 32 hours per week. The other alternative is toincrease the daily workload by spreading the current work time over 4 days instead of 5. Keep in mind that this change of pace may be difficult to apprehend for some employees. You will also need to be mindful of the increased workload and the targets set, which can be stressful.
The implementation of the 4-day week implies a reorganization of the schedules as well as a phase of adjustment, but it can also improve your overall activity.
👉 Going further: 4-day week: miracle solution for the restaurant industry?
Achieve a better work/life balance
The 4-day week allows you to have 3 days off per week instead of the usual 2 days. This gives you and your employees more free time for sports, leisure activities and family life. With work/life balance more than ever a central concern, this arrangement of working hours can quickly have an impact on the morale and well-being of employees .
Improve employee productivity
The 4-day week has a positive effect on employee productivity. With the extra day off, your staff is more rested and this is reflected in their efficiency and concentration level. This measure is also a source of motivation.
Thanks to the flexibility of the 4-day week, employees can better manage their time. They are therefore less stressed and more fulfilled, which has a direct impact on the absenteeism rate. The benefits of such an initiative are not only for the company as a whole, but also for the planet, at a time when energy consumption is becoming a major issue.
Attracting new talent
With a 4-day work week, you'll be able to convince future employees to join your establishment rather than the competing restaurant. The ADP survey(People at Work 2022: the Workforce View study) reveals that 64% of French employees, across all sectors, would like to have greater flexibility in the organization of their working hours, with the possibility of condensing them into a 4-day week.
In the hotel and restaurant industry, this figure is 76%, compared to 58% in 2019. However, only 6% of companies in the sector have implemented such an organization. You now understand how the 4-day week is a strong argument to encourage new talent to work alongside you, allowing you to face the staff shortage.
👉 Going further: 9 tips for finding restaurant staff
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