Whether you’re a restaurant owner or a restaurant employee, it’s important to know that every employee is entitled to paid time off each year, paid for by the employer. Among these employees, part-time restaurant workers are entitled to the same rights as long as they meet the seniority requirements. In this article, you’ll find all the information you need about paid time off in institutional, fast-food, and traditional restaurants. This will give you the tools you need to manage your business properly in accordance with the law and to ensure you’re in compliance with your employees’ rights.
According toArticle L.3141-3 of the Labor Code, every employee is entitled to paid leave each year at the employer’s expense. In practice, this means that any employee in the food service industry (institutional, commercial, or traditional) is entitled to paid leave, regardless of the type of contract ( seasonal, fixed-term, permanent, etc.) and the employee’s length of service. This right to paid leave is subject to the sole condition that the employee has completed one month of actual work with the same employer (i.e., four consecutive weeks or twenty-four workdays).
Vacation days begin to accrue starting on the first day of work, even if the employee is still in the restaurant's probationary period.
The Labor Code also provides that employees under 21 years of age as of April 30 of the previous year are entitled to two additional days of leave per dependent child. This leave is reduced to one day if the legal leave does not exceed six days. And for spouses who work for the same employer, they can request to take their paid leave over the same period.
Entitlement to paid leave is calculated on the basis of two and a half working days per month of work, but the total period of leave due may not exceed 30 working days. This amounts to 30 working days of paid leave for a full year of work.
To be eligible for paid time off in the restaurant industry, you must have worked for at least one month at the same restaurant during the period from June 1 to May 31 of the following year. This is known as the reference period.
The reference period is the period during which you accrue paid vacation days. The reference period is 12 months: it begins on June 1 and ends on May 31 of the following year, regardless of your hire date or the date of your last vacation. If you work during this reference period, it means you are accruing paid vacation days. It’s important to fully understand what the reference period is, as it will determine whether you can schedule your paid vacation days.
Paid vacation may be taken at different times depending on the collective bargaining agreement that applies to the workplace where you are employed. The collective bargaining agreement specifies a time period during which employees may take their vacation. In all cases, the employer must notify all employees of the paid vacation period at least two months before it begins. Please note that it is the employer who determines the order and dates of employees’ paid vacation time.
Please note: When the number of working days calculated is not a whole number—for example, due to multiple absences—the duration of paid leave is rounded up to the next whole number in the employee’s favor (for example, 19.5 days of leave are rounded up to 20 days).
Article D3141-3 of the Labor Code specifies that the following absences may not be deducted from the reference period used to calculate paid leave:
So if an employee has been absent for the reasons listed above, the employer cannot count those days toward the calculation of future paid time off. For all other absences, this must be negotiated with the employer!
Unused paid leave may be paid out by the employer. In fact, this is mandatory for employees on fixed-term contracts whose contracts are coming to an end. The employer must pay for any accrued paid leave that the employee has not taken. For employees on permanent contracts, however, the employer may refuse to provide financial compensation, provided that the employee is allowed to take the paid leave.
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Employees in the restaurant industry may be entitled to additional vacation days depending on the collective agreement to which they are subject. For example, all employees working in traditional restaurants are covered by the HRC collective agreement (hotels, restaurants, cafés). Article 11 of the first amendment to this agreement specifies that all employees benefit from 6 days of additional paid leave, at the rate of 0.5 day per month of actual work. This gives an additional 6 working days per year, i.e. a total of 6 weeks paid vacation for employees covered by the HRC collective agreement.
The HCR collective agreement (Hotels, Restaurants, Cafés) is a national collective agreement that establishes a set of provisions for all companies included in its scope. The HCR collective agreement applies to all companies in mainland France and in the French overseas departments whose main activity is the provision of accommodation and/or meals and/or beverages and related services.
The HCR collective agreement concerns :
The companies concerned are generally listed under NAF codes 55.1A, 55.1C, 55.1D, 55.3A, 55.4A, 55.4B, 55.5D, 92.3H.
The HCR collective bargaining agreement also sets the amount of vacation pay and the terms and conditions for authorized exceptional absences during the reference period (family events, a sick child, maternity leave, illness, etc.).
Last interesting information in the HCR collective agreement for employees from French overseas departments and territories and foreign employees outside the European Union: they can, with the employer's written agreement, accumulate their paid vacations over 2 years.
But beware, the HRC collective agreement does not cover :
Your collective bargaining agreement may give you access to additional vacation days. To easily find the collective agreement you are covered by, go to the Digital Labor Code website.
Here are the 3 things to remember about paid time off in the restaurant business:
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