35-hour week in France

The 35-hour week comes into force this month in France, after the constitutional council rejected most elements in an appeal by a group of right wing senators that the legislation introducing it was unconstitutional. The appeal to the constitutional council has, however, delayed the implementation of the legislation by one month. From 1 February 2000 those in companies with more than 20 employees have a normal working week of 35 hours. The normal hours for employees of smaller companies will only be reduced to this level two years later. The approximately five million public sector workers in France are likely to move to a standard 35-hour week in 2001.

The 35-hour week legislation came in two phases. The first law, dating from 13 June 1998, set out the broad framework and provided incentives to employers to encourage them to negotiate a 35-hour week. The second law, which was only passed by the National Assembly on 15 December last year, sets out the details for the 35-hour week's implementation. These include the payment and limits on overtime, the arrangements for senior managers and the level of incentives which continue to be provided if the arrangements covering the introduction of the 35-hour week are negotiated with the unions, and not imposed by the employer.