The organisation of working time (maximum weekly or daily working hours, rest time during the latter, annual holidays, public holidays, paid leave and overtime) is regulated by law (Statute of Workers' Rights); the working day is regulated by agreement between workers' and employers' organisations or in the contracts.

Duration

The maximum duration of ordinary working time is an average of 40 hours per week of actual work, calculated on an annual basis.

The actual number of ordinary working hours may never exceed nine per day unless either a collective agreement or an agreement between the company and workers' representatives establishes another distribution of daily working time, which must in any event respect the rest time between working days.

Employees under 18 years of age may not do more than eight hours of actual work per day, including hours allotted to training where applicable, and if they work for various employers, those worked for each of them.

By means of either a collective agreement or an agreement between the company and the workers' representatives, working time may be distributed irregularly throughout the year, subject to respect for the minimum periods of daily and weekly rest.

Rest Time

A minimum of 12 hours must elapse between the end of one working day and the start of the following working day.

When the duration of the continuous working day exceeds six hours, a rest period of at least 15 minutes must be established during the day.

In the case of workers under 18 years of age, the rest period is a minimum of 30 minutes and must always be established when the duration of the continuous working day exceeds four and a half hours.

Workers are entitled to a minimum weekly rest time, accumulated for periods of up to 14 days, of one-and-a-half uninterrupted days, which generally includes Saturday afternoon or, where applicable, Monday morning and the whole of Sunday.

The duration of the weekly rest time for people under 18 years of age is a minimum of two uninterrupted days.

Night Work and Shift Work

All aspects of these types of working time are regulated and have hourly restrictions.
Under-18s may not carry out night work (nor activities declared to be unhealthy, dangerous or distressing).

Reduction of the Working Day for Family Reasons

Women workers are entitled to one hour off work for breast-feeding a child under nine months of age.

Workers are entitled to a reduction of at least one-third and no more than half of their working time, with a proportional reduction in wages, if they are directly responsible for a child under six years of age, people with disabilities or members of their family in particular circumstances.

Overtime

Overtime is considered to be hours of work carried out in excess of the maximum ordinary working time. Their provision is voluntary, except in the case of an individual or collective agreement.

It is prohibited to carry out overtime at night, except in duly specified and expressly authorised special activities. It is also prohibited for people under 18 years of age.

Overtime may be remunerated or compensated for with equivalent paid rest time.

Workers may carry out a maximum of 80 overtime hours per year, which does not include overtime paid with rest time, nor work carried out to prevent or repair extraordinary and urgent damage; the latter is obligatory for the worker and must be paid as overtime.

If the worker has working time calculated on an annual basis of less than the general working time in the company, the restriction on hours is reduced proportionally.

Text last edited on: 06/2005

Source: European Union
© European Communities
Reproduction is authorised.