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Duration of work of a young person under 18
Verified 07 March 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
What is the authorized working time of an employee under 18 years of age? Does the employee benefit from specific provisions? We present the regulations in force depending on whether the young employee is under 16 or 16 years of age or older.
What applies to you ?
From 16 years
The legal duration of 35 hours shall apply to any employee aged 16 or 17.
The working time of an employee of 16 years or more may not exceed normal daily or weekly duration the work of adults employed in the company.
Example :
If the weekly working time in the company is 34 hours, the employee aged 16 or 17 must not work beyond this limit.
The employer must give the employee the opportunity to take vocational courses during the working day.
Time spent on training at an educational institution shall be considered as time spent on actual work.
Please note
The trainee a student or student in a professional environment is not an employee of the company. Special provisions apply for student or student trainees.
The duration maximum daily working time is 8 hours.
The duration maximum working week is 35 hours.
The young worker may be employed at a actual work beyond 8 hours a day and 35 hours a week.
This is only possible within 10 hours a day and 40 hours per week for:
- Either carry out activities on building sites
- Either carry out activities on public works sites
- Create, develop or maintain landscaping sites.
Warning
in principle, an employee under 18 years of age cannot work on sundays. The only exception is that he can work on sunday, within the limits of the legal working time, if apprentice and that it works in the following sectors:
- Hotels, catering, catering and reception organizer
- Coffee, tobacco and beverage outlet
- Bakery, pastry shop, butcher's shop, cooked meats, cheese-cream shop, fish shop
- Shop selling natural flowers, gardening and seed
Apprentice miners who work on a Sunday shall be entitled to a minimum weekly rest of 2 consecutive days.
An employee aged 16 or 17 must not work more than 4 hours 30 minutes continuously.
When the daily working time reaches 4.30 hours, the employee must be provided with a break time of 30 minutes minimum consecutive time.
An employee aged 16 or 17 may exceptionally overtime up to 5 hours per week.
The agreement of the labor inspector and the assent of the occupational doctor are compulsory.
The daily rest of an employee aged 16 or 17 years is 12 hours consecutive at least.
An employee aged 16 or 17 must receive a weekly rest of 2 days consecutive.
Derogations from weekly rest periods may be provided for by treaty provisions (in case of urgent work, accident prevention, recovery, recovery measures).
In case of derogation, the minimum rest period shall be 36 hours consecutive.
An employee of at least 16 years of age cannot work between 22 hours and 6 hours in the morning.
Exceptional derogations may, however, exist, for example in the field of entertainment. The exemption must be requested by the employer at the labor inspectorate.
Employee aged 16 or 17 cannot be employed on public holidays.
However, derogations are provided for if the employee works in one of the following sectors:
- Hotels and restaurants
- Contractors and reception organizers
- Coffee, tobacco and drink outlets
- Bakery, pastry shop
- Fish, butcher and delicatessen
- Cheese-cream shop
- Shops selling natural flowers, garden centers and seeds
- Establishments in other sectors principally engaged in the manufacture of foodstuffs for immediate consumption or engaged exclusively in the retail sale of foodstuffs
- Shows
Before age 16
A minor of 14 or 15 years may be authorized to work during school holidays, subject to the following conditions:
- Authorization of labor inspection
- Agreement of legal representative of the minor employee
- Performing light work by the minor employee
- Work Allowed only during school holidays involving at least 14 days working days or not and provided that the minor of 14 or 15 years has a continuous rest period that cannot be less than half of the total school holidays
The legal duration of 35 hours is applicable to any employee under 16 years of age.
The working time may not be more than normal daily or weekly duration the work of adults employed in the company.
Example :
If the weekly working time in the company is set at 34 hours, the employee under 16 years of age must not work beyond this limit.
Please note
The trainee a student or student in a professional environment is not an employee of the company. Special provisions apply for student or student trainees.
The duration maximum daily working time is 7 hours.
The duration maximum working week is 35 hours.
Minors may be assigned only to light work which is not likely to be detrimental to their safety, health or development.
Warning
in principle, an employee under 18 years of age cannot work on sundays. The only exception is that he can work on sunday, within the limits of the legal working time, if apprentice and that it works in the following sectors:
- Hotels, catering, catering and reception organizer
- Coffee, tobacco and beverage outlet
- Bakery, pastry shop, butcher's shop, cooked meats, cheese-cream shop, fish shop
- Shop selling natural flowers, gardening and seed
Apprentice miners who work on a Sunday shall be entitled to a minimum weekly rest of 2 consecutive days.
An employee under 16 may not work more than 4 hours 30 minutes continuously.
When the daily working time reaches 4.30 hours, the employee must be provided with a break time of 30 minutes minimum consecutive time.
The employee under 16 years of age cannot accomplish overtime.
The daily rest of an employee under 16 years of age is 14 hours consecutive at least.
An employee under 16 years of age shall be entitled to weekly rest of 2 days consecutive.
The employee under 16 years of age can't work between 20 hours and 6 hours in the morning.
Exceptional derogations may, however, exist, for example in the field of entertainment. The exemption must be requested by the employer at the labor inspectorate
The employee under 16 years of age may not be used the public holidays.
However, derogations are provided for if the employee works in one of the following sectors:
- Hotels and restaurants
- Contractors and reception organizers
- Coffee, tobacco and drink outlets
- Bakery, pastry shop
- Fish, butcher and delicatessen
- Cheese-cream shop
- Shops selling natural flowers, garden centers and seeds
- Establishments in other sectors principally engaged in the manufacture of foodstuffs for immediate consumption or engaged exclusively in the retail sale of foodstuffs
- Shows
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
Telephone administrative information - Allo Public Service
For more information on this topic, you can contact Allô Service Public.
Attention: the service does not have access to users' personal files and cannot therefore provide information on their status.
He does not respond questions relating to unemployment compensation and representations to France Labor (formerly Pôle emploi), the officials or contractual of the fpublic service, the amount or payment of contributions social, wage or management.
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The informants who answer you belong to the ministry responsible for labor.
Legal and maximum working hours, daily break time
Derogations from the maximum working time
Daily Rest
Weekly rest
Public holidays (principles)
Public holidays (list of sectors giving young people the right to work)
Night work by young workers
Special provisions for young workers
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