Hours of work in the Hospital Public Service (HPS)

Verified 10 October 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

You are a hospital worker and you want to know the rules on working hours. Find the essential information you need to know.

General framework

The duration of the actual work in public hospitals is fixed at 1,607 hours per year or 35 hours on average per week.

Reduction of working hours related to particular subjects

The annual working time of 1 607 hours shall be reduced for staff subject to the following special conditions:

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Variable resting agent

An officer is on variable rest if he works at least 10 Sundays or public holidays per year.

The actual working time of a staff member on variable rest periods shall be fixed at 1,582 hours per year.

In addition, a variable resting agent that performs at least 20 Sundays or public holidays per year benefits from 2 additional compensating rest days.

The annual working time may be reduced where the staff member is granted 1, 2 or 3 additional days of annual leave splitting machine.

Reminder

An additional day of leave shall be granted to staff members who take 3, 4 or 5 working days leave, whether consecutive or not, outside period 1er May - 31 October. One 2e additional day of leave shall be granted if he takes at least 6 working days of leave outside the same period. And a threee day if vacation leave is divided into at least 3 periods of at least 5 working days each.

Servant of boarding school

A staff member in boarding bondage is a staff member who works in a boarding school throughout the year (home of the institution)Ase: titleContent for example) and who performs at least 10 night watches per quarter.

The staff member in boarding bondage shall be entitled to 5 working days additional compensatory rest periods per quarter, except during the quarter including the summer period.

If a holiday coincides with one of the five quarterly compensating rest days, no additional compensating rest days shall be granted.

Quarterly compensatory rest days shall not be allocated when the staff member in bonded confinement is on leave or on leave of absence for more than 3 weeks during the calendar quarter. This does not apply in the case of absence for training.

Staff working exclusively at night

A staff member shall work exclusively at night if he at least 90% annual working time between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., or during any other period of 9 consecutive hours between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m..

The actual working time of a staff member working exclusively at night shall be fixed at 1,476 hours per year.

Working time is counted hour by hour.

The duration of 1 476 hours may be reduced if the staff member is granted 1, 2 or 3 additional days of annual leave splitting machine.

Reminder

An additional day of leave shall be granted to staff members who take 3, 4 or 5 working days leave, whether consecutive or not, outside period 1er May - 31 October. One 2e additional day of leave shall be granted if he takes at least 6 working days of leave outside the same period. And a threee day if vacation leave is divided into at least 3 periods of at least 5 working days each.

If you alternate between daytime and nighttime hours, your actual annual working time shall be reduced in proportion to the periods of night work.

If you work exclusively at night, you may not benefit from reductions in the actual annual working time provided for in the case of variable rest or boarding school servitude.

Equivalence Regime

You are subject to a working time equivalent to the legal working time of 1,607 hours if you find yourself in the following situation:

  • You are a civil servant or a contract worker and hold a job in the nursing corps, the nursing assistant corps or the socio-educational corps
  • You're working full-time on a full-time employment
  • You are responsible in the room of watch for a period of night surveillance.

The period of presence in the room of watch extends from the time of bedtime to the time of rising of the persons received, as they are fixed by the service table, within the limit of 12 hours.

Each period of presence in the standby chamber is counted as 3 hours of actual work for the first 9 hours and as half an hour for each of the hours beyond 9 hours for the calculation of the 1,670 hours. However, where interventions are necessary, the intervention time shall be taken into account in full as actual working time. The duration of each intervention shall always be at least ½ hour.

The average weekly duration the hours worked by a staff member subject to the equivalence procedure shall not exceed 48 hours over any period of 4 consecutive months.

The night work time of a staff member subject to the equivalence procedure, counted hour by hour, may not exceed 12 hours over any 24-hour period. Staff members shall be entitled to rest periods at least equivalent to the number of hours worked after eighte time.

Management staff

The duration of the work shall be counted in days for the management staff.

The same applies to staff whose working hours cannot be predetermined and who have a great deal of autonomy in the organization of their working time.

The list of bodies or missions concerned shall be established by ministerial order.

The head of establishment may grant the benefit of this working time statement in days to staff other than those belonging to the bodies or missions listed by ministerial order.

The number of days worked shall be fixed at 208 working days per year after deduction of 20 days of RTT.

This annual working time may be reduced where the staff member is granted 1, 2 or 3 additional days of annual leave splitting machine.

Reminder

An additional day of leave shall be granted to staff members who take 3, 4 or 5 working days leave, whether consecutive or not, outside period 1er May - 31 October. One 2e additional day of leave shall be granted if he takes at least 6 working days of leave outside the same period. And a threee day if vacation leave is divided into at least 3 periods of at least 5 working days each.

The actual amount of work includes the amount of time you are available of your employer and must comply with his instructions without being able to freely go about personal activities.

The times Restore and pause are considered to be actual working time if you need to stay reachable at any time to intervene immediately and provide your service.

If the wearing of a work outfit is mandatory, the of dressing and undressing shall be considered as actual working time.

Daily working time

Continuous work

In case of continuous work, the daily working time may not exceed 9 a.m. for teams day time, 10 hours for night shifts.

However, if the constraints the head of the establishment may impose a longer working time, after obtaining the opinion of the social committee of establishment. In this case, the amplitude of the working day (including the break time) may not, however, exceed 12 hours.

The head of establishment may decide to apply a different daily working time to staff members who regularly or occasionally transfer users between establishments. This decision shall be subject to the prior opinion of the social committee of establishment.

Discontinuous labor

In case of discontinuous work, the working day's amplitude (including break time) may not exceed 10.30 a.m.. This period may not be divided into more than two 3-hour or more vaccinations.

If you are involved in caring for users at home, you may be subject to discontinuous working hours. In this case, the head of the establishment may, after obtaining the opinion of the social committee of establishment, decide to apply a working range greater than 10.30 hours within the limit of 12 hours.

Daily Rest

The duration of the daily rest is set to Minimum 12 consecutive hours. However, it may be fixed at a minimum of 11 consecutive hours by the head of the establishment after collective agreement.

One 20-minute break is granted at least every 6 hours.

Weekly Duration

The working week, including overtime, may not exceed 48 hours by rolling 7-day period (i.e. from date to date).

You must have a minimum weekly rest period of 36 consecutive hours.

The number of rest days shall be fixed at 4 days for 2 weeks. At least two of them must be consecutive, including one Sunday.

The organization and distribution of working hours shall be determined by the head of establishment, after consulting the social committee responsible for the establishment. The head of the establishment shall take account of the need to ensure continuity of care or care for users on Sundays, public holidays and at night.

Work Cycles

Working time shall be organized in periods called work cycles.

The work cycle shall be defined by department or function by the head of establishment after consulting the social committee of establishment.

The working cycle time cannot be less than one week (Monday to Sunday), nor greater than 12 weeks.

The work cycle is a reference period of identical duration.

The number of hours worked in the weeks making up the cycle can be irregular.

Working hours are defined within the work cycle so that the annual working time is within the legal duration (1,607 hours or less).

You can't work more than 44 hours per week (excluding overtime).

In case of irregular cycle, you cannot work more than 39 hours per week on average over the cycle, excluding overtime, no more than 44 hours per week, excluding overtime.

Where the working cycle provides for working hours exceeding 35 hours per week, hours worked in excess of the legal duration shall give rise to RTT.

RTT days can be taken outside the work cycle, up to 20  working days per year.

Hours worked beyond the legal duration, once RTT days have been granted, constitute overtime. Overtime shall be counted over the cycle. Compensatory rest periods must be taken as part of the work cycle.

Annualization of working time

Instead of being organized in cycles, working time may be annualized to adjust to changes in activity throughout the calendar year.

Annualization of working time shall be decided by the head of establishment, after collective agreement.

Where working time is annualized, the weekly working time must be on average between 32 hours and 40 hours.

Variable Hours

The work may be organized in variable hours, provided that operational requirements permit, after obtaining the opinion of the social committee of establishment.

That organization shall define a reference period during which the staff member must work a number of hours corresponding to the prescribed duration.

The working hours are counted by a time-keeping system and a device debit credit allows you to carry a limited number of working hours from one period to the next.

A maximum number of hours may be debited or credited to each agent.

Variable schedules have fixed ranges (during which all agents are present) and mobile ranges (during which each agent chooses his arrival and departure times daily).

Service Table

A service board specifies your working hours for every month.

It's given to you at least 15 days in advance.

This service table must be available at all times.

All alteration in the allocation of working hours, unless there is an emergency of service, shall be recorded on the work schedule 48 hours in advance. You must be informed immediately.