France: Holidays Must be Counted to Calculate Overtime
The French Supreme Court rules that holidays must be included when calculating whether an employee worked more than 35 hours per week and therefore is entitled to overtime.
In this case, 3 employees were hired to work 38.5 hours per week. They made a claim to obtain payment of the 3.5 hours they had worked beyond the legal reference working time of 35 hours per week. The Court of Appeal ruled in their favour but considered that they could not be considered to have worked 38.5 hours during the weeks when they had taken any holidays.
In its ruling of September 10th, 2025, the French Supreme Court considered that this was not in line with European law which prohibits any measures which dissuades employees from taking the holidays to which they are entitled. This is namely the case when taking a holiday has a negative financial impact on the employee concerned. This was the case with regards the calculation method retained by the Court of Appeal.
The new rule is that employees hired under an hourly working time system can claim overtime during a week when they have taken one or more days off even if they have not “actually worked” over 35-hours during such given week.
Key Action Points for Human Resources and In-House Counsel
Ensure that you have put in place a working time system which is compliant with French law and that your payroll team/provider are informed of this new rule with regards the calculation of overtime.
