In France, each company must comply with a collective agreement, depending on its sector of activity. Companies specializing in the bakery sector are no exception to this rule. Here are the essential points to know about the collective agreement for bakeries and pastry shops.
What professions are covered by the collective agreement for bakeries?
There is no predefined list of professions for the collective agreement for bakeries. The employees in this sector are mainly:
- Food manufacturing technicians;
- Bakers;
- Pastry chefs;
- Artisan bakers and pastry chefs;
- Bakery salespeople.
What are the working hours stipulated by the collective agreement IDCC 0843?
In bakeries, the legal working time is set at 35 hours per week, with a maximum weekly working time of 48 hours. Please note that with HR management software, you can create bakery schedules in full compliance with the collective agreement.
Weekly rest
The IDCC 0843 collective agreement does not establish a common rule regarding weekly rest days. However, agreements have been made for certain departments or regions of France. For information purposes, the principle of Sunday rest is applied in Loire-Atlantique. In Île-de-France, the weekly rest is set at one day. In Lot-et-Garonne, it is allocated either on Sunday or Monday. For salaried staff in Calvados bakeries, they are entitled to a minimum of 36 hours of weekly rest.
Note: Article L3132 of the French Labor Code stipulates that it is prohibited for workers in the bakery sector to be present at their workplace for six consecutive days. A minimum of twenty-four hours of rest must therefore be taken in one sitting.
Overtime
Bakery staff may be required to work overtime, particularly during peak periods such as the end of year or weeks with a public holiday. According to Article L3121-36 of the French Labor Code, these overtime hours give rise to a salary increase set as follows:
- 25% for the first eight hours of overtime in the same week (from the 36th to the 43rd hour inclusive);
- 50% from the 44th hour.
Under certain conditions, overtime hours can be converted into compensatory rest. The duration of the rest must be equivalent to the increased remuneration. For example, an hour of overtime paid at a 50% increased rate gives rise to an equivalent amount of compensatory rest (i.e. 1 hour 30 minutes). If necessary, you can use an Excel spreadsheet to calculate overtime.
Part-time work
Part-time employees have a maximum daily working time of 10 hours with a minimum continuous work period of 2 hours. For part-time jobs of at least 18 hours, only one break is allowed during the day, it cannot exceed 5 hours.
Note: Part-time employees can work additional hours up to 1/3 of their contractual duration. Overtime hours worked up to 1/10th of the contractual duration give rise to a 10% salary increase. Above 1/10th (and up to 1/3), they are increased to 25%.
Night work
Recognized by law, night hours are subject to the provisions set out in Article 23 of the National Collective Agreement for Artisanal Bakery and Pastry Making. Thus, employees who perform:
- At least twice a week, three hours of night work between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.;
- At least 270 hours of night work during the calendar year are considered night workers.
As a general rule, all employees, whether classified as night workers or not, receive a 25% increase in basic pay for all hours worked during this period. Night workers also benefit from compensatory rest equivalent to one day of rest if they work at least 270 hours of actual night work during the calendar year and two days if they work more than 600 hours of actual night work during the calendar year.
Sunday Work
In principle, the law prohibits Sunday work for most employees of companies located in France. However, food retail businesses, which include bakeries, benefit from a legal exemption authorizing them to employ employees on Sundays, regardless of the number of employees, until 1 p.m. (Article L. 3132-13 of the French Labor Code).
Specifically, under the provisions of the National Collective Agreement for the bakery and Pastry Industry of March 19, 1976, bakery employees working on Sundays receive a bonus corresponding to two hours of the basic hourly wage for each hour worked on Sunday. The collective agreement also provides for a 20% increase in the basic hourly wage for each hour worked on Sundays.
Note: Some departmental agreements provide for different rules regarding the increase in Sunday work, such as the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône (25% increase), Loire-Atlantique (25% increase), Lot-et-Garonne (30% increase), and Vendée (30% increase).
What does the bakery collective agreement provide for regarding leave?
Employers under the artisanal bakery collective agreement must comply with certain rules regarding paid leave and public holidays.
Leave annual
Given the specific nature of their working conditions, employees in artisanal bakeries are entitled to 24 working days of paid leave per year and one additional week of leave (6 days), for a total of 30 days.
The leave reference period begins on May 1 and ends on October 31. When paid leave does not exceed 12 working days, it must be continuous. As long as this main leave is not taken in its entirety, the employee can obtain additional days of leave called split days:
- Two additional working days of leave when the number of days taken outside this period is at least 6;
- One additional working day of leave when the number of days taken outside this period is between 3 and 5 days.
Additional week of leave
According to Article 30 of the collective agreement for bakeries and pastry shops, the additional week of leave must be taken between January 15 and May 1. Employees unable to take this additional week of leave during this period receive compensation of an equivalent amount in addition to the salary for the six days worked.
Note: Employees with less than one year of seniority are entitled to leave equivalent to one day for every two months of service.
Family Leave
For certain family events, bakery employees are granted exceptional leave, regardless of seniority:
- Marriage or PACS (Civil Solidarity Pact) of the employee: six days;
- Birth or adoption of a child: three days (*) ;
- Announcement of the onset of a disability in an employee's child: two days (*) ;
- Marriage of an employee's child: one day (*) ;
- Death of an employee's child: seven days (*) ;
- Death of a spouse, civil partner, cohabiting partner, parents, in-laws, brother or sister: three days (*) ;
- Military pre-selection, up to a limit of three days for any period as a reservist.
(*) An additional day of absence is granted to the employee when the event occurs at least 300 km from the employee's home.
These exceptional days of leave are treated as days of actual work. Consequently, the employee should not suffer any loss of pay due to these absences.
Public Holidays
Under Article 27 of the bakery collective agreement, the following are considered public holidays:
- January 1st
- Easter Monday
- May 1st
- May 8th
- Ascension Day
- Whit Monday
- July 14th
- August 15
- November 1
- November 11
- December 25.
If one of these public holidays is worked, the employee will receive payment for the hours worked plus a 115% increase calculated on the normal hourly rate. And if the said public holiday is included in a period of paid leave, the period of this leave will be extended by one day with continued pay. For more details, find out how the public holiday scheme in bakeries works in our article.
What are the benefits offered by the bakery collective agreement?
Bakery and pastry shop employees are entitled to certain professional benefits linked to the application of the bakery collective agreement, including: benefits in kind and the white cabbage.
Benefits in kind
All production and sales staff, regardless of their seniority, can benefit from a benefit in kind delivered in the form of bread. This benefit in kind can take the form of a so-called “restaurant” loaf, two 400g loaves or two baguettes. It all depends on the company's usage and regional amendments to the collective agreement.
The white cabbage
The "white cabbage" bonus specifies that an employee who is regularly hired in a bakery and who is canceled at the start of their day will receive compensation of 8 hours of pay (at the minimum professional hourly rate).
Collective agreement IDCC 0843 and termination of the employment contract
The employment contract can end in different ways (resignation, dismissal, retirement). The bakery collective agreement provides specific provisions for the various ends of the employment contract.
Resignation
Any bakery employee may resign without giving a reason. However, he must respect a notice period of:
- One week for less than 6 months of seniority;
- Two weeks for more than 6 months of seniority;
- Two months for managers.
Dismissal
Except in cases of serious misconduct, severance pay is due to any employee with at least one year of seniority. In artisanal bakeries and pastry shops, the amount of this compensation is then equal to:
- 1/5 of a month's reference salary multiplied by the number of years of seniority for the first 10 years;
- 2/15 of a month's reference salary per year of seniority beyond 10 years of seniority.
Example: a baker earning an average salary of €3,000 per month is dismissed after eighteen years of service. The compensation is as follows:
3,000 x 1/5 x 10 = €6,000 (for the first ten years);
Then 3,000 x 2/15 x 8 = €3,200 (for the following eight years).
The severance pay will therefore total €9,200.
Retirement
In artisanal bakeries, employees who wish to retire receive a retirement allowance equal to:
- Half a month's salary after 5 years with the company;
- One month's salary after 10 years with the company;
- One and a half months' salary after 15 years with the company;
- Two months' salary after 20 years with the company;
- Two and a half months' salary after 25 years with the company;
- Three months' salary after 30 years with the company;
- Three and a half months' salary after 35 years with the company;
- Four months' salary after 40 years with the company.
What about industrial bakeries?
The collective agreement for industrial bakery and pastry companies (JO brochure no. 3102) concerns employers meeting at least three of the following criteria: employ at least 20 people, bake at least 5,400 quintals per year, have a baking area of at least 30 square meters, have retail bread sales less than 30% of total sales. You will find in this table the specific rules provided for by the industrial bakery collective agreement:
Severance pay
The industrial bakery collective agreement may define specific rules and amounts for severance pay. The threshold chosen is then the one that proves to be the most advantageous for the employee.
Overtime
The rules are the same as for the collective agreement for artisanal bakeries and pastry shops: the overtime pay rate is 25% for the first eight hours worked, and 50% for the following eight hours. Companies have the choice of applying the increase or compensatory rest.
Night work
In industrial bakeries, night work is considered to be the period of actual work extending from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Paid leave
In the industrial bakery collective agreement, annual leave entitlements are determined by the regulations in force. The employee is entitled to a minimum of two and a half days of paid leave per month. The standard period runs from May 1 to October 31, but exceptions may apply.
Leave for family events
The industrial bakery agreement provides for the following leave for family events:
- four days for the employee's marriage or for entering into a civil partnership;
- one day for the marriage of a child;
- three days for the birth or adoption of a child;
- three days for the death of a child or spouse;
- two days for the death of a parent or step-parent;
- one day for the death of a grandparent, sibling, or sister.
