Working hours in cafes, bars, hotels, and restaurants are subject to specific rules set out in the industry's collective bargaining agreement. Between early morning and late evening shifts, and intense work schedules during busy periods, employees are under intense pressure. Find out what the legal working hours are in the hotel and restaurant industry and how to optimize scheduling to save time and improve quality of life at work.
📆Working hours in the hotel and restaurant industry
Between weekly working hours limits, daytime and evening schedules, it is important to know the rules, both for employers and employees.
👉A 35-hour base...or 39-hour base
As in all sectors, the working hours base in cafes, restaurants, and hotels is 35 hours per week. But the hotel and restaurant industry benefits from an exemption in its collective agreement that allows it to remain on a 39-hour week. However, from the 36th to the 39th hour, the salary must be increased by 10%.
This choice is also included in the employment contract. So, in the event of a drop in activity, the organization of the 39 hours remains the same, the number of hours cannot decrease.
👉Daily working hours
The daily working hours depend on the position of the employee in the CHR sector (café, hotel, restaurant):
- A server can work a maximum of 11.5 hours
- A cook, 11 hours
- Reception staff, 12 hours
- Administrative staff, 10 hours
- Other staff, 11.5 hours
👉Night work
In the hotel and restaurant industry, night work is counted between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.. This applies to hotel reception staff, bar and restaurant servers, cooks, and all other staff required to work at night.
On a night shift of 6 hours or more, the employee must be given a break of at least 20 minutes. As specified in the collective agreement, if the employee cannot attend to their personal activities during their break, this time must be paid.
📝 Note: when night work is incompatible with looking after a child or helping a parent, the employee has the right to request a daytime position.
👉Rest time
Daily life
Two working days in the hotel and restaurant industry must always beseparated by 11 consecutive hours of rest. Thus, an employee who finishes their shift at 11 p.m. cannot return to work before 10 a.m. the next day.
Weekly rest
2 days of rest in the catering industry are granted each week to employees in the sector. However, these are not necessarily consecutive and can be divided into half-days.
📈Overtime in cafes, hotels and restaurants
With overtime in HCR, an employee can work a maximum of 46 hours over 12 consecutive weeks. In absolute terms, this can exceptionally go up to 48 hours.
📌Optimizing planning in the hotel and restaurant industry
The hotel and restaurant (CHR) sector employs just over 1 million people. During the health crisis, it lost 237,000 employees.Behind this very high figure lie various situations leading to a disaffection for the profession. This is because the employee is subject to schedules that are difficult to reconcile with family life.
How, under these conditions, can working conditions be improved to increase the attractiveness of the sector? One option is automated scheduling, which allows employees to be constantly informed of schedules and thus be in control of their own schedule. With Skello, an HR planning solution adapted to your HCR collective agreement, you:
- easily create your service schedules and your daily organization
- integrate all variables easily (absences, changes of hours)
- automatically record actual hours and therefore rest hours
- determine salaries in just a few clicks
- offer your employees an internal communication tool to exchange their shifts and request your agreement
Save time on time-consuming tasks and provide your hotel and restaurant employees with a tool to take control of their working hours.
