Night work in the hotel industry... what's that? According to Article L. 213-1-1, paragraph 2 of the French Labor Code, any hour worked between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. is night work. This is common practice in the hospitality sector, and specifically in the hotel industry. Indeed, night work meets the requirements of continuity of service, which must be available at all hours, particularly in luxury hotels. Also, hotel-type establishments must ensure the safety and protection of their visitors, hence the need to have guards, for example, who work at night.
📄 Rules concerning night work
To complete the definition we gave above, note that an employee is considered a night worker when:
– They work 3 hours of actual work per day during their normal working hours, and this at least twice a week.
– He works at least 280 hours of actual work, over 12 consecutive months (one year), on these night shifts.
– He works 70 hours for seasonal establishments, or is a seasonal employee who works 70 hours for permanent establishments, and this over a period of one calendar quarter (three months).
It is recalled that gender cannot be taken into account by the employer when hiring an employee for a night shift, when transferring an employee from a day shift to a night shift or from a night shift to a day shift, as well as when taking specific measures for night workers or day workers with regard to vocational training. Furthermore, the actions included in the company's training plan must benefit night workers as well as other employees.
Break time
Each night worker is entitled to a 20-minute break each time their night shift is 6 hours or goes beyond 6 hours. This is often the case for guards, receptionists, bartenders, dancers, night watchmen, etc.
Compensation
There are two: compensatory rest and financial increase.
💤 Compensatory rest compensation is calculated on the basis of a calendar quarter. This rest is equivalent to 1% rest per hour worked during the night shifts defined above.
💡 Please note: compensatory rest is fixed at 2 additional days of leave per year for full-time employees.
These compensations are also the same for all professionals in the hotel, cafe, and restaurant (HCR) industry. The rest compensates for the fact that professionals in the HCR sector do not have automatic night shift pay increases. The hourly rate for night work is the same as the hourly rate for daytime hours for these professions.
So in what cases can we apply increased payment for night hours?
💰Financial compensation increases can be made in the case of a branch agreement or a company agreement.
💡Please note:If there is no agreement, the employer cannot, even if they wish, offer financial compensation.
Maximum durations
The maximum weekly duration of night work cannot exceed 40 hours per week, or more than 8 hours in a row.
💡Please note: If there is a sector-wide agreement, an exemption may authorize durations exceeding 12 hours of work or 44 hours per week. But this is exceptional.
What about the maximum daily working hours?
It varies depending on the job of the employee concerned.
- Night watchman, caretaker: 12 hours
- Receptionist: 12 hours
- Cook: 11 hours
- Administrative staff outside the operating site: 10 hours
- Other types of staff: 11:30 hours
Specificities of minors
If you want to employ a minor at night, you will need to obtain an exemption from the labor inspectorate. The maximum working hours you can employ this type of employee is 23:30 hours.
💡Please note: The rest time to be granted to underage night workers must be at least 12 hours before the next shift.
