International Newsletter : German Desk
Nicola Kömpf, Félicia Couratte-Arnaude
Monitoring Working Time in France: A Challenge for Foreign Employers
Risks and Practical Solutions
Many foreign companies employing staff in France are not fully aware of the legal risks associated with inadequate monitoring of employees’ working time.
Under Article L.3245-1 of the French Labour Code, employees may bring claims for unpaid overtime covering a period up to three years backwards. In practice, French labour courts are very employee friendly in overtime disputes. Employees are only required to provide evidence regarding the hours allegedly worked, which may include timesheets prepared retrospectively, some emails or messages sent outside normal working hours, and witness statements from current or former colleagues.
Employers, for their part, must be able to produce objective and reliable records capable of demonstrating the actual working time performed by the employee.
Failure to do so can expose employers to significant overtime claims, together with potential damages and related liabilities. To mitigate such risks, many employers consider implementing the French forfait annuel en jours (annual working days package).
The forfait jours is a working time arrangement under which working time is measured in days worked per year, rather than in hours. The arrangement is capped at 218 working days per year and may only be implemented for employees who enjoy genuine autonomy in organizing their work schedule, subject to the conditions set out in Articles L.3121-58 et seq. of the French Labour Code.
The implementation of a forfait jours is subject to two cumulative requirements:
- the existence of an applicable collective agreement authorizing the use of the scheme; and
- the execution of an individual forfait jours agreement with the employee.
Employees subject to valid forfait jours are not governed by the statutory 35-hour week, daily maximum working time limits, weekly maximum working time limits, or the rules applicable to overtime compensation. They nevertheless remain entitled to the mandatory daily and weekly rest periods, public holidays observed within the company and paid annual leave.
According to data published by DARES, approximately 2.5 million employees were covered by a forfait jours in 2025, representing approximately 16% of full-time employees in the private sector and nearly 60% of full-time managerial employees.
While this system may appear particularly attractive from an employer’s perspective, many foreign employers overlook the strict obligations that accompany its implementation.
Indeed, French law requires employers to ensure on an ongoing basis that the employee’s workload remains reasonable.
In practice, a simple annual review meeting, a self-reporting tool, or general reminders concerning statutory rest periods may prove insufficient where they do not enable the employer to effectively identify and address situations involving excessive workloads.
Employers should therefore implement a robust monitoring framework, including in particular:
- maintaining a record of the employees’ working days and half-days, as well as non-working days, identifying the nature of each rest day. Such records may be completed by the employee but should be reviewed monthly by a manager;
- periodically verifying, and documenting, that the employee’s workload remains compatible with compliance with mandatory daily and weekly rest periods;
- put in place a Charta on disconnection;
- regularly reminding employees of the requirement to maintain reasonable working hours and an appropriate work-life balance;
- conducting at least one formal annual meeting to discuss workload, work organization, work-life balance and remuneration with written minutes signed by both parties (a mere statement made during a performance interview indicating that the employee has no concerns is insufficient to satisfy the employer’s obligations).
Failure to comply with these requirements, the forfait jours may result in the arrangement being declared unenforceable.
Thus, the employee may be reinstated into the ordinary working time regime based on the statutory 35-hour week, with hours worked beyond qualifying as overtime.
The financial consequences can be significant. In addition to overtime claims, employers may be exposed to damages and other sanctions for non-compliance with French working time regulations.
Therefore, the forfait jours system can serve as an effective risk-management tool, if it is implemented and monitored with the degree of rigor required by French law.
Nicola Kömpf, Partner
Félicia Couratte-Arnaude, Legal Counsel