Individual employer: working time of the employee employed at home
Verified 30 October 2026 - Public Service / (Prime Minister)
The working time of an employee hired by an individual employer at home is provided for by the national collective agreement of individual employers and home employment. Depending on the job held by the employee, special rules apply regarding overtime, weekly rest or work on a public holiday. We're taking stock of the regulations.
The regulations concerning the working hours of the employee of the individual employer differ according to whether the employee is a babysitter, parenting assistant, life assistant or other occupation (such as home maintenance, administrative assistant, DIY or gardening works).
What applies to you ?
Babysitter, Parental Assistant, Life Assistant
The duration of work of the employee of the individual employer differs according to the age of the employee:
General scenario
The hours of work specified in the collective agreement are 40 hours per week for an employee at full-time.
Maximum duration of work
Hours of work is said "regular" in one of the following :
- Contract with fixed weekly working hours
- Successive and/or regularly repeated periods of work according to the pace specified in the contract.
In other cases, the working time is said "irregular". The employer must then communicate the working hours in writing to the employee by respecting a deadline of 5 calendar days.
Warning
The provisions on working hours and part-time work laid down in the Labor Code are not applicable.
In the case of regular working hours, the maximum working time is 48 hours on average over a period of 12 consecutive weeks without exceeding 50 hours during the same week.
In case of irregular working hours, this duration is between 0 and 48 hours per week.
Please note
In case of shared custody of the child, the working time of the employee corresponds to the total hours worked at the home of one and/or the other individual employer, provided for in the employment contract.
Young from 16 to 18 years
Weekly working hours of young workers aged 16 to 18 cannot exceed 35 hours.
Please note
In case of shared custody of the child, the working time of the employee corresponds to the total hours worked at the home of one and/or the other individual employer, provided for in the employment contract.
Yes, an employee employed at home may work more hours than those provided for in his employment contract.
Weekly working hours of young workers aged 16 to 18 cannot exceed 35 hours.
For other employees, as long as they do not exceed 40 hours of work per week, they are considered normal hours.
Please note
In case of shared custody of the child, hours worked beyond the common contractual timetable to 2 employers can be supplemented by hours of simple care requested by 1 employers.
Yes, the employee of the individual employer may work overtime.
The hours worked more than 40 hours per week are overtime.
The calculation of overtime differs according to whether the employee works regular hours, irregular or shared custody :
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Regular schedules
Overtime is work performed beyond the 40 hours of actual weekly work.
They are counted weekly from Monday at 0 am to Sunday at 24 pm.
Irregular schedules
Overtime is work performed above an average of 40 hours of actual weekly work calculated over 8 consecutive weeks.
Shared custody
Overtime is when the total of hours worked by actual work exceeds 40 hours per week.
Warning
Young workers aged between 16 and 18 cannot work overtime and must have a daily rest period of at least 12 consecutive hours.
For babysitter, parenting assistant or life assistant jobs, certain working hours are specific.
Hours of presence responsible for day
The employee occupying an employment position in the fields of activity for children and adults can perform hours of attendance responsible for the day.
Hours of responsible attendance during the day must be stipulated in writing in the contract.
Hours of responsible attendance during the day are not applicable in case of shared custody.
One hour of responsible daytime attendance is equal to 2/3 of 1 actual working time (40 minutes).
Example :
An employee works 40 hours, including 24 hours of responsible attendance. Its duration of actual work is then 32 hours corresponding to 16 hours + 16 hours (24 hours of responsible presence x 2/3).
Hours of presence at night
The employee in a position of babysitter, parental assistant or life assistant, can perform hours of presence at night.
The time range is between 8 pm and 6:30 am. An agreement between the employer and the employee can shift this time slot by 1 hour 30 minutes.
It may not exceed 12 consecutive hours. The hours of presence at night are compatible with a day job.
Night attendance may be scheduled for more than 5 consecutive nights if all of the following conditions the following shall be respected:
- Respect for weekly rest
- Maximum of 4 night interventions performed by the employee every night
- Request made by the employee and/or the individual employer to meet specific needs requiring presence at night (e.g. health status, dependency, disability)
- Agreement of the parties in writing.
The hours of presence at night are not taken into account to determine the duration of actual work.
Please note
If every night, the employee is required to intervene at the minus 4 times, hours of presence at night shall be reclassified as hours of actual work and the employment contract needs to be reviewed.
Hours of sick night shift
The employee occupying a position of life assistant can perform sick on-call hours at night.
Night sick hours are not compatible with a full-time day job and cannot exceed 12 consecutive hours.
The hours of sick night care must be stipulated in writing in the contract.
Yes, the employee shall benefit from a weekly rest period, the duration of which differs according to the age of the employee:
General scenario
The employee benefits from a weekly rest period ofa minimum of 35 consecutive hours.
The usual weekly day of rest must be included in the contract. It is given preferably on Sunday.
Young from 16 to 18 years
A young worker between the ages of 16 and 18 is entitled to 36 consecutive hours rest per week, sunday included.
Yes, an employee of the individual employer may work on certain public holidays. The rules are different between the 1er may and other public holidays:
May 1
The 1er may is obligatory unemployed and paid if he falls one day usually worked.
However, if justified by the nature of the activity (e.g. assistance to dependent persons), the employer and the employee may agree to work on 1er May.
Other working holiday
The work on public holidays is stipulated in the contract.
In the absence of a written contract, the parties agree, in writing, for work on a public holiday. If there is no agreement, the holiday is non-working.
Warning
Young workers aged between 16 and 18 cannot work on public holidays.
In the event of a dispute, the individual employer and the employee may refer the matter to the labor court the place of residence of the individual employer.
Other employment
The duration of work of the employee of the individual employer differs according to the age of the employee:
General scenario
The hours of work specified in the collective agreement are 40 hours per week for a full-time employee.
Maximum duration of work
Hours of work is said "regular" in one of the following :
- Contract with fixed weekly working hours
- Successive and/or regularly repeated periods of work according to the pace specified in the contract.
In other cases, the working time is said "irregular". The employer must then communicate the working hours in writing to the employee by respecting a deadline of 5 calendar days.
Warning
The provisions on working hours and part-time work laid down in the Labor Code are not applicable.
In case of regular working hours, the maximum working time shall be 48 hours on average over a period of 12 consecutive weeks without exceeding 50 hours during the same week.
In case of irregular working hours, this duration is between 0 and 48 hours per week.
Please note
Where the employee has several private employers, he shall ensure that the maximum working time per week is respected. It shall inform them of any risk of exceedance.
Young from 16 to 18 years
Weekly working hours of young workers aged 16 to 18 cannot exceed 35 hours.
Yes, an employee employed at home may work more hours than those provided for in his employment contract.
As long as they do not exceed 40 hours of work per week, they are considered normal hours.
Please note
Weekly working hours of young workers aged 16 to 18 cannot exceed 35 hours.
Yes, the employee of the individual employer may work overtime.
The hours worked beyond 40 hours per week are overtime.
The overtime count differs depending on whether the employee works regular hours or irregular :
Regular schedules
Overtime is work performed beyond the 40 hours of actual weekly work.
They are counted weekly from Monday at 0 am to Sunday at 24 pm.
Irregular schedules
Overtime is work performed above an average of 40 hours of actual work weekly calculated over 8 consecutive weeks.
Warning
Young workers aged between 16 and 18 cannot work overtime and must have a daily rest period of at least 12 consecutive hours.
Yes, the employee benefits from a weekly rest period ofa minimum of 35 consecutive hours.
The usual weekly day of rest must be included in the contract. It is given preferably on Sunday.
Please note
Young workers aged between 16 and 18 are entitled to 36 hours consecutive rest periods per week, sunday included.
Yes, an employee of the individual employer may work on certain public holidays. The rules are different between the 1er may and other public holidays:
May 1
The 1er may is obligatory unemployed and paid if he falls one day usually worked.
However, if justified by the nature of the activity (e.g. assistance to dependent persons), the employer and the employee may agree to work on 1er May.
Other working holiday
The work on public holidays is stipulated in the contract.
In the absence of a written contract, the parties agree, in writing, for work on a public holiday. If there is no agreement, the holiday is non-working.
Warning
Young workers aged between 16 and 18 cannot work on public holidays.
In the event of a dispute, the individual employer and the employee may refer the matter to the labor court the place of residence of the individual employer.
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Articles 132 to 137 (working hours), 138 (weekly rest), and 139 (public holidays)
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