What is part-time work for personal reasons of a private sector employee?

Verified 14 August 2026 - Public Service / (Prime Minister)

Part-time work to meet personal life needs is a specific shape part-time. The employee can reduce his working time and alternate between periods worked full-time with periods not worked. We are taking stock of the regulations.

Part-time work for personal reasons is a reduction the duration of the employee's work in the form of of one or more periods at least 1 week.

For example, it may be a matter of choosing, as periods not worked, all or part of the school holidays.

Example :

One company uses the legal 35 hours per week (1607 hours in a year) with 46 weeks worked in the year. The employee asks to benefit from 10 weeks not worked to take care of his children during the school holidays. His working time can be organized as follows:

  • 36 weeks to 35 hours,
  • 10 weeks without work.

Please note

The implementation of this organization of working time does not require the existence of a collective agreement as is the case for the ‘classic’ annualized part-time.

Part-time work for personal reasons may be requested by the employee in order to meet needs of family life (childcare, organization of the home, temporary difficult parental situation, etc....) or needs personal. It does not exist no precise list reasons that the employee could invoke.

There's no not of legal procedure imposed for ask part-time work for personal reasons.

To avoid everything litigation, however, it is preferable to do so by written (LRAR: titleContent  or hand-delivered against discharge, for example).

Yes, the employer may refuse part-time work for personal reasons if justified by reasons objectives related to the needs of operation company.

During periods worked, the employee works according to schedule collective applicable in the company or the establishment.

The rules on overtime and mandatory rest apply to all hours worked beyond :

  • Either there legal working hours of 35 hours per week,
  • Or the duration of work set by the company agreement or branch (organization of working time over several weeks or the year).

Where the employer accepted the request for part-time work for personal reasons, it is necessary to establish a endorsement to the employment contract. This endorsement right specify the following:

  • Periods not worked
  • Calculation of the monthly remuneration on the year eventually.

FYI  

Once written and signed, it is not not possible to modify the addendum, unless agreed by the parties.

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