Hours of Work in the Hospital Public Service (HPF)

Verified 03 March 2026 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Are you a hospital worker and would like to know the rules regarding your working hours? Here is the essential information to know.

General framework

The duration of actual work in public hospitals is fixed at 35 hours per week.

The working time is counted on the basis of an actual annual working time of 1,607 hours maximum, excluding overtime.

Reduction of working hours related to specific topics

The annual working time of 1 607 hours shall be reduced for staff subject to subjections the following:

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Agent at variable rest

An officer is on variable rest if he works at least 10 Sundays or public holidays per calendar year.

The actual working time of a staff member on variable rest is fixed at 1,582 hours per year.

The annual working time of 1 582 hours may be reduced if the staff member is granted 1, 2 or 3 additional days of annual leave of splitting.

In addition, a variable resting agent who performs at least 20 Sundays or public holidays per calendar yearbenefits from 2 additional compensatory rest days.

Reminder

An extra day off says split day is granted to the agent who takes 3, 4 or 5 working days leave, whether consecutive or not, outside period 1er May - 31 October. A 2e day is granted if he takes at least 6 working days off outside this period 1er May - 31 October. A 3e day is granted if the annual leave is divided into at least 3 periods of at least 5 working days each.

Boarding officer in bondage

A boarding officer is an officer who works in a year-round boarding school (home of theAse: titleContent for example) and who performs at least 10 night watches per quarter.

The boarding officer shall be entitled to 5 working days additional compensatory rest periods per quarter, except during the quarter including the summer period.

If a holiday coincides with one of the 5 quarterly compensatory days of rest, no additional compensatory days of rest shall be granted.

Quarterly compensatory days of rest shall not be granted where the boarding staff member is on leave or in authorized or justified absence for more than 3 weeks during the calendar quarter. This does not apply in case of absence for training.

Agent working exclusively at night

An agent works exclusively at night if he performs at least 90% of his annual working time between 9 pm and 6 am, or during any other period of 9 consecutive hours between 9 pm and 7 am.

The actual working time of an official working exclusively at night shall be fixed at 1,476 hours per year.

The duration of 1 476 hours may be reduced if the staff member is granted 1, 2 or 3 additional days of so-called annual leave of splitting.

The working time is counted down hour for hour.

Reminder

An extra day off says split day is granted to the agent who takes 3, 4 or 5 working days leave, whether consecutive or not, outside period 1er May - 31 October. A 2e day is granted if he takes at least 6 working days off outside this period 1er May - 31 October. A 3e day is granted if the annual leave is divided into at least 3 periods of at least 5 working days each.

If you alternate day and night schedules, your actual annual working time shall be reduced in proportion to the periods of night work performed.

If you work exclusively at night, you cannot benefit from the reductions in the actual annual working time provided for in the case of variable rest or boarding-school servitude.

Any staff member subject to an hourly count who cannot complete his daily working time due to an authorized or justified absence shall be deemed to have completed 5e its planned weekly service obligations on average over the working cycle.

Equivalence regime

You are subject to a working time equivalent to the legal working time of 1,607 hours if you find yourself in the following situation:

  • You are a hospital official, trainee or holder, or contract agent and hold a job under the nursing corps or the nursing assistants corps or the socio-educational corps of the hospital public service.
  • You work full time on a full-time employment
  • You are responsible for a night surveillance period in a public hospital operating in boarding schools throughout the year.

The period of presence in the standby room extends from bedtime to the time of rising of the persons welcomed in the establishment, as fixed by the service table, within the limit of 12 hours.

For the calculation of the legal working time of 1 670 hours, each period of presence in the standby room is counted as 3 hours of actual work for the first 9 hours and as half an hour for each hour beyond 9 hours.

However, when interventions are needed, intervention time shall be fully taken into account as actual working time. The duration chosen for each intervention may not be less than ½ hour.

The average weekly duration the working hours of an official subject to the equivalence system, counted on an hourly basis, may not exceed 48 hours over any period of 4 consecutive months.

The hours of night work of an official subject to the equivalence system, counted hourly, may not exceed 12 hours over any period of 24 hours. The staff member shall be entitled to rest periods of at least the same duration as the number of hours worked in excess of 8e hour.

Any staff member subject to an hourly count who cannot complete his daily working time due to an authorized or justified absence shall be deemed to have completed 5e its planned weekly service obligations on average over the working cycle.

Management staff

Hours of work are counted in days for management staff.

The same applies to staff whose working hours cannot be predetermined and who have autonomy in the organization of their timetable. These are civil servants or contract workers in the following categories:

  • Health and Allied Health Executives Corps
  • Corps of socio-educational cadres
  • Corps and jobs of hospital civil service engineers and engineers of the Assistance publique-hôpitaux de Paris
  • Occupational doctor
  • Psychologist.

The benefit of this counting in days of working time may be granted to other staff. This benefit is granted at the express request of the staff and after a favorable opinion from the head of establishment.

The counting in days of the duration of the working time shall be fixed at 208 days worked per year after deduction of 20 days of RTT.

This annual working time may be reduced if the staff member is granted 1, 2 or 3 additional days of annual leave of splitting.

Reminder

An extra day off says split day is granted to the agent who takes 3, 4 or 5 working days leave, whether consecutive or not, outside period 1er May - 31 October. A 2e day is granted if he takes at least 6 working days off outside this period 1er May - 31 October. A 3e day is granted if the annual leave is divided into at least 3 periods of at least 5 working days each.

The actual working time includes the time you are available of your employer and must comply with its instructions without being able to freely go about personal activities.

The times Restore and pause are considered effective working time if you have to stay reachable at any time to intervene immediately and ensure your service.

If the wearing of a work uniform is mandatory, the of dressing and undressing shall be considered as actual working time.

Daily working time in case of continuous work

In the case of continuous work, the daily working time may not exceed 9 hours for teams day, 10 hours for night shifts.

However, if the constraints As is always required for the continuity of the public service, the head of establishment may impose a longer working time, after consulting the social committee of establishment. In this case, however, the amplitude of the working day (including break time) cannot exceed 12 hours.

You get a daily rest of at least 12 consecutive hours.

The head of the establishment may decide to apply a different daily working time to the staff member who regularly or occasionally transfers users between establishments. This decision shall be subject to the prior opinion of the social committee of establishment.

Daily working time in case of discontinuous work

In case of discontinuous work, the amplitude of the working day (including break time) cannot exceed 10.30 a.m.. This duration cannot be split into more than 2 vacations of 3 hours minimum.

If you take part in the care of home users, you may be subject to discontinuous working hours. In this case, the head of establishment may, after consulting the social committee of establishment, decide to apply a working time of more than 10.30 hours within the limit of 12 hours.

Daily Rest

The duration of the daily rest is set at Minimum 12 consecutive hours. However, it may be fixed at a minimum of 11 consecutive hours by the head of establishment after collective agreement.

One 20-minute break shall be granted at least every 6 hours.

Weekly working hours

The actual weekly working time, including overtime, may not exceed 48 hours per rolling 7-day period (i.e. from date to date).

You must have a minimum weekly rest of 36 consecutive hours.

The number of days of rest is fixed at 4 days for 2 weeks. At least 2 of them must be consecutive, including one Sunday.

The organization and distribution of working hours shall be determined by the head of establishment, after consulting the social committee of establishment. The head of the institution shall take into account the need to ensure continuity of care or care for users on Sundays, holidays and at night.

Work cycles

Working time is organized in called periods work cycles.

The work cycle is defined by department or function by the head of establishment after consulting the social committee of establishment.

The duration of the work cycle can't be less than one week (Monday to Sunday), no greater than 12 weeks.

The work cycle is a reference period whose duration repeats itself identically.

The number of hours worked during the weeks of the cycle may be irregular.

Working hours are defined within the work cycle so that the annual working time is in line with the legal working time (1,607 hours or the shorter working time).

You can't work more than 44 hours per week (not including overtime).

In case of irregular cycle, you can't work over 39 hours per week on average over the cycle, excluding overtime, no more than 44 hours per week, excluding overtime.

Where the working cycle provides for a working time of more than 35 hours per week, the hours worked beyond the statutory period shall be eligible for RTT.

RTT days can be taken outside of the work cycle, up to a limit of 20  working days per year.

Hours worked beyond the legal duration, once the days of RTT have been granted, constitute overtime. Overtime is counted over the cycle time. Compensatory rest must be taken as part of the work cycle.

Annualization of working time

Instead of being organized in cycles, working time can be annualized to adjust to changes in activity throughout the calendar year.

The annualization of working time is decided by the head of the establishment, after collective agreement.

When working time is annualized, the weekly working hours must be on average between 32 hours and 40 hours.

Variable hours

Work may be organized in variable hours, if service requirements allow it, after consulting the social establishment committee.

This organization defines a reference period during which the agent must complete a number of hours of work corresponding to the prescribed duration.

The working hours are counted by a pointing system and a device debit credit facility allows you to carry over a limited number of hours of work from one period to another.

A maximum number of hours may be charged or credited to each agent.

Variable schedules include fixed time slots (during which all agents are present) and mobile time slots (during which each agent chooses his arrival and departure times daily).

Service Board

A service board specifies your working hours for every month.

It is communicated to you at least 15 days in advance.

This roster must be available for consultation at any time.

All change in the allocation of working hours, unless there is an emergency on duty, shall be reported on the duty roster 48 hours in advance. You must be informed immediately.