Working time in France: managing by results without ignoring working time
Managing employees by objectives rather than by watching the clock is perfectly possible in France. But autonomy does not mean that working-time rules disappear. For certain autonomous employees, working time can be measured in days worked per year rather than hours worked per week — the forfait jours. You can manage by results; you cannot simply declare that hours no longer matter.
Updated: 2 August 2026
What the forfait jours actually is
The French arrangement closest to what many international employers are looking for when they speak about autonomous or "exempt" employees is the forfait jours. Instead of measuring working time in hours, the employer and employee agree on a number of days worked over the year.
The statutory reference ceiling is 218 days per year1, although the applicable collective agreement may provide for a lower number.
This is not a status that an employer can simply assign to someone because they are a "Manager", "Director" or highly paid. The employee must fall within a category eligible for a forfait jours and must have the degree of autonomy required by law and by the applicable collective agreement. In particular, the employee's working schedule must not be capable of being predetermined in the ordinary way: the logic of the arrangement is genuine autonomy in organising working time, not seniority or job title.
Nor can a forfait jours be created by the employment contract alone. A collective agreement must first provide the legal framework. It must identify the categories of employees who may use the arrangement and regulate matters including the reference period, the number of days covered and the main characteristics of the individual arrangements1. Only within that framework can the employer enter into an individual written forfait jours agreement with an eligible employee.
Autonomy does not remove the employer's responsibility
This is where the forfait jours is often misunderstood. Because the employee's time is no longer counted in hours, international employers sometimes assume that working time has ceased to be an employer concern. The opposite is closer to the truth.
The employer must ensure that the employee's workload remains reasonable and compatible with appropriate rest and with the employee's personal life. The applicable collective framework must provide mechanisms for assessing and regularly monitoring workload, for periodic discussions between employer and employee about workload, work organisation and work-life balance, and for the exercise of the right to disconnect1.
These requirements must also operate in practice. A perfectly drafted agreement is therefore not enough if nobody monitors workload, nobody discusses excessive working patterns and nobody reacts when the organisation clearly requires the employee to work beyond reasonable limits.
And some rules remain applicable regardless of the forfait jours. In particular, daily and weekly rest requirements continue to protect the employee. Autonomy over the schedule is not autonomy from rest.
What headquarters sees — and what is actually happening
| What headquarters may see | What is actually happening | What French law requires |
|---|---|---|
| "She is a senior manager, so hours do not apply" | Seniority, title and salary do not create a forfait jours | Eligibility, genuine autonomy and the required legal framework1 |
| "The contract says the employee is managed by objectives" | A contractual clause alone is insufficient | Collective authorisation followed by an individual written agreement1 |
| HR insists on an annual workload discussion | This is part of making the arrangement work legally, not an HR ritual | Effective monitoring and periodic discussion of workload1 |
| Evening and weekend emails are normal in the group | The employee's autonomy does not remove rest requirements | Rest periods and an effective right to disconnect |
| "We don't track hours because this is forfait jours" | Hours are not the measure, but days worked and workload still need to be monitored | A reliable system for monitoring days worked and workload |
| An overtime claim appears years later | If the forfait jours cannot be relied upon, working time may have to be assessed under the ordinary hourly rules | Potential exposure to overtime claims |
Three scenarios
The imported "exempt" status
An international group hires a French Country Manager and uses its standard global employment model. The contract states that the employee is senior, autonomous and assessed on results rather than hours. Headquarters therefore assumes that the employee is "exempt".
But nobody checks whether the applicable collective bargaining agreement authorises a forfait jours, whether the employee falls within the eligible category, or whether the required individual agreement has been properly put in place. Several years later, the employee leaves and claims overtime. The problem for the employer is not simply that it lacks time records: the working-time arrangement the group thought it had may never have existed in a form on which it can legally rely. A global "exempt" classification does not carry over automatically into France.
The workload review that never happened
A company has done the initial work correctly. The applicable collective agreement authorises forfait jours, the employee is eligible and an individual agreement has been signed. But afterwards, nobody pays much attention to the arrangement.
Workload discussions are missed. Excessive periods of work are not identified. The employee regularly works late and during weekends, but nobody raises the issue because the employee is senior and appears to manage. A dispute later arises and the employee challenges the application of the forfait jours. The employer has the right documents, but cannot show that the safeguards surrounding the arrangement actually operated. With forfait jours, implementation matters as much as documentation.
The always-connected culture
An international group operates across several time zones. Late calls, evening messages and early-morning emails are part of the group's normal working culture. That culture does not necessarily have to disappear in France. But it must be managed consistently with French rules on rest, workload and the right to disconnect.
If a French employee is routinely contacted during rest periods and the employer has no effective framework for controlling workload or allowing genuine disconnection, those working patterns may become evidence in a later dispute. A global communication culture does not override local working-time protections.
What to do instead
Start with the collective bargaining agreement
Before putting anyone on forfait jours, identify the collective bargaining agreement applicable to the French business and check what it actually permits. Many agreements authorise forfait jours, but they may define eligible categories, maximum numbers of days, monitoring arrangements and other safeguards differently.
Then look at the employee. Do not start with the title; start with the job. Does the employee genuinely have autonomy in organising their working time? Is their schedule largely determined by their own responsibilities rather than imposed by a manager, customers, opening hours or a fixed team schedule? If not, forfait jours may not be the right arrangement.
Put the individual arrangement in writing
Once the collective basis and eligibility have been confirmed, the individual forfait jours must be properly agreed with the employee in writing2. A sentence saying "you are a manager and therefore not subject to working hours" is not a substitute. The contract and the collective framework need to work together.
Set objectives that are compatible with a reasonable workload
Managing by results requires objectives. But the objectives themselves must be realistic in light of the employee's workload. This is where management tools such as SMART objectives become particularly useful.
Specific and measurable objectives make it possible to identify what is actually expected. Achievable objectives help test whether the workload is realistic. Time-bound objectives make it possible to review performance and workload over a defined period.
SMART is not a statutory condition for a valid forfait jours. But used properly, it helps the employer answer an important legal and management question: can this employee reasonably achieve what we are asking within an organisation that respects rest and protects health? Written objectives can therefore support both performance management and workload monitoring.
Monitor workload in practice
Do not stop once the agreement is signed. Track days worked and rest days using a reliable system. Hold the workload discussions required by the applicable framework. Record them. Ask whether the employee is able to take rest, whether workload is manageable and whether work is interfering excessively with personal life. And if the answer reveals a problem, act on it.
Monitoring workload is not evidence that the employee lacks autonomy. It is part of the employer's responsibility precisely because the employee is autonomous.
Make disconnection real
The right to disconnect should not exist only in an HR policy. The applicable legal framework must be respected, including the rules governing collective bargaining on the subject and, where applicable, the adoption of a charter after consultation of the CSE3.
More importantly, management practice should be consistent with it. A policy saying employees are free not to answer at night has limited value if senior management expects an immediate response to every late message.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a French equivalent of "exempt" status?
Not exactly. The forfait jours is often the closest practical arrangement for autonomous employees because working time is measured in days rather than hours. But it is not a general "exempt employee" classification: it requires a collective legal basis, an eligible and genuinely autonomous employee, and an individual written agreement. There is also a separate and much narrower category of cadres dirigeants, which should not be confused with forfait jours.
Is forfait jours limited to managers?
No. Eligibility depends primarily on the employee's real autonomy in organising their working time and on the categories authorised by the applicable collective agreement. A senior expert may qualify without managing anyone. Conversely, an employee called "Manager" may not qualify if their schedule is largely imposed on them.
Can we simply put a forfait jours clause in the employment contract?
No. The individual agreement needs an appropriate collective basis: the applicable collective agreement or company agreement must first authorise and regulate the arrangement1. Only then can an eligible employee enter into an individual forfait jours agreement.
What happens if the forfait jours is invalid or cannot be relied upon?
The employer may lose the benefit of the day-count arrangement for the period concerned. Working time may then have to be assessed under the ordinary hourly rules, creating potential exposure to overtime claims. The fact that the employer did not record hours because it believed the employee was validly working under forfait jours does not, by itself, eliminate that risk.
Does forfait jours remove daily and weekly rest requirements?
No. Employees remain protected by applicable daily and weekly rest requirements. In principle, this includes at least eleven consecutive hours of daily rest4 and weekly rest incorporating the statutory minimum weekly and daily rest periods5. A forfait jours gives flexibility over the organisation of work; it does not create unlimited working time.
What does the right to disconnect actually require?
The right to disconnect forms part of the framework through which employers manage digital working practices and protect rest and personal life. Depending on the company's situation, it may be addressed through collective bargaining or, where the statutory conditions apply and no agreement is reached, through an employer charter after consultation with the CSE3. For an international group, the important point is practical as well as legal: the French subsidiary needs rules and management practices that allow employees genuinely to disconnect.
Can an employee give up some rest days in return for additional pay?
Yes, within the statutory and collectively agreed framework. An employee working under forfait jours may, by agreement with the employer, waive some rest days in return for increased remuneration, subject to the applicable limits and formal requirements1. This does not remove the rules protecting daily rest, weekly rest and health.
For an international employer, the practical rule is simple: use forfait jours for employees who genuinely organise their own working time, not simply for employees whom the group considers senior. Put the right framework in place, then manage workload as carefully as you manage results.
How we help
my-people is the HR service offered by Convergent, a French employment law firm. We check eligibility against the applicable collective bargaining agreement, put valid arrangements in place, run the workload reviews, and draft the disconnection charter.
Because the service is delivered by an Avocat admitted to the Toulouse Bar, the information you share is covered by professional secrecy from the moment we receive it6.
References
- French Labour Code, art. L. 3121-64.
- French Labour Code, art. L. 3121-55.
- French Labour Code, art. L. 2242-17, 7°.
- French Labour Code, art. L. 3131-1.
- French Labour Code, art. L. 3132-2.
- Act no. 71-1130 of 31 December 1971, art. 66-5.
This page sets out the applicable legal framework for general information purposes. It does not constitute legal advice and cannot replace the review of a specific situation.