Summary
Holidays
the 1st may is the only public holiday that must be taken off and paid in full for all workers.
However, some employees may be required to work on May 1 depending on their activity (hospital, hotel, transport).
The salary corresponding to these hours worked is doubled.
The other public holidays are:
- January 1st ;
- Easter Monday (the day after Easter Day);
- May 8;
- the Ascension;
- Whit Monday (50 days after Easter);
- the 14th of July ;
- August 15th ;
- All Saints Day (November 1);
- the 11th of November ;
- December 25 (Christmas).
These days are only obligatorily off for young people under 18 and apprentices employed in industrial establishments.
In practice, however, we see that they are unemployed for most workers.
The bridges
The “bridge”, that is to say the day (possibly, the days) between a public holiday and a weekly day of rest or a day of paid leave, is not a due for the employee, and the employer is never forced to grant it.
However, if he grants it, he must then pay the employee for this day off.
Payment for public holidays
The full salary is maintained, including any overtime, provided that the employee has at least 3 months of seniority and 200 hours of work during the 2 months preceding the public holiday and is present at his workstation on the day before and the day after the public holiday.
Note: if the public holiday falls on a usual rest day (a Sunday, for example), the employee cannot claim any remuneration or additional rest.
Non-working public holidays cannot be recovered.
Payment for non-working holidays
No increase in salary is legally provided for people working on a public holiday, but the collective agreements may provide for a more favorable regime.
Exception : May, the 1st.
reminder : this day being obligatorily non-working and paid, people required to work on this day (staff of hospitals, hotels, continuous-fire factories) are entitled to compensation equal to the amount of the day’s wages. They are therefore paid twice.
C. work. : Art. L. 3133-1 to L. 3134-15, D. 3133-1 and s. ; L. 3122-27 et seq.
Our tips:
Non-working hours on the occasion of a “bridge” are recoverable, unlike those linked to a public holiday. Recovery must occur within 12 months before or after the bridge. The hours recovered are paid at the normal rate, without any increase. Overtime is not recoverable. A public holiday is not counted as a working day. It therefore extends the duration of absence of an employee on paid leave by one day.