Duration and Organisation of Working Time

Hybrid working models, production cycles, business continuity requirements, international operations, remote working and atypical schedules all influence how working time is organised. These choices directly affect workforce availability, cost control and an organisation’s ability to adapt to change. Implementing effective arrangements requires balancing operational needs with complex statutory and collective bargaining requirements, while taking account of the workforce concerned and social dialogue obligations. 

Our lawyers design and secure the most appropriate solutions, including days-based and hours-based working arrangements, flexible working time schemes over several weeks or across the year, on-call duties, part-time work, time savings accounts, night work, Sunday working, flexible schedules and monitoring systems. We combine legal analysis with a practical understanding of business operations and implementation challenges, ensuring that the chosen arrangements are compliant, clearly understood by employees and sustainable over time. 

Hybrid working models, production cycles, business continuity requirements, international operations, remote working and atypical schedules all influence how working time is organised. These choices directly affect workforce availability, cost control and an organisation’s ability to adapt to change. Implementing effective arrangements requires balancing operational needs with complex statutory and collective bargaining requirements, while taking account of the workforce concerned and social dialogue obligations. 

Our lawyers design and secure the most appropriate solutions, including days-based and hours-based working arrangements, flexible working time schemes over several weeks or across the year, on-call duties, part-time work, time savings accounts, night work, Sunday working, flexible schedules and monitoring systems. We combine legal analysis with a practical understanding of business operations and implementation challenges, ensuring that the chosen arrangements are compliant, clearly understood by employees and sustainable over time. 

Working time remains one of the most heavily litigated areas of employment law. Inadequate drafting, insufficient monitoring or inconsistencies between collective agreements and day-to-day practices can lead to claims for unpaid overtime, challenges to days-based working arrangements, compensation claims and difficulties in evidencing actual working hours. 

We audit existing arrangements, negotiate and revise collective agreements, strengthen internal procedures and assist organisations in preparing for inspections and disputes. 

Our review covers, in particular, autonomous and mobile employees, employees working under days-based arrangements, travel time, on-call duties, workload management, the right to disconnect and digital monitoring tools. This enables HR, legal and operational teams to identify vulnerabilities quickly, assess available options and implement proportionate solutions without creating unnecessary administrative burdens. 

We support clients at every stage: first by identifying risks and defining an appropriate strategy, then by designing legal frameworks and conducting negotiations, and finally by assisting with implementation and resolving operational issues. 

Our recommendations are prioritised, practical and aligned with the organisation’s social agenda, management tools and business objectives. This continuity provides clients with a trusted adviser capable of translating complex employment law requirements into practical organisational decisions. 

Our main areas of support: 

• risk assessment and compliance audits: compliance reviews and risk mapping relating to working time, time recording and evidential requirements; 
• legal structuring and collective bargaining: drafting, negotiating and revising collective agreements, individual arrangements, internal policies and monitoring mechanisms; 
• securing working time arrangements: supporting days-based working arrangements, overtime management, on-call duties, travel time, part-time work, night work, rest periods and the right to disconnect; 
• employee relations and collective consultation: assisting with consultations and negotiations involving employee representative bodies, trade unions and, where appropriate, labour authorities; 
• implementation support: assisting HR teams and managers with documentation, processes, monitoring tools and individual employee situations; 
• multidisciplinary coordination: working alongside data protection, tax, corporate and international mobility specialists where projects extend beyond employment law considerations; 
• inspections and disputes: assisting during labour inspections and representing organisations in individual and collective disputes relating to working time. 

Effective working time arrangements are about more than compliance alone. We work with clients to develop solutions that reflect the realities of their business, are understood by employees and can be managed effectively over the long term. Our objective is to transform a complex and highly contentious area of law into a clear, practical and secure framework that supports both business performance and constructive employee relations.