May 1 work in France has a specific double-pay rule. Everhour supports the time records behind payroll review.
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A double-time check in France usually answers one narrow question: how much pay is due when an employee works on May 1. May 1 is a mandatory non-working public holiday except for activities that cannot interrupt work; employees who work that day receive their normal pay plus an equal indemnity. That produces double pay for the May 1 hours.
Do not treat every French overtime hour as double time. France sets the legal full-time working duration at 35 hours per week, with Service-Public also expressing it as 151.67 hours per month and 1,607 hours per year. In the absence of a collective agreement, weekly overtime uses a 25% premium for hours 36 through 43 and a 50% premium from hour 44 onward.
The first decision is whether the hours are May 1 work, weekly overtime, or both under the applicable arrangement. Unless a collective agreement defines another seven-day period, overtime is counted by calendar week, Monday at 00:00 through Sunday at 24:00. A company, establishment, or branch collective agreement can set overtime premium rates, but each rate must be at least 10%.
A common mistake is calling France's 50% overtime premium "double time." It is not double pay; it is 1.5 times the base hourly pay for the relevant overtime hours. True double pay in the listed facts is the May 1 rule: normal pay plus an equal indemnity for employees who work that mandatory public holiday.
For May 1 work, calculate the employee's normal pay for the hours worked, then add an equal indemnity. If an employee works 8 hours on May 1 at €22 per hour, normal pay is €176. The equal indemnity is another €176, so total May 1 pay for those hours is €352.
The formula is simple: May 1 hours × hourly rate = normal pay, then normal pay + equal indemnity = total double pay. Keep the holiday calculation separate from weekly overtime totals until payroll confirms how the applicable collective agreement treats the same hours, because agreements can define counting periods, annual quota rules, and premium rates.
A one-off calculation is enough when you have one employee, one May 1 shift, a confirmed hourly rate, and no dispute about the hours. It is also enough for a quick payroll check before entering a final adjustment. The result should still be documented with the date, hours, rate, and reason for double pay.
A managed workflow is needed when multiple employees work holidays, weekly overtime also applies, or managers must approve time before payroll. Everhour timecards give teams daily, weekly, and monthly work-hour totals, project-vs-working-hour comparisons, normal-hours highlighting, exports, and Team Hours reporting, which supports payroll review before amounts are finalized.
This content is for general information only, may not be fully up to date, and is provided without any warranty or liability.
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No. In the absence of a collective agreement, France's weekly overtime baseline pays the first eight overtime hours, hours 36 through 43, with a 25% salary increase, and weekly overtime from the 44th hour onward with a 50% salary increase. Double pay in the listed facts applies to May 1 work.
May 1 is a mandatory non-working public holiday except for activities that cannot interrupt work. Employees who work that day receive their normal pay plus an equal indemnity. That is the double-pay calculation: one amount for the worked hours and an equal additional amount for the May 1 indemnity.
Senior executives and employees working under an annual days package are not covered by the standard hourly overtime rules. For those categories, do not apply the 35-hour weekly overtime calculation without checking the worker category, contract, and applicable collective agreement.
Actual work is generally capped at 10 hours per day, 48 hours in a single week, and an average of 44 hours per week over 12 consecutive weeks, subject to specified derogations. These caps do not replace the pay calculation, but they matter when reviewing whether the schedule itself is compliant.
If no applicable collective agreement sets the annual overtime quota, the default quota is 220 overtime hours per employee per year. Overtime beyond the annual quota triggers mandatory rest consideration of 50% of excess hours in companies with up to 20 employees and 100% in companies with more than 20 employees, unless a more favorable agreement applies.
Everhour timecards record daily, weekly, and monthly work-hour totals, so managers can review May 1 hours separately from regular weekly totals before payroll. Team Hours reporting, normal-hours highlighting, and exports help keep the reviewed time record attached to the pay calculation.
Everhour Overtimes can calculate overtime hours and overtime pay for teams using daily or weekly overtime tracking. Admins set daily and weekly overtime limits, then review overtime visibility in Team Hours and payroll-related reports before passing approved figures to payroll.
Track May 1 hours, approve timecards, and export reviewed totals before payroll. Everhour gives teams a clearer record behind France double-time pay.
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