The gaugeWorking time · forfait jours
Forfait jours in France: the 218 days, the rest days, buying them back and the workload follow-up
A French annual days-based arrangement (forfait jours) cannot exceed 218 working days (Labour Code, article L3121-64), which gives 9 rest days in 2026. The employee can give up rest days by a written rider, valid for the year, that pays them with a mark-up of at least 10% (article L3121-59). Unless the collective agreement says otherwise, they then work no more than 235 days. The employer must follow the workload.
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General legal information with official references and dated checks. It is not personalised advice: for a decision that commits you, have your situation checked by a qualified professional.
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Give your forfait agreement, the days worked and what your employer proposes.
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Which thresholds frame a forfait jours?
The numbers that matter in a days-based agreement, and their text.
| Threshold | Value | Text |
|---|---|---|
| Working days in the forfait | 218 at most | C. trav. L3121-64 |
| Mark-up on a rest day bought back | At least 10% | C. trav. L3121-59 |
| Days worked after buy-back, agreement silent | 235 at most | C. trav. L3121-66 |
| Duration of the buy-back rider | The current year, no tacit renewal | C. trav. L3121-59 |
| Workload interview, agreement silent | Once a year | C. trav. L3121-65 |
| Rest days of a 218-day forfait in 2026 | 9 | Service-public F19261 |
By the same method, a 218-day forfait leaves 11 rest days in 2027, which has only 7 weekday public holidays.
Sources: C. trav. L3121-64 · C. trav. L3121-59 · C. trav. L3121-66 · C. trav. L3121-65 · Service-public F19261
How many rest days do you get, and what does a buy-back pay?
Give the year, the days in your forfait, the days worked, the rider’s mark-up and your annual salary: the gauge places your days against the 218- and 235-day ceilings and prices the days bought back. The example: a 218-day forfait in 2026, 223 days worked, a 10% mark-up and €52,000 of salary.
Fictional example · forfait jours gauge
5 rest days bought back, so €1,311.93 with a 10% mark-up.
- Rest days of the forfait in 2026
- 9
- Public holidays falling on weekdays
- 9
- Rest days bought back
- 5
- Value of a day, salary ÷ forfait days
- €238.53
- Pay for the days bought back, mark-up included
- €1,311.93
- 218 daysForfait ceiling
- 235 daysMaximum after buy-back, agreement silent
Rest days worked out as service-public does: days in the year, minus Saturdays and Sundays, 25 days of paid leave, weekday public holidays not worked and the forfait days. The value of a day here is the salary divided by the forfait days; the collective agreement can provide otherwise.
Who can work under a forfait jours in France?
Managers who are autonomous in organising their schedule and do not follow the collective working hours, and employees whose working time cannot be set in advance and who have real autonomy (Labour Code, article L3121-58).
A company or, failing that, industry collective agreement must allow it (article L3121-63), and the employee must agree in a written individual agreement (article L3121-55).
Sources: C. trav. L3121-58 · C. trav. L3121-63 · C. trav. L3121-55
How many working and rest days under a forfait jours?
At most 218 working days over the calendar year or another 12-month period (Labour Code, article L3121-64); the collective agreement can provide fewer. The rest days follow: for 2026, 365 minus 218 days, 104 Saturdays and Sundays, 25 days of paid leave and 9 weekday public holidays, so 9 days (service-public fiche F19261).
In Alsace-Moselle, the public holidays specific to those départements are added to the count. The employee keeps daily and weekly rest, paid leave and the public holidays not worked in the company.
Sources: C. trav. L3121-64 · Service-public F19261
How do you buy back rest days under a forfait jours?
An employee who wishes can, with the employer’s agreement, give up part of their rest days: the agreement is in writing, and a rider to the forfait agreement sets a mark-up of at least 10%. The rider applies only to the current year and cannot be renewed tacitly (Labour Code, article L3121-59).
If the collective agreement sets no ceiling, the number of days worked in the year cannot then exceed 235 (article L3121-66).
Sources: C. trav. L3121-59 · C. trav. L3121-66
What must the employer do to follow the workload?
The employer regularly checks that the workload is reasonable and well spread over time (Labour Code, article L3121-60). If the collective agreement does not provide for follow-up, it keeps a record of the days and half-days worked, checks that rest periods are respected and holds a yearly interview (article L3121-65).
An agreement that does not organise effective and regular follow-up of the workload does not protect the employee’s health enough: the forfait agreement is then void (Cour de cassation, social chamber, 13 October 2021, no. 19-20.561).
Sources: C. trav. L3121-60 · C. trav. L3121-65 · Cass. soc. 19-20.561
What do employees under a forfait jours ask?
Does an employee under a forfait jours have the 35-hour week?
No: they are subject neither to the 35-hour statutory week nor to the maximum daily and weekly working hours (Labour Code, article L3121-62). Daily and weekly rest are still due.
What happens if the workload follow-up is insufficient?
The forfait agreement can be held void when the collective agreement does not guarantee effective and regular follow-up of the workload (Cour de cassation, 13 October 2021, no. 19-20.561).
Is the buy-back rider renewed each year?
No: it applies to the current year and cannot be renewed tacitly; a new buy-back needs a new written rider (Labour Code, article L3121-59).
Why does the number of rest days change each year?
Because it depends on the Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays falling on weekdays: 9 rest days in 2026 for 218 days worked, by the service-public method (fiche F19261).
What does article L3121-59 of the Labour Code say about buying back rest days?
The text that opens giving up rest days, and pays for it.
Le salarié qui le souhaite peut, en accord avec son employeur, renoncer à une partie de ses jours de repos en contrepartie d’une majoration de son salaire. L’accord entre le salarié et l’employeur est établi par écrit. Un avenant à la convention de forfait conclue entre le salarié et l’employeur détermine le taux de la majoration applicable à la rémunération de ce temps de travail supplémentaire, sans qu’il puisse être inférieur à 10 %. Cet avenant est valable pour l’année en cours. Il ne peut être reconduit de manière tacite.
In English, briefly (our summary, not an official translation): An employee who wishes can, in agreement with the employer, give up part of their rest days in return for a salary mark-up. The agreement is in writing. A rider to the forfait agreement sets the rate of the mark-up for this extra working time, which cannot be lower than 10%. The rider is valid for the current year and cannot be renewed tacitly. Article L3121-66 sets 235 days as the maximum worked after such a waiver when the collective agreement is silent.
Which texts is this forfait jours gauge based on?
- Labour Code, article L3121-55 (written individual agreement)Légifrance, in French
- Labour Code, article L3121-58 (employees concerned)Légifrance, in French
- Labour Code, article L3121-59 (giving up rest days)Légifrance, in French
- Labour Code, article L3121-60 (reasonable workload)Légifrance, in French
- Labour Code, article L3121-63 (collective agreement)Légifrance, in French
- Labour Code, article L3121-64 (content of the agreement, 218 days)Légifrance, in French
- Labour Code, article L3121-65 (follow-up when the agreement is silent)Légifrance, in French
- Labour Code, article L3121-66 (235 days)Légifrance, in French
- Annual days-based arrangement (fiche F19261)Service-public.fr, in French · checked by the publisher on 1 January 2026
- Cour de cassation, social chamber, 13 October 2021, no. 19-20.561Légifrance, in French
- Labour Code, article L3121-62 (durations that do not apply)Légifrance, in French
Texts cited last checked: 26 September 2026