You are juggling classes during the day and a job in the restaurant industry at night. Your schedule seems to be working, but have you checked that your working hours comply with legal limits? A student contract follows the same rules as any employment contract, with a few adjustments that make it easier to balance studies and work.
Minimum duration for part-time student contracts: an exception to know
In traditional part-time work, the law imposes a minimum duration of 24 hours per week. This rule protects employees from overly fragmented contracts. But it poses an obvious problem for someone attending university.
Recommended read : How to Boost Your Career with Job 'n Roll Offers for Professionals
That’s why the Labor Code provides for an exemption. Students under 26 can work less than 24 hours per week. Specifically, you can sign a contract for 10, 12, or 15 hours per week if it fits your university schedule.
The condition: you must request this in writing from your employer. They must keep this document. This written record protects both parties in case of an inspection or dispute. Additional details on counting hours can be found on the One Business website, along with a reminder of the legal limits applicable depending on the type of contract.
You may also like : How to file a claim for a non-received Zara package and get a refund
Be careful, working under 24 hours does not exempt the employer from grouping your hours into full days or half-days. A 12-hour contract spread over 6 days at 2 hours per day would be difficult to reconcile with this requirement.
Calculating student work hours: week, month, and year
The calculation always starts from the legal duration. A full-time job corresponds to 35 hours per week, 151.67 hours per month, or 1,607 hours per year. Your student contract must specify the weekly or monthly duration planned.
Let’s take a simple example. You work 15 hours each week. In a standard month, that amounts to about 65 hours (15 x 52 weeks / 12 months). Any hour worked beyond what your contract stipulates is an additional hour. It must be paid with a premium as soon as it exceeds a certain threshold set by the applicable collective agreement.
Tracking your hours daily
Your employer is required to account for your working time. In practice, keep your own record. A simple spreadsheet or a time-tracking app is sufficient. Note the start time, end time, and duration of breaks each day.
This habit allows you to verify that your payslip matches reality. It also serves as evidence in case of disagreement over the number of hours worked.
Limit of 964 hours for foreign students
If you are a non-European student holding a long-stay visa or a “student” residence permit, an additional limit applies. You cannot exceed 964 hours of work per year, which is 60% of the legal annual duration.
This quota is global: it accumulates hours across all your employers. Working 500 hours in a restaurant and 500 hours babysitting puts you over the limit, even if each employer individually complies with the rules.
- The limit is proportional to the duration of your studies: for a six-month program, the limit is halved to about 482 hours.
- Exceeding this limit may result in a refusal to renew or a withdrawal of your residence permit.
- The distribution between university periods and vacations should be planned to avoid exhausting the quota too early in the year.
Plan your hours starting in September, taking exam periods into account. Reserving part of the quota for revision months will prevent you from having to decline shifts when you need them most financially.
Maximum working duration and mandatory rest for student employees
Whether a student or not, all employees are subject to the same working time limits. Here are the limits not to be exceeded:
- 10 hours maximum per day of actual work, unless sector-specific exemptions apply.
- 48 hours maximum per week, and 44 hours on average over 12 consecutive weeks.
- 11 consecutive hours of rest between two working days, and 35 consecutive hours of weekly rest.
For a student holding two jobs, these limits apply across all employers. Two 20-hour contracts do not allow you to work 40 hours in one week without ensuring that rest periods are respected.
The case of minor students
An employee aged 16 or 17 faces stricter restrictions. The daily duration cannot exceed 8 hours, and the weekly duration is capped at 35 hours. Night work is prohibited between 10 PM and 6 AM for minors, with variations depending on the sector.
Student fixed-term contracts and mandatory mentions on the employment contract
The majority of student jobs take the form of fixed-term contracts or part-time contracts. Regardless of the format, the contract must be written and signed before starting work.
Check that the document specifies the planned weekly or monthly duration, the distribution of hours across the days of the week, your qualification, and the remuneration. A contract that simply states “part-time” without specifying the hourly volume is not compliant.
Regarding remuneration, the salary cannot be lower than the hourly minimum wage, regardless of your student status. Additional hours beyond the contractual volume must be listed on the payslip with their premium.
One last often-overlooked point: the trial period. In fixed-term contracts, it is governed by the duration of the contract. For a fixed-term contract of a few weeks during the summer, it is limited to a few days. Reread this clause before signing, as a termination during the trial period does not entitle you to any end-of-contract compensation.
Keeping a copy of each contract, each payslip, and your own hour record constitutes the best safety net. In case of a dispute before the labor court, these documents are authoritative, not memories.