Replacement rest
R = H × (100 % + premium)
Compensatory Rest Calculator (French rules)
Calculate the rest due for overtime under French law: replacement rest (1 h at +25 % = 1 h 15) or mandatory rest of 50 % or 100 % beyond the annual quota.
- France
French rules. Replacement: 125 % for an hour at +25 %, 150 % for +50 %. Mandatory rest without an agreement: 50 % up to 20 employees, 100 % above, quota of 220 h. Your agreement may be more generous.
Enter zero or positive numbers and a working day longer than 0 h.
Rest due
- Hours counted
- Hours beyond the quota
- In hours and minutes
- Calculation
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How does this tool work?
This calculator applies French labour law, which provides two kinds of rest linked to overtime, both often called “repos compensateur”. Replacement rest gives time off instead of paying overtime and its premium. Mandatory rest is granted on top of pay for every hour worked beyond the annual overtime quota. Choose the type, enter the hours and the rate, and get the rest in decimal hours, hours and minutes and working days. Other countries have their own time-off-in-lieu rules; you can enter any rate, but the legal notes below concern France only.
Replacement rest must be equivalent to the pay it replaces, premium included. An hour paid at +25 % therefore gives 1 h 15 of rest (rate 125 %) and an hour at +50 % gives 1 h 30 (rate 150 %). It is introduced by a company or industry agreement (article L3121-33) or, in a company without a union delegate, by the employer if the works council does not object (article L3121-37). Hours fully compensated this way do not count towards the quota.
Mandatory rest: each overtime hour beyond the annual quota (220 h without an agreement, article D3121-24) is paid with its premium and also gives rest. Without an agreement, the rest equals 50 % of those hours in companies with 20 employees or fewer and 100 % above that (article L3121-38); an agreement cannot go lower. In quota mode the tool subtracts the quota from the annual total, then applies the rate to the excess only.
Either way, the result is converted into hours and minutes and into days using the working-day length you enter. Without an agreement, mandatory rest is taken in full or half days once 7 hours have been earned; a day counts as the hours you would have worked that day.
How to use this tool
Choose the type of rest
Replacement if rest replaces pay, mandatory rest if you exceed the annual quota.
Enter the hours
Hours converted for replacement rest, total yearly overtime for mandatory rest.
Enter the rate
125 % or 150 % for replacement depending on the premium; 50 % or 100 % for mandatory rest depending on company size, or your agreement’s rate.
Set the working day
7 h for a 35-hour week over 5 days; adjust it to your schedule.
Read the result
Rest is shown in decimal hours, hours and minutes and days, with the calculation.
Rest formulas
Mandatory rest
R = max(0, yearly overtime − quota) × rate
Conversion into days
D = R ÷ length of a day
- H
- overtime hours converted into rest
- p
- premium on those hours (25 % or 50 % without an agreement)
- Q
- annual quota, 220 h without an agreement
- τ
- 50 % (20 employees or fewer) or 100 % (more than 20)
- d
- hours in a usual working day
Compensatory rest is paid as if you had worked and counts as working time for leave and seniority.
Use cases
Take overtime as time off
See how much free time matches hours paid at +25 % or +50 % when an agreement replaces pay with rest.
Check the rest balance
Compare the balance shown with the French payslip, which must state the rest earned, against the calculation.
Cost an excess over the quota
Measure the rest owed when a team goes beyond 220 overtime hours or the agreed quota.
Plan absences
Turn the rest into full and half days to put it on the team schedule.
Compare company sizes
See the gap between 50 % and 100 % mandatory rest around the 20-employee threshold.
Examples
8 hours at +25 % taken as time off
8 × 1.25 = 10 h. With hours at +50 %, 4 h would give 4 × 1.5 = 6 h.
Input
Replacement · 8 h · 125 % · 7-hour dayResult
10 h of rest, i.e. 1.43 days240 overtime hours in the year
The 20 hours beyond the quota are still paid with their premium. In a company with 20 employees or fewer, the 50 % rate would give 10 h.
Input
Mandatory rest · 240 h · quota 220 h · 100 % · 7-hour dayResult
20 h of rest, i.e. 2.86 daysTips and best practices
- The replacement rate is never 100 %: it includes the premium, so an hour paid at 125 % becomes 1 h 15 of rest.
- Mandatory rest does not replace pay: hours beyond the quota are still paid with their premium.
- The 20-employee threshold uses the French social security headcount rules (average over the previous year).
- Without an agreement, ask for your rest at least one week ahead; the employer answers within 7 days and cannot postpone it by more than 2 months.
- Each month the payslip, or a document attached to it, must state the hours of rest earned.
- If the contract ends before the rest is taken, it is paid as an allowance.
Sources and references
- Service-Public.fr — Overtime and additional hours in France (opens in a new tab)Page in French
- Code du travail, article L3121-33 : champ de la négociation collective (taux d’au moins 10 %, contingent, contrepartie en repos) (opens in a new tab), Code du travail numériquePage in French
- Code du travail, article L3121-37 : repos compensateur de remplacement dans les entreprises sans délégué syndical (opens in a new tab), Code du travail numériquePage in French
- Code du travail, article L3121-38 : contrepartie obligatoire en repos de 50 % ou 100 % à défaut d’accord (opens in a new tab), Code du travail numériquePage in French
- Code du travail, article D3121-19 : prise de la contrepartie obligatoire en repos par journée ou demi-journée (opens in a new tab), Code du travail numériquePage in French
- Code du travail, article D3121-24 : contingent annuel de 220 heures à défaut d’accord (opens in a new tab), Code du travail numériquePage in French
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between replacement rest and mandatory rest?
Replacement rest takes the place of overtime pay and premium; it is optional and must be provided for. Mandatory rest is owed on top of pay for hours beyond the annual quota; the employer cannot avoid it.
How much rest for one overtime hour?
As replacement, 1 h 15 for an hour at +25 % and 1 h 30 for an hour at +50 %. Beyond the quota, mandatory rest adds 30 minutes (20 employees or fewer) or 1 hour (more than 20) per hour, unless an agreement gives more.
Can the employer impose rest instead of pay?
Only if a collective agreement provides for it or, in a company without a union delegate, if the employer introduces it without objection from the works council. Otherwise overtime is paid.
When can mandatory rest be taken?
Without an agreement, as soon as it reaches 7 hours, in full or half days chosen by the employee, who asks at least a week in advance.
Is compensatory rest paid?
Yes. It must not cause any loss of pay compared with working, and it counts as actual working time.
Does it apply outside France?
No. The 125 %, 50 % and 100 % rates and the 220-hour quota are French rules. Elsewhere, enter the rate set by your law, contract or agreement.
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