Weekly schedule
RTT = (H − Href) × W ÷ D
The year’s excess hours converted into days.
French RTT rest-days estimator (39 h and annual days package)
Estimate RTT rest days under French law with a 39 h week against 35 h or an annual days package: weeks worked, day length, paid leave and the year’s public holidays are taken into account.
- Clipboard
- France
The actual number of RTT days is set by the applicable collective or company agreement; the tool converts the hour difference or calendar days you enter.
Check the values: the reference week and day length must be positive, and weeks between 0 and 53.
Estimated RTT
- Hours above the reference per week
- Hours to recover over the year
- Equivalent rest days
- Equivalent half-days
- Days in the year
- Saturdays and Sundays
- Available weekdays
- Equivalent rest days
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How does this tool work?
This tool applies French working-time rules. RTT (réduction du temps de travail) days compensate, as days or half-days off, for working time above the French statutory 35-hour week. Their number is not set by law: it depends on the collective or company agreement organising working time. The simulator reproduces the two most common French calculations: recovering a weekly schedule above 35 h (39 h, 37 h…) and the rest days of an employee on an annual days package (forfait jours), capped at 218 days worked by article L3121-64 of the Labour Code.
In weekly mode, the tool takes the difference between the schedule and the reference, multiplies it by the weeks actually worked, then divides by the average day length. With 39 h, a 35 h reference, 47 weeks (52 minus 5 weeks of paid leave) and 7.8 h days (39 ÷ 5): 4 h × 47 = 188 h, about 24.1 rest days. In package mode, it counts the days of the chosen year, removes the actual Saturdays and Sundays, paid leave expressed in Monday–Friday days (25 for five weeks), public holidays off falling Monday to Friday and other days off, then subtracts the package. In 2026: 365 − 104 − 25 − 9 − 218 = 9 rest days; in 2027, with only 7 weekday holidays, it gives 11 days.
How to use this tool
Choose the type of count
Weekly schedule if you are paid by the hour above 35 h, annual days package if your contract sets a number of days worked.
Weekly: enter the schedule and the reference
39 h and 35 h in the classic case; the reference may be an agreed duration.
Count the weeks worked
52 weeks minus your paid-leave weeks (47 with five weeks); also remove holiday weeks if your agreement does.
Package: enter the year and weekday holidays
Count the French public holidays off that fall Monday to Friday: 9 in 2026, 7 in 2027 (Whit Monday included).
Compare with your agreement
The agreement may round, prorate for absences or set a flat number of days: it prevails over the estimate.
RTT formulas
Two separate logics: converting excess hours, or deducting the rest days of an annual package.
Annual days package
Rest = Y − WE − PL − PH − O − Package
Available days in the year minus the days set by the package.
- H, Href
- weekly hours worked and reference week (35 h)
- W
- weeks worked in the year
- D
- average working-day length in hours
- Y, WE
- days in the year (365 or 366) and Saturdays and Sundays
- PL, PH, O
- paid leave in weekdays, weekday public holidays off, other days off
Whit Monday counts as a public holiday unless your company works it as the “solidarity day”.
Use cases
39-hour week
4 h a week over 47 weeks gives 188 h, about 24 rest days with 7.8 h days.
37-hour week
2 h × 47 weeks = 94 h; with 7.4 h days, about 12.7 days.
218-day package in 2026
365 days − 104 weekend days − 25 leave days − 9 weekday holidays − 218 days = 9 rest days.
Comparing two years
The same package gives 11 days in 2027, because several holidays fall on a weekend.
Checking an HR counter
Compare the estimate with the RTT figure given by the employer or set by the agreement.
Examples
39-hour week
Service-Public.fr states 4 h of RTT per week, i.e. half a day.
Input
39 h, 35 h reference, 47 weeks, 7.8 h daysResult
188 h → 24.1 days (48.2 half-days)218-day package in 2026
365 − 104 − 25 − 9 = 227 available days.
Input
2026, 218 days, 25 leave days, 9 weekday holidaysResult
9 rest days218-day package in 2027
365 − 104 − 25 − 7 = 229 available days.
Input
2027, 218 days, 25 leave days, 7 weekday holidaysResult
11 rest daysTips and best practices
- Divide by the real day length: with 39 h over 5 days, a day lasts 7.8 h; dividing by 7 inflates the result.
- Under a days package, enter leave in Monday–Friday days (25 for five weeks), since the tool only counts weekdays.
- A holiday falling on a Saturday or Sunday does not reduce available days: leave it out.
- Above 39 h a week, hours normally fall under the overtime rules rather than RTT.
- Part-time employees in France usually have no RTT, unless a company agreement provides for it.
- According to Service-Public.fr, earned but untaken RTT days can be bought back at your request, with a premium at least equal to the first overtime-hour rate, for days worked until 31 December 2026.
- Under a days package, giving up rest days requires a written agreement with the employer and a premium of at least 10% for each extra day worked.
Sources and references
- Service-Public.fr — Reduction of working time (RTT) (opens in a new tab)Page in French
- Légifrance — French Labour Code, article L3121-64 (annual days package) (opens in a new tab)Page in French
- Service-Public.fr — Paid leave in the French private sector (opens in a new tab)Page in French
- Service-Public.fr — Public holidays and May Day in the French private sector (opens in a new tab)Page in French
Frequently asked questions
How many RTT days for a 39-hour week?
About 23 to 24 days a year: 4 h a week over 47 weeks is 188 h, or 24.1 days of 7.8 h. Your agreement sets the exact number, often rounded or prorated.
How many rest days under a 218-day package?
It depends on the year: 9 days in 2026 and 11 in 2027 with 25 leave days, because the number of public holidays falling on weekdays varies.
Who sets the number of RTT days?
The collective or company agreement. RTT agreements signed before 22 August 2008 still apply; since then, rest days come from working-time arrangement agreements.
Can a days package exceed 218 days?
The ceiling set by the agreement cannot exceed 218 days (article L3121-64). The employee may give up rest days in writing in return for a premium of at least 10%.
Do absences reduce RTT?
Often, yes: most agreements prorate RTT for absences not treated as actual work. Check your agreement’s clause.
Do part-time employees get RTT?
Usually not, since they do not exceed 35 h. A company agreement may still provide some.
Can RTT days be paid out?
Yes, at the employee’s request and with the employer’s agreement, for earned and untaken RTT days worked until 31 December 2026; the premium is at least the first overtime-hour rate.
Does Whit Monday count as a public holiday?
Yes if your company takes it off. If it is worked as the solidarity day, remove it from the holidays you enter.
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