35 - hour Workweek - wikipedia 35 - hour Workweek It has been suggested that France 's 35 - Hour Workweek be merged into this article. ( Discuss ) Proposed since January 2018. This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. ( November 2009 ) The 35 - hour working week is a measure adopted first in France, in February 2000, under Prime Minister Lionel Jospin 's Plural Left government. It was pushed by Minister of Labour Martine Aubry. The previous legal duration of the working week was 39 hours, which had been established by François Mitterrand, also a member of the Socialist Party. The 35 - hour working week was in the Socialist Party 's 1981 electoral program, titled 110 Propositions for France. The 35 hours was the legal standard limit, after which further working time was to be considered overtime. Contents 1 Rationale 2 Criticism 3 Amendments to the law 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Rationale The main stated objectives of the law were twofold : To reduce unemployment and yield a better division of labor, in a context where some people work long hours while some others are unemployed. A 10.2 % decrease in the hours extracted from each worker would, theoretically, require firms to hire correspondingly more workers, a remedy for unemployment. To take advantage of improvements in productivity of modern society to give workers some more personal time to enhance quality of life. Another reason was that the Jospin government took advantage of the changes introduced with the 35 - hour working week to relax other workforce legislation. ( See working time for further discussion of the health and leisure - related reasons for limited work weeks. ) Criticism The 35 - hour working week is controversial in France. Generally speaking, left wing parties and trade unions support it, while conservative parties and the MEDEF employers ' union oppose it. Critics of the 35 - hour working week have argued that it has failed to serve its purpose because an increase in recruitment has not occurred. In their view, the reluctance of firms to take on new workers has instead simply increased per - hour production quotas. According to right - wing parties and economic commentators, the main reason why French firms avoid hiring new workers is that French employment regulations around labour flexibility make it difficult to lay off workers during a poor economic period. Amendments to the law The Raffarin government, some members of which were vocal critics of the law, gradually pushed for further relaxation of the legal working time requirements. On 22 December 2004, the French Parliament extended the maximum number of overtime hours per year from 180 to 220 ; on 31 March 2005, another law extended the possibilities of overtime hours. In August 2016, the El Khomri law reduced the overtime payments. See also Organized labour portal Fair Labor Standards Act ( United States ) New Employment Contract ( France ) First Employment Contract ( France ) References Loi n ° 2005 - 296 du 31 mars 2005 portant réforme de l'organisation du temps de travail dans l'entreprise ( in French ) Workforce code External links ( in French ) Official governmental site on the 35 - hour workweek ( in French ) Evaluation of the 35 - hour workweek by INSEE Employment Classifications Casual Contingent Full - time Part - time Self - employed Skilled Independent contractor Temporary Tenure Unskilled Wage labour Hiring Application Background check Business networking Contract Cover letter Curriculum Vitae ( CV ) Drug testing e-recruitment Employment counsellor Executive search Induction programme Job fair Job fraud Job hunting Job interview Labour brokering Overqualification Onboarding Personality - job fit theory Person - environment fit Probation Reference Résumé Simultaneous recruiting of new graduates Underemployment Work - at - home scheme Roles Co-op Employee Employer Internship Job Permanent Permatemp Supervisor Volunteer Worker class Blue - collar Gold - collar Green - collar Grey - collar Pink - collar White - collar Career and training Apprenticeship Avocation Career assessment Career counseling Career development Coaching Creative class Education Continuing education Continuing professional development E-learning Employability Further education Graduate school Induction training Initial Professional Development Knowledge worker Licensure Lifelong learning Practice - based professional learning Professional association Professional certification Professional development Professional school Reflective practice Retraining Vocational education Vocational school Vocational university Mentorship Occupational Outlook Handbook Practice firm Profession Tradesman Vocation Attendance Break Career break Furlough Gap year Leave of absence Long service leave No call, no show Sabbatical Sick leave Time clock Schedules Four - day week Eight - hour day Flextime Overtime Retroactive overtime Shift work Telecommuting Working time Workweek and weekend Wages and salaries Income bracket Income tax Living wage Maximum wage National average salary World Europe Minimum wage Canada Hong Kong Europe United States Progressive wage Singapore Overtime rate Paid time off Performance - related pay Salary Salary cap Working poor Benefits Annual leave Casual Friday Day care Disability insurance Health insurance Life insurance Parental leave Pension Sick leave Take - home vehicle Safety and health Epilepsy and employment Human factors and ergonomics Industrial noise Karōshi Protective clothing Occupational burnout Occupational disease Occupational exposure limit Occupational health psychology Occupational injury Occupational stress Repetitive strain injury Sick building syndrome Work accident Occupational fatality Workers ' compensation Workplace phobia Workplace wellness Equality Affirmative action Equal pay for women Gender pay gap Glass ceiling Infractions Corporate abuse Accounting scandals Corporate behaviour Corporate crime Control fraud Corporate scandals Discrimination Dress code Employee handbook Employee monitoring Evaluation Labour law Sexual harassment Sleeping while on duty Wage theft Whistleblower Workplace bullying Workplace harassment Workplace incivility Willingness Boreout Civil conscription Conscription Dead - end job Extreme careerism Job satisfaction Organizational commitment McJob Refusal of work Slavery Bonded labour Human trafficking Labour camp Penal labour Peonage Truck system Unfree labour Wage slavery Workaholic Work aversion Work ethic Work -- life balance Downshifting ( lifestyle ) Slow living Termination At - will employment Dismissal Banishment room Constructive dismissal Wrongful dismissal Employee exit management Exit interview Layoff Notice period Pink slip Resignation Letter of resignation Restructuring Retirement Mandatory retirement Retirement age Severance package Golden handshake Golden parachute Turnover Unemployment Barriers to Employment Depression Great Depression Long Depression Discouraged worker Frictional unemployment Full employment Graduate unemployment Involuntary unemployment Jobless recovery Phillips curve Recession Great Recession Great Recession job losses List of recessions Recession - proof job Reserve army of labour Types of unemployment Unemployment Convention Unemployment benefits Unemployment extension Unemployment insurance Unemployment rates Employment rates Employment - to - population ratio Structural unemployment Technological unemployment Wage curve Youth unemployment See also templates Aspects of corporations Aspects of jobs Aspects of occupations Aspects of organizations Aspects of workplaces Corporate titles Organized labor Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=35-hour_workweek&oldid=845973932 '' Categories : Economy of France Working time Labor in France Hidden categories : Articles to be merged from January 2018 All articles to be merged Use dmy dates from April 2011 Articles lacking in - text citations from November 2009 All articles lacking in - text citations All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from March 2009 Articles with unsourced statements from September 2013 Articles with French - language external links Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français Bahasa Indonesia ქართული Magyar 日本 語 Türkçe Edit links This page was last edited on 15 June 2018, at 12 : 12. 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Question: when was the 35 hour week introduced in france
Answer: February 2000