Rest period

The daily rest period for a young person must at least be equivalent to 12 consecutive hours. For young people under the age of 16, it must generally cover the period between 8.00 p.m. (10.00 p.m. for young people from the age of 16 upwards) and the opening of the establishment the following morning, generally at 6.00 a.m. (night work is forbidden).

If the hours to be worked per week are distributed over more than five days (a six-day week), half a day of compensatory leave must generally be granted each week. The half-day of compensatory leave must be granted between 6.00 a.m. and 2.00 p.m. or between 12.00 p.m. and 8.00 p.m. and coincide with a weekly rest day. An exception to this rule applies if the week includes a day off. If the day off is a public holiday, the half-day of compensatory leave is only considered to be granted if the public holiday coincides with the working day during which this day off is normally given.

Example 1: The usual half-day of compensatory leave is Monday morning. The leave is considered to have been granted on Easter Monday for example as this day is a public holiday.

Example 2: The usual half-day of compensatory leave is Monday morning. The leave must be granted in addition during the week of Ascension Day (which falls on a Thursday).