Working time policy in France

Pierre Boisard ()
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Pierre Boisard: IDHE - Institutions et Dynamiques Historiques de l'Economie - ENS Cachan - École normale supérieure - Cachan - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - UP8 - Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Abstract: Working time has always been considered in France to be an area of responsibility for the State. TheActs on the 35-hour working week come therefore from a long tradition of State intervention toregulate employment and working conditions. This particular configuration is not found in otherEuropean countries.In this paper is presented the French specificity: a work sharing logic supported by the State. The aimat generating employment through a legal reduction of working time brought the government to drawup an extremely complex set of Acts. These one are not restricted to defining legal work duration;they also advocate reductions in social contributions and give a precise framework to negotiatecollective agreements.A synthesis of the consequences of the 35-hour Act shows that the effects on employment are limited(creation of 300,000 jobs), that social relations did not improve and that inequalities amongemployees were accentuated

Keywords: reduction of working time; State intervention; collective bargaining; job creation; living and working conditions; work sharing; 35-hour working week; conditions de vie et de travail; partage du travail; semaine de 35 heures; réduction du temps de travail; intervention de l'État; négociation collective; création d'emplois (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00400703
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Published in 2004

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