5.5m French choose overtime offers
Government says those on moderate salaries earn €150 a month extra since end of 35-hour working week.
AROUND 5.5 million workers have chosen to work extra hours following the abolition of the 35-hour maximum working week, according to government statistics.
A change in legislation which allows employees to negotiate overtime with less social charges for workers and employers has led some people to earn an extra €150 per month on average, according to figures produced by the Economy Ministry.
The report says those who have benefited are on modest salaries and that extra money is roughly 10% of the wages of those most likely to chose to work the extra hours.
The relaxation of working hours was pivotal in the presidential election campaign of Nicolas Sarkozy whose slogan was “travailler plus pour gagner plus” - work more to earn more.
However the report highlighted large inequalities between the businesses agreeing to the extra hours.
While those employing less than ten people receive a 35% exoneration from social charges, those with more than 2,000 have 80% of their social charges removed.
Businesses in the country were almost three times more likely to negotiate the extra hours than those in urban areas, said the report, which was leaked to Le Figaro.
According to the paper, the report was destined for the finance commissions of the National Assembly and Senate.
The government estimates the effect of the law could add 0.15% on to GDP but the report gave no figures on the impact of the exoneration from social charges.
