Sunday, 7 a.m. The phone rings: a nurse is missing. “My rest day is sacred, isn’t it?” Not always. In a French public hospital, the service never sleeps, and its continuity has constitutional value (French Constitutional Council, 25 July 1979, No. 79-105 DC).
Impose: yes. When the service requires it, the clock stretches to up to 240 hours of overtime per year (art. 15 of Decree No. 2002-9 of 4 January 2002, compared with 220 hours in the private sector). Schedules can be redrawn in case of an imperative constraint, and refusing duty is not on the agenda. Public employees must “comply with the instructions of their supervisor (art. L. 121-10 of the General Civil Service Code). A “no” of convenience may justify disciplinary action.
Exhaust: no. Even at full speed, as for private-sector employees, there is a cap of 48 hours a week, 12 hours of daily rest (11 hours in the private sector) and 36 hours of weekly rest (35 hours in the private sector) (art. 6 of Decree No. 2002-9).
Protect: yes. Did you know that the French Labour Code also applies to public hospitals? Indeed, the safety obligation (art. L. 4121-1 of the Labour Code) knows no public/private divide. Safety is everybody’s matter.
Schedules under pressure, duty of care, disciplinary action to secure? Marie Roux and ærige’s Public Law team assist all public-sector employers, from organising the service to litigation.
Private or public, with ærige you’re under observation.
