The restaurant industry in France is constantly evolving, and understanding the rules that govern it is crucial for employers and employees. There collective catering agreement allows the rights and obligations of both parties to be regulated, thus affecting team management and working relationships. This complete guide to the catering collective agreement for 2025 decodes the key elements to help you navigate this complex world. Whether it’s salaries, notice periods or working conditions, here you will discover everything you need to know to ensure compliant and effective HR management.
Understanding the specifics of the collective agreement is not only a matter of legal compliance, but also a way to improve the quality of life at work. By aligning with established standards, companies can ensure they attract and retain talent, while avoiding potential disputes. Things like minimum wage in restaurants and employee rights are of paramount importance. By reading this guide, you will have all the resources you need to optimize your human resources management in the catering sector for 2025.
What is a collective agreement in catering?
To understand the catering collective agreement, it is essential to understand its definition and the role it plays within the sector. This text, result of collective negotiations 2025, is an agreement established between employers and unions representing workers. It aims to adapt the rules of the Labor Code to the particularities of the sector. Accordingly, this requires special attention to ensure a fair balance between the rights of employees and the needs of employers.
Definition and role of a collective agreement
The collective agreement is a valuable tool that clarifies the rights and obligations of the parties. It offers benefits such as specific salary scales, in accordance with the requirements of different professions in the catering industry. This may include performance bonuses, salary adjustments based on experience, and provisions regarding working conditions, thus providing social protection to workers. To better refer to these conventions, distinct sectors such as fast food, collective catering or other segments have specific conventions.
Why is this important to your business?
Respect the collective catering agreement allows you to avoid administrative errors that are detrimental to your establishment. This helps in particular to strengthen relationships between employers and teams by facilitating communication and promoting a climate of trust. In addition, this helps secure practices against government audits and controls, thus protecting you against possible sanctions. By applying these rules correctly, you also guarantee increased motivation among your employees, encouraging them to invest more in their work.
Which collective agreement applies to your establishment?
The restaurant industry is large and diverse. Thus, each type of establishment can be attached to a different agreement. Knowing which agreement applies to your business is essential to ensuring employee rights and employer obligations are respected. This section will analyze the main conventions that govern the different types of catering establishments.
Hotels, cafes and restaurants: the UNHCR convention (IDCC 1979)
If your establishment mainly carries out a traditional hotel and catering activity, the HCR convention applies. This convention covers many types of establishments, such as restaurants, brasseries and hotels, whether or not they offer catering service. It is crucial to understand the specific provisions of this agreement, which includes things like working hours, holiday pay and compensation arrangements.
Fast food: a specific agreement (IDCC 1501)
For fast food establishments such as fast food restaurants and counter sales outlets, a specific collective agreement exists. This defines specific rules, adapted to the mode of operation specific to these employment contracts. Knowing this agreement allows you to optimize employee management to avoid misunderstandings and guarantee respect for rights.
Salaries, hours, leave… what does the UNHCR convention provide for?
Working conditions in restaurants can be demanding, particularly in terms of hours and salaries. The HCR collective agreement covers many sensitive aspects to provide a balanced work environment. In this section, we will further explore the different key elements, such as pay scales, overtime, rest days and leave.
A specific salary scale
Every year, the collective catering agreement updates salary minimums based on skill and experience levels. This ensures remuneration bases consistent with employee responsibilities. These salary scales take into account various factors such as qualification, seniority and type of position. For more information on the minimum wage in catering, it is essential to consult these grids regularly.
Working time and overtime
The legal weekly working time in the catering sector is generally set at 39 hours. Beyond that, surcharges necessarily apply. For example, overtime between the 36th and 39th hours entitles you to a 10% increase, while overtime from the 40th to the 43rd hour benefits from a 20% increase. Finally, overtime beyond the 43rd hour results in an increase of 50%. These provisions are essential in order to respect labor legislation and protect the rights of workers. catering sector employees.
Advance notice and departures in catering: what you need to know
Establishing notice is a crucial step, both in the event of resignation or dismissal. Notice periods vary depending on the categories of staff. Knowing these nuances well is fundamental to respecting the legal framework.
Notice periods in the event of voluntary departure
The notice conditions in the event of resignation in the catering sector are determined according to the position occupied by the employee. For employees under classic status, the notice period is often between 15 days and one month. On the other hand, for supervisors, it can range from one to two months. Executives, meanwhile, are typically required to serve three months’ notice, which can have significant implications for workforce planning, particularly in an industry where resource availability is critical.
Dismissal and compensation
When a dismissal is considered, employees can claim compensation which varies according to their seniority and their remuneration. These must be calculated precisely to avoid any risk of litigation. In addition, special cases should be noted such as conventional termination, which allows for an amicable separation with associated compensation, and situations of serious misconduct where notice is not required. A good understanding of these rules helps establish strong HR practices.
Simplify your HR management with Factorial
For effective management of collective catering agreement, companies in the sector can take advantage of modern tools like Factorial. This software facilitates the management of schedules and absences and ensures compliance with the rules displayed in the collective agreement.
Automate the monitoring of schedules and surcharges
The Factorial platform allows overtime increases to be automatically applied, ensuring that salary scales are followed. In addition, this tool can significantly reduce the time spent managing administrative operations, focusing efforts on the quality of human relations within the company.
Manage absences and sick leave with ease
With Factorial, absence requests can be centralized and processed quickly. This not only avoids wasting time for managers, but also provides employees with visibility of their rights. The management of sick leave is simplified, with automatic monitoring of decisions taken, which is essential for respecting all rights in terms of social protection.
FAQ – Collective catering agreement
Frequently asked questions regarding collective catering agreement often reveal grey areas for both employers and employees. Here are some of the most relevant questions:
Which collective agreement applies to caterers?
Caterers are generally covered by the HCR agreement, but this may vary depending on the main activity of the establishment. It is recommended to check the associated IDCC code.
Can an employee refuse overtime?
No, an employee cannot refuse overtime, unless it exceeds the legal limits or if the collective agreement provides specific conditions in this regard.
How to calculate severance pay?
Compensation depends on the employee’s seniority and pay, with specific rules governed by the HCR agreement. It is essential to use management software to ensure an accurate assessment.