Whit Monday 2024: Will you have to work while everyone else takes it easy?

The month of May 2024 may be generous in terms of public holidays, but you may not have the opportunity to have a long weekend on May 20, Whit Monday.

The reason ? Solidarity Day. Placed in place in 2004 for the government to finance actions in favor of the autonomy of older or handicapped people, the Solidarity Journey consists of a supplementary work day that employees should be effective in and without being remunerated. more. Employers, for their part, must pay a financial contribution equal to 0.3% of gross salary.

Does Solidarity Day always fall on Whit Monday?

Not anymore now. After the Leonetti law of 2008, it is now up to companies to decide when the solidarity day will take place. Some even leave their employees the choice, through an internal company agreement (or in the absence of a collective agreement), to decide which public holiday is best suited to them to celebrate this Solidarity Day. With two exceptions: May 1st, International Workers’ Rights Day, when you cannot work, and Sunday.

Solidarity Day, how does it work?

Solidarity Day is equivalent, for all full-time employees, to 7 hours of unpaid work. For those who work part-time, the Solidarity Day is carried out in proportion to the duration of the contractual work.

Good to know: If Solidarity Day is kept on Whit Monday, or if it is moved to another public holiday, employees and interns under the age of 18 are not required to work.

What to do if you don’t want to work on Whit Monday?

Parents know it well: they have to work, but on Whit Monday schools and nurseries are closed. By agreement with the employer, they can then take a day off or RTT to be with their family.

What’s open? What is closed?

As mentioned, schools and nurseries, post offices, municipal services, CAFs and Social Security offices, France Travail, tax centers and libraries will remain closed. But also doctors’ offices and pharmacies, with the exception of doctors and pharmacies on duty.

Instead, supermarkets, department stores, swimming pools and national museums should remain open. As for public transport, they operate on a reduced service, as happens on public holidays.

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