Narbonne security firm sets four-hour floor for short shifts

SSP MÉDITERRANÉE, the private-security company based in Narbonne, has set a derogatory four-hour minimum for certain short shiftsLegifrance. The company agreement on the durée minimale des périodes de travail, signed on 21 September 2026 with staff delegatesLegifrance, allows shifts below the six-hour sectoral minimum only for three precisely defined kinds of workLegifrance; every other activity keeps the six-hour conventional minimumLegifrance. The agreement is concluded for an indefinite term and entered into force on 21 September 2026Legifrance, subject to regular signature, any required approval formalities and filing on the labour ministry's TéléAccords platform, with no retroactive effect.

The derogation covers event security (sporting, cultural and artistic events, concerts, festivals, gatherings and temporary fairs — any non-permanent event whose hours the organiser or client imposes), shop security, and exceptional replacements.Legifrance An event assignment qualifies only if it is one-off or non-structural, expected to last under six hours, directly tied to the event's duration or the organiser's hours, and cannot reasonably be extended. A shop assignment qualifies only where the shop's public opening lasts under six hours and the duration is imposed by the client's opening hours with no useful way to extend the shift. An exceptional replacement must answer a temporary, real and objectively identifiable need — sudden absence, late-notified sick leave, serious delay, early departure for a compelling reason or an incident needing one-off reinforcement — must not be habitual or recurrent, must not circumvent the conventional minimum, and is limited to the strictly necessary duration. Expressly excluded are logistics, industrial and permanent tertiary assignments, fixed-post or continuous surveillance, assignments the company freely controls, shifts that can reasonably run at least six hours, and any artificial split of a normally continuous assignment. In case of doubt, the six-hour minimum applies.

For qualifying assignments the minimum is four consecutive hours of effective work.Legifrance No shift under the agreement should normally be scheduled below four hours; where a shift scheduled for at least four hours is cut short at the client's, organiser's or company's initiative for a reason not attributable to the employee, the employee is paid for at least four hours, subject to more favourable conventional rules. Artificial splitting is prohibited: a genuinely continuous assignment must be organised and paid as a single shift, with no artificial interruption, no string of short successive shifts for one employee on the same assignment and no unpaid waiting time between inseparable sequences.

Employees are informed in writing — roster, email, SMS or scheduling tool — of the date, place, expected start and end, expected duration and nature of each shift, within the applicable notice periods; no employee may be penalised for a refusal the contract or law allows. The derogation leaves untouched maximum working hours, daily and weekly rest, night and Sunday work, conventional pay uplifts, leave and public holidays, part-timers' contractual minima and health and safety; more favourable provisions continue to apply. The company also commits to grouping hours where possible, avoiding multiple short shifts in one day and limiting disproportionate travel.

Management draws up a yearly report presented to the comité social et économique — total shifts concerned, breakdown across events, shops and exceptional replacements, real average duration, shortened shifts paid at the four-hour floor, employees concerned, difficulties, complaints and health and safety impact, in aggregate form. A follow-up meeting can be held within twelve months of entry into force, and the parties meet on reasoned request such as a sectoral-minimum change or abnormally high use of the derogation.

Legal basis: articles L.2253-1 to L.2253-3 of the Code du travail, as cited by the agreement, subject to verification of the applicable branch amendment.