BFM TV welcomes the innovative initiative of Louis Privat and Les Grands Buffets planning for 2025 the deployment of working weeks composed of 3.5 days worked for 3,5 days of rest for Maîtres d’hotel and waiters while maintaining remunerations which are among the highest for the profession.
The restaurant unveiled a new internal organization for 2025 reducing the work week to 3.5 days for 3.5 days of rest. This measure is part of a global social logic that is not new at Les Grands Buffets”, says Louis Privat, who boasts of having been the first restaurant to adopt the 35-hour week in 1998, two years before Lionel Jospin’s reform in 2000 (Aubry law) made it mandatory in France.
“I did not understand the attitude of the professionals at the time,” he explains. There is of course an economic burden to bear for the establishment, but the gain of well-being at work is outweighting the burden. The 4-day week has strengthened the commitment of our employees and we have much less absenteeism,” points out Louis Privat. To successfully complete this transition, the restaurant plans to recruit 12 to 14% more staff and thus allow the entire team to benefit from an additional half-day per week.
