Minimum Wage and Part-Time Work: What You Need to Know in 2026
01 June 2026 · 4 min reading time
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The part-time SMIC is not calculated at random. Whether you are on a half-time contract, working 20 hours or 24 hours per week, your salary must comply with the legal minimum hourly wage. Since June 1, 2026, the gross hourly SMIC has been set at €12.31. Between gross salary calculations, estimated net pay, additional hours and sometimes more favorable minimum rates set by collective bargaining agreements, it is not always easy to know how much a part-time employee should actually earn.
In this article, we explain how to calculate the part-time SMIC, which amounts to know since the June 1, 2026 increase, and in which cases your pay may be higher than the legal minimum.
Key points about the part-time SMIC, updated on June 1, 2026
How is the part-time SMIC calculated?
The calculation of a part-time salary is based on a simple rule: pay is proportional to the number of hours stated in the employment contract.
Basic formula:
gross hourly SMIC × contractual monthly hours = gross monthly salary
To convert weekly working time into monthly working time, the following formula is generally used:
number of hours per week × 52 / 12
Example:
For a 24-hour-per-week contract, or around 104 hours per month:
€12.31 × 104 h = €1,280.24 gross per month
This amount does not include any additional hours, bonuses, benefits in kind or collective minimum wages, all of which may increase the final salary.
Examples of part-time salaries paid at the SMIC
A part-time salary paid at the SMIC is calculated proportionally to the number of hours worked compared with the legal full-time working week of 35 hours. The hourly rate remains the same as for a full-time employee: since June 1, 2026, it is €12.31 gross per hour. Only the working time changes.
The examples below show how the SMIC applies to different weekly working hours commonly found in part-time contracts.
Part-time SMIC for 20 hours per week
A 20-hour-per-week contract corresponds to around 57% of a full-time job. Salary is therefore calculated on this basis, applying the SMIC hourly rate to the hours actually stated in the contract.
This type of schedule often applies to students, supplementary jobs or positions with targeted working hours. Monthly pay is logically lower than for a full-time job, although social rights such as paid leave and social protection are maintained.
Practical example: 20 hours per week
The gross monthly salary will be:
€12.31 × 86.67 h = €1,066.87 gross
This is equivalent to approximately €844.53 net per month, depending on employee contributions and the specific parameters of the payslip.
This type of contract is common in sectors such as retail, hotels and restaurants, personal services, or among students combining studies and work.
SMIC for 24 hours per week
A 24-hour working week is the legal minimum threshold for a part-time contract, unless a derogation applies. It represents around 69% of a full-time job.
With a 24-hour-per-week contract, the employee works around 104 hours per month. Since June 1, 2026, this corresponds to a monthly salary of approximately €1,280.24 gross, or around €1,013.44 net.
At this number of hours, monthly pay becomes more stable and may make it easier to access certain benefits or income supplements. This working time is frequently used in supermarkets, restaurants, cleaning, home care and service jobs.
SMIC for 28 hours per week
A 28-hour working week equals 80% of a full-time job. The employee therefore receives around 80% of the monthly SMIC, excluding any bonuses.
Since June 1, 2026, a 28-hour-per-week contract represents around 121.33 hours per month. The monthly salary therefore reaches approximately €1,493.61 gross, or nearly €1,182.34 net.
This format is often chosen to balance professional and personal life, particularly when part-time work is voluntary. It allows employees to keep a salary relatively close to full-time pay while benefiting from a lighter working schedule.
SMIC for 30 hours per week
With 30 hours per week, the employee works around 86% of the legal working time. Pay is therefore close to that of a full-time job, while still being legally considered part-time.
Since June 1, 2026, a 30-hour-per-week contract corresponds to around 130 hours per month. The monthly salary at the SMIC is therefore approximately €1,600.30 gross, or around €1,266.79 net.
This working time is common in sectors that need regular employee presence while maintaining flexibility in work organization. It offers a good balance between salary level and reduced working time.
To better understand how the part-time SMIC is calculated, here is a summary table of monthly amounts according to the number of hours stated in the contract.
| Hours per week | Hours per month | Gross monthly salary | Estimated net monthly salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17.5 h | 75.83 h | €933.51 | €738.96 |
| 20 h | 86.67 h | €1,066.87 | €844.53 |
| 24 h | 104 h | €1,280.24 | €1,013.44 |
| 25 h | 108.33 h | €1,333.58 | €1,055.66 |
| 28 h | 121.33 h | €1,493.61 | €1,182.34 |
| 30 h | 130 h | €1,600.30 | €1,266.79 |
For very short working hours, a 12-hour-per-week SMIC contract should be checked carefully, as it is below the legal minimum duration of 24 hours except where a derogation applies.
Part-time work: must my employer respect the minimum wage?
A part-time employee benefits from the same minimum hourly rate as a full-time employee. The employer must therefore comply with the gross hourly SMIC, set at €12.31 since June 1, 2026, from the very first hour worked.
In other words, it is illegal to pay an hour of work below the SMIC, even when the contract only provides for a few hours per week. Part-time work reduces the number of paid hours, but it does not reduce the minimum hourly rate that applies.
The most common abuses involve unpaid hours, breaks used as actual working time, undeclared hours or a contractual working time that is lower than the work actually requested.
In case of doubt, employees should reread their employment contract, check the hourly rate shown on their payslip and compare the number of paid hours with the hours actually worked. They may also contact an employee representative, a trade union or the labour inspectorate.
Part-time work: watch out for collective minimum wages
The SMIC is a legal floor, but in some sectors, the applicable collective bargaining agreement may provide for a more favorable pay scale.
For example, collective agreements in metalworking, construction, transport, hotels and restaurants or banking may set minimum hourly rates above the SMIC, depending on the job, classification, qualification level or seniority.
In that case, the collective minimum wage must be applied if it is more favorable than the SMIC. If your salary is based on the SMIC while your collective agreement provides for a higher rate, your employer must adjust your pay.
Conversely, if a collective pay scale provides for an amount below the SMIC, the SMIC prevails. An employee can never be paid below the legal minimum wage.
Is the part-time SMIC enough to live on?
With net pay sometimes below €1,000 per month, many part-time employees struggle to cover everyday expenses such as housing, transport, food, healthcare or energy.
As a benchmark, the monetary poverty line in France is set at 60% of the median standard of living. According to the latest data published by Insee, it corresponds to €1,288 per month for a single person. A part-time employee paid at the SMIC may therefore fall below this threshold when they have no other income, especially with a 20- or 24-hour-per-week contract.
Benefits such as the prime d’activité, housing assistance or the RSA may help supplement income, subject to means testing and depending on household composition. It is therefore useful to run a simulation with the CAF to find out exactly what support may be available.
Rights and obligations of part-time employees paid at the SMIC
A part-time employee has the same rights as other employees, except for rights or amounts calculated in proportion to working time.
The employment contract must specify the weekly or monthly working time, the distribution of working hours, the salary, the limits within which additional hours may be worked and how working schedules are communicated.
Part-time employees also benefit from social protection, paid leave, access to vocational training, public holidays where the applicable conditions are met, and end-of-contract payments when the type of contract provides for them.
When the employer asks the employee to work beyond the duration stated in the contract, these are additional hours. They must be paid with a premium. In the absence of more favorable collective provisions, the premium is 10% within the limit of one tenth of the contractual working time, then 25% beyond that, within the authorized limit.
Involuntary vs voluntary part-time work: what is the difference?
Voluntary part-time work allows employees to balance their professional and personal lives, for example to study, care for a child, carry out another activity or deliberately reduce their working hours.
Involuntary part-time work, on the other hand, describes a situation in which the employee would like to work more but cannot find a full-time position or enough additional hours. This type of contract is more common in some sectors such as cleaning, supermarkets, home care, restaurants and services.
The distinction matters because the same number of working hours can be experienced very differently depending on whether it is chosen or imposed. When pay is based solely on the SMIC hourly rate and the number of hours remains low, involuntary part-time work can lead to greater insecurity, even if the hourly rate complies with the legal minimum.
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