Quelle est la période de nuit pour un chauffeur de marchandises ?

Dans le transport routier de marchandises, la période de nuit est généralement comprise entre 21h et 6h. Pour le transport de voyageurs, elle est généralement comprise entre 22h et 5h. Dès qu'une partie du travail est effectuée pendant cette période, des règles spécifiques s'appliquent. La définition exacte peut varier selon l'activité et la convention applicable.

Pourquoi ma journée est-elle limitée à 10h quand je travaille de nuit ?

La directive européenne 2002/15/CE impose que, lorsqu'un travail de nuit est effectué, le temps de travail ne dépasse pas 10 heures par période de 24 heures. C'est une règle de sécurité : le travail de nuit fatigue davantage, donc la journée de travail est davantage plafonnée que de jour.

Les heures de nuit sont-elles mieux payées ?

Oui. Les heures de travail effectif accomplies pendant la période de nuit ouvrent droit à une compensation, sous forme de majoration de salaire et/ou de repos compensateur, selon la convention collective et ses avenants. Le taux et la forme exacts dépendent de l'accord applicable à ton entreprise.

Guides / Night work

Night work: the period, the 10-hour cap and the pay

Updated on 13 June 2026

Driving at night changes two things: your working day is shorter (10-hour cap), and your night hours must be compensated. But you need to know when "the night" starts and what you are entitled to.

Night work is not a scheduling detail: it triggers safety rules (reduced maximum duration) and pay entitlements (compensation). Here is how it all works.

1. What is the "night period"?

The night period is a time window defined by regulations. In goods transport, it generally runs from 21h to 6h; in passenger transport, from 22h to 5h. As soon as any part of your work falls within this window, you are subject to night-work rules, even if you only worked one hour during that period.

The precise definition of the period and the status of "night worker" (which depends on the number of nights worked in the year) may vary depending on the activity and the applicable collective agreement.

2. The cap: 10 working hours per 24h

This is the most important rule. Directive 2002/15/EC provides that, as soon as night work is performed, working time must not exceed 10 hours over a 24-hour period. During the day, the duration can go higher; at night, the safety threshold drops to 10h.

In practice:

You start at 4h in the morning (therefore within the night period): your working day is capped at 10h, whereas an entirely daytime day could go higher. Exceeding this cap constitutes a violation.

3. How night hours are paid

Actual working hours performed during the night period entitle you to compensation. Depending on the collective agreement and its supplements, this takes the form of a pay supplement, compensatory rest, or both. This is a right separate from overtime: you can combine the night supplement and the overtime supplement.

✅What counts: the working hours actually falling within the night window.

➖To check on your payslip: that these hours appear with their supplement and that none is "forgotten".

The exact supplement rate and form of compensation depend on the agreement applicable to your company. Amounts change: refer to your current collective agreement and its supplements.

🌙 Identify your night hours automatically

TruckerMaster reads your driver card and isolates work performed during the night period, day by day. You can see how many night hours you worked and verify that they are correctly supplemented on your payslip.

Analyse my nights for free →