Bench time, or intercontrat in French, is the period when a consultant employed by an IT consultancy (ESN) is assigned to no billed assignment, between two assignments. Their employment contract continues: they remain paid and at their employer's disposal. For the consultancy, every day on the bench is a cost with no revenue, which is reduced mostly by anticipating the end of the assignment.
This article covers what French law says, what the consultant can do, what bench time costs and how to reduce it.
Article checked on 11 November 2026.
What is bench time?
Bench time is when an IT consultancy consultant is not on assignment at a client: between two assignments, or before their first one. The French term intercontrat comes from consultancy practice, not from the law. During this period, the consultant remains employed by the consultancy, at its disposal, and paid.
Two situations should be distinguished:
- The consultant employed on a permanent contract (CDI): their contract continues as normal. Bench time is a period of unbilled work, not a suspension of the contract.
- The freelancer: they have no salary. Between two assignments, they bill nothing, which their day rate must anticipate. See our article on the TJM (day rate).
The precise rules, such as a possible mobility clause or the content of internal tasks, depend on the employment contract, the collective agreement that applies to the consultancy and its company agreements.
What a consultant on the bench can do
A consultant on the bench remains at their employer's disposal for tasks within their contract. The most common are training, an internal project, presales support and preparing their next assignment. These days are not billed, but they can prepare the next placement.
- Training on a technology clients ask for, or taking a certification.
- Working on an internal project: a tool, an accelerator, a contribution to an offer.
- Supporting presales: answering a tender, a technical presentation.
- Updating their skills profile with the assignment that has just ended. See our article on the skills profile.
- Interviewing with future clients, when the consultancy puts them forward.
On leave, the employer cannot do everything. Unless an agreement says otherwise, they set the leave period and the order of departures, but cannot change the dates less than one month before the planned departure, except in exceptional circumstances (article L. 3141-16 of the French Labour Code).
How much does bench time cost?
A day on the bench costs the consultancy the consultant's full daily cost, with no invoice against it. It is calculated as when setting a day rate: the consultant's annual cost, contributions included, divided by the billable days in the year. It is then multiplied by the number of days without an assignment.
Example, with the assumptions of our article on the day rate: salary of €50,000 gross a year, 45% employer contributions and €3,000 of other costs, i.e. €75,500 a year. Over 217 billable days, the cost is €347.93 per day.
| Bench time | Cost with no invoice |
|---|---|
| 5 days | €1,739.65 |
| 20 days (one month) | €6,958.60 |
| 40 days | €13,917.20 |
This cost comes on top of lost earnings: the margin the assignment would have brought. With a day rate of €500, twenty days without an assignment also mean €10,000 less revenue.
Measuring bench time: the utilisation rate
The utilisation rate, or staffing rate, relates a consultant's billed days to their available working days, over a month or a year. It is the indicator that measures bench time. It is calculated from the days approved in the CRAs (monthly activity reports), not from the days planned on assignments.
Utilisation rate = billed days ÷ (working days − leave and absences).
Three useful readings:
- By consultant, to spot those who chain short assignments and the gaps between them.
- By skill, to see the profiles the market asks for less.
- Three months ahead, by cross-checking assignment end dates: that is tomorrow's bench time.
The calculation is only right if the CRAs are. See our article on the CRA (activity report).
Reducing bench time: see the end of the assignment coming
Bench time is decided before the assignment ends. A consultancy that discovers the end of an assignment on the last Friday starts looking when the consultant is already no longer billed. The levers are well known: track end dates, prepare the skills profile beforehand, and put the consultant forward for clients' open needs.
- Track end dates and renewals. Each assignment has an end date in the tool, and the renewal question is put to the client several weeks before.
- Update the skills profile before the end, with the current assignment, so it can be presented the very day a need comes in.
- Share the talent pool between sales and recruiters. A consultant who becomes free must appear in the same searches as candidates when a client need opens.
- Look at the open needs of current clients: the client of an ending assignment often has another need.
In Marvin: the end of an assignment shows before bench time
In Marvin, the hired candidate becomes a consultant on the same record, with no re-entry. As the end of the assignment approaches, the consultant rises in the availability score, then becomes available again on the day the assignment ends. An assignment's end thus shows 60 days before bench time.
What this looks like day to day:
- One talent pool. Client companies, contacts, candidates and consultants live in the same database: sales and recruiters search in the same place.
- The skills profile in your branding, generated from the consultant's record, anonymous version included.
- The days approved in the CRA give the margin by assignment, by consultant and by client.
See Marvin's consultant space and our IT consultancy software page.
FAQ
What is bench time (intercontrat)?
It is the period during which a consultant employed by an IT consultancy is assigned to no billed assignment, between the end of one assignment and the start of the next. Their employment contract continues: they remain employed, paid and at their employer’s disposal.
Is a consultant on the bench paid?
Yes. Bench time is not a suspension of the employment contract: an employee on a permanent contract who remains at their employer’s disposal receives their salary. For the consultancy, it is a cost with no revenue against it.
Can the consultancy impose leave during bench time?
Only within the paid-leave rules. Unless an agreement says otherwise, the employer sets the leave period and the order of departures, and cannot change the dates less than one month before the planned departure, except in exceptional circumstances (article L. 3141-16 of the French Labour Code).
What does a consultant do on the bench?
They remain at their employer’s disposal for tasks within their contract: training, an internal project, presales support, updating their skills profile, interviews with future clients. These days are not billed.
How much does a month on the bench cost?
The consultant’s daily cost multiplied by the days without an assignment. With a salary of €50,000 gross a year, 45% employer contributions and €3,000 of other costs, a consultant costs about €348 per billable day; twenty days on the bench represent nearly €7,000 of cost with no invoice.
How do you reduce bench time?
By seeing the end of the assignment coming: track end dates and renewals, update the skills profile beforehand, and put the consultant forward for clients’ open needs as soon as an end date approaches. Sales and recruitment must look at the same talent pool.