by Mégane Mullebrouck and Elise Vanhamme
On April 24, France introduced an important legislative change regarding the accumulation of leave days during employee illness. Previously, an employee was entitled to accumulate leave only in cases of absence due to occupational illness or workplace injury, with a maximum limit of one year of absence. For non-occupational illnesses, leave was not accrued unless otherwise specified in the collective agreement. This change was introduced to align French labor law with European regulations. Now, employees can partially accumulate paid leave (80%) during periods of illness.
In the case of workplace injury or occupational illness: The employee is entitled to the usual accrual rate of 2,5 days of leave per month of absence, with a maximum of 30 days per year.
In the case of non-occupational illness: Since the legislative change, the employee accrues 2 days of leave per month of absence, with a maximum of 24 days per year.
The new legislation also imposes additional obligations on employers. The employer must inform the employee in a timely manner of the number of accrued leave days and the deadline by which these can be taken. This information must be provided in writing within one month following the employee’s return, using a method that ensures receipt. This requirement applies to all periods of absence, regardless of duration.
During the employee’s absence, however, the employer is not permitted to inform them about the number of accrued leave days.
Six months after this law took effect, its practical application has proven to be challenging in some cases. For example, what happens if the employer fails to comply with this new obligation? The law remains unclear on this point. Additionally, it provides no specific guidelines on the format in which the information should be conveyed. In special situations, such as consecutive periods of illness and work, it is also unclear how information should be communicated.
Employers are therefore encouraged to exercise caution by carefully identifying the different periods during which leave days are accumulated and ensuring that accurate, written information is provided to the employee to prevent any misunderstandings.
If you have further questions about these new obligations, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
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Mégane Mullebrouck
Advisor Accountancy megane.mullebrouck@vandelanotte.fr
Elise Vanhamme
Senior Advisor Social Legal elise.vanhamme@vdl.be
Disclaimer
In our opinions, we rely on current legislation, interpretations and legal doctrine. This does not prevent the administration from disputing them or from changing existing interpretations.
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