In our earlier weblog on 26 February 2024 (Paid go away entitlements throughout illness absence: a big change in France | World Office Insider), we talked about the reversal in case legislation taken by the French Supreme Court docket regarding the guidelines relevant to accrual of paid annual go away for workers absent on sick go away.
Certainly, whereas beforehand French legislation didn’t permit paid annual go away to be accrued throughout non-work-related illness absence, on 13 September 2023, in three unprecedented selections, the French Supreme Court docket dominated that French legislation didn’t adjust to European legislation and that, consequently, the accrual of paid go away throughout sick go away ought to apply to all workers whatever the purpose for the absence.
Consequently, it was left to the French legislator to intervene as a way to carry French legislation into line with European laws. The brand new laws was carried out on 24 April 2024.
The brand new guidelines relevant to the accrual of paid go away throughout sick go away are actually as follows:
What number of days’ paid vacation does an worker accrue whereas absent as a result of illness?
As a reminder, underneath French legislation, the interval of accrual of paid vacation is the interval between 1st June and 31st Might of the next 12 months. Beneath the brand new legislation:
- An worker on non-work-related sick go away will accrue paid vacation as much as a most of two working days per 30 days (i.e., 24 working days most per 12 months).
- An worker who’s on sick go away for work-related causes will accrue paid vacation as much as a most of two.5 working days per 30 days (i.e., 30 working days most per 12 months).
Data to be offered by the employer on the finish of the interval of sick go away
Beneath the brand new legislation, employers should inform workers of their rights after they return to work. Within the month following the worker’s return to work, the employer should present the worker, by any means (together with of their pay slip), with info on the variety of days of vacation go away accrued and the date by which this go away should be taken.
Carry-over interval for untaken go away
In precept, paid go away should be taken inside a twelve-month interval starting on the finish of the interval of accrual (for instance, if the interval of accrual is from 1st June 2024 to 31st Might 2025, paid go away should be taken from 1st June 2025 to 31st Might 2026).
The brand new legislation supplies for a carry-over interval of 15 months for utilizing paid go away accrued throughout a interval of illness absence, after which any paid go away not taken will probably be misplaced. The place to begin for the interval from when the go away should be taken depends upon the size of the interval of sick go away.
Retroactivity
The brand new legislation is retroactive and applies to sick go away taken between 1st December 2009 and 23rd April 2024. For non-work-related illness absence, claims in respect of intervals of annual which have already lapsed are restricted to 24 working days of go away (together with different go away already accrued).
Lastly, the brand new legislation stipulates that for workers nonetheless working for a similar firm, claims for paid go away regarding intervals previous to 24th April 2024 should be submitted by 23rd April 2026. For these whose employment contract has been terminated, the limitation interval is three years from the date of termination.
This legislation clarifies the state of affairs and supplies a extra reassuring framework for firms.