After the publication of the opinion of the Council of State, the government will table an amendment to allow employees on sick leave to acquire leave, in accordance with European law.
This is a small revolution in the world of work: employees on sick leave will now be able to acquire paid leave. This Friday, the government tabled an amendment to bring French labor law into compliance with European law. The text will be examined next week.
Until now, a French employee on sick leave of non-professional origin might not acquire paid leave while an employee on sick leave of professional origin might acquire it at the rate of five weeks per year, but only in the limit of one year. In other words, a judgment no longer gave the right to leave beyond one year. Provisions deemed contrary to European law by the Court of Cassation on September 13, 2023.
Doze of savings: Leave, even when sick – 03/15
Employees on non-professional leave will be able to acquire leave
Based on an opinion delivered by the Council of State on March 13, the government will remedy this situation by guaranteeing leave rights to sick employees. Its amendment provides in particular that employees on non-professional sick leave can now acquire paid leave at the rate of two days per month, within the limit of 24 days (i.e. four weeks) acquired per year.
Employees on work-related sick leave will be able to continue to acquire paid leave during their leave at the same rate as currently (five weeks). However, the one-year limit will be removed.
The government amendment provides that leave acquired during a stoppage can be taken by the employee within 15 months. The employer will have ten days to inform the employee returning to work of this deadline and their leave rights.
What retroactivity?
The amendment also provides for provisions concerning leave which would have been acquired before the law of March 10, 2023 containing various provisions for adaptation to European Union law (DDADUE). It specifies in particular that the limit of four weeks of leave applies to employees who have been on non-professional leave between December 1, 2009, the date of entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, and the publication of the law.
From the publication of the law, the employee will also have two years to have the judge recognize their right to paid leave for sick leave occurring following December 1, 2009.
Finally, the government should follow the advice of the Council of State regarding retroactivity. The highest administrative court had in fact limited to three years the retroactivity of compensation due to employees who have been ill and lost leave as a result since December 1, 2009.
