In France, all forms of employee absence must be justified and/or supported with official proof, which must usually be provided within 48 hours. Unjustified absences will lead to disciplinary action, or in some cases, a presumed resignation (abandon de poste).
Common forms of justified employee absence include:
1. Sick leave
Unlike in the UK and some other countries, there is no self-certification process for French employees on sick leave. All sickness absence must be supported by a doctor’s certificate.
This certificate, known as an avis d’arrêt de travail, will confirm the employee’s sick-leave dates and whether the leave is due to illness or a work-related issue only. French employers are legally prohibited from asking their employees (or their doctors) to explain why they are off sick, or ask any health-related questions. On the arrêt de travail, the doctor will indicate whether the employee is allowed out of their home or whether they must stay in.
If any adaptations need to be made to the employee’s role as a result of their sickness, they will be suggested and organised by the company’s occupational health physician.
2. Sick child leave
French employees are entitled to sick child leave (congé pour enfant malade) to care for their children in the event of illness or injury.
This leave applies regardless of employee class or length of service, and in most cases the child must be under 16 years old. There is no age limit if the child has a recognised disability, or if the employee can provide medical evidence to show that the child needs one of their parents to be at home with them.
Generally, employees are entitled to three days of sick child leave per year, which may be extended to five days in specific circumstances. While they are not legally required to be paid, many employers choose to pay their employees as though they had worked.
(Note that in the Alsace-Moselle region, employees are legally entitled to be paid for “reasonable” sick child leave as part of a unique regional labour law).
3. Maternity leave
Maternity leave rights and provisions are set by the French Labour Code and collective bargaining agreements. Employers have the freedom to enhance these statutory rights, although few small-to-mid-sized companies do.
Pregnant employees are automatically entitled to maternity leave, some of which is compulsory. It is taken in two parts: before the birth (antenatal) and after (postnatal) and the general entitlement is 16 weeks’ leave, usually taken as six weeks’ antenatal and 10 weeks’ postnatal.
Note, however, that the exact duration of maternity leave varies according to how many children the employee already has, and if the pregnancy involves multiple births.
Although the employee may choose not to take all of their maternity leave entitlement, they must stop working for at least eight weeks, of which six must be postnatal leave.
4. Paternity leave
Similar to maternity leave, paternity leave is taken in two separate parts.
Before paternity leave officially begins, the employee must take three days of mandatory childbirth leave, which starts either on the day of the child’s birth or the next working day. These days are paid as though the employee had worked them, and the employee must provide a copy of their new baby’s birth certificate as justification.
The next four calendar days (immediately following mandatory childbirth leave) constitute the first stage of paternity leave, which is also mandatory. This is followed by a non-mandatory stage of 21 days, or 28 days in the case of two or more children, which can either be taken together or as two separate periods of at least five days’ duration each, within six months of the child’s birth.
Eligibility for paternity pay depends on certain conditions. However, as some conventions collectives provide for more favourable compensation, such as full continuation of salary throughout the leave, employers are advised to make the appropriate checks.
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