French Labour Law

Paid Leave and Sick Leave in France: What the April 22, 2024 Law Means for Your Company

DAIRIA Law · 2026-08-11 · 5 min

Paid Leave and Sick Leave in France: What the April 22, 2024 Law Means for Your Company

Law no. 2024-364 of April 22, 2024 put an end to an anomaly in French law by bringing our legislation into line with European case law. From now on, an employee on sick leave continues to accrue paid leave, including where the leave is not work-related. For employers, this reform entails concrete changes in the management of leave balances, the information provided to employees, and the handling of retroactivity.

What the law says: the new accrual principle

Before this law, only work-related absences (industrial accident, occupational illness) gave rise to paid leave accrual, subject to a one-year cap. Ordinary sick leave gave rise to no entitlement. This distinction was held to be contrary to European Directive 2003/88/EC by the Court of Justice of the European Union, and subsequently by the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) in its rulings of September 13, 2023.

The law of April 22, 2024 establishes a dual accrual regime:

For non-work-related sick leave: the employee accrues 2 working days (jours ouvrables) of paid leave per month of absence, i.e. 24 working days per year (4 weeks). This is less than the usual 2.5 days (30 working days, i.e. 5 weeks) accrued during periods of actual work.

For work-related sick leave: the employee accrues 2.5 working days per month, with no time limit (the one-year cap is removed). The employee therefore accrues the same entitlements as if working.

The retroactive effect: how to manage it

The most sensitive aspect of this reform is its retroactive application. The law provides that employees may claim paid leave not accrued in respect of periods of sick leave dating back to December 1, 2009. However, this right is subject to a limitation period (délai de forclusion) of two years from the entry into force of the law, i.e. until April 23, 2026.

In practical terms, your current and former employees have until April 23, 2026 to claim the benefit of paid leave in respect of past sick leave. After that date, the right is time-barred.

Worked example

An employee was on ordinary sick leave for 8 months in 2022. Under the former regime, they accrued no paid leave during that period. With retroactivity, they may claim 8 x 2 = 16 working days of paid leave. If still employed, these days are added to their leave balance. If they have left the company, they may claim a compensatory indemnity (indemnité compensatrice).

The obligation to inform the employee

The law imposes a reinforced obligation on the employer to provide information. Within one month following the employee’s return after a period of sick leave, you must inform them, by any means providing a certain date (date certaine):

– Of the number of leave days available to them;

– Of the deadline by which these leave days may be taken;

– This deadline for taking leave is 15 months from the date of the information.

If you fail to provide this information, the leave carry-over period does not begin to run. The employee then retains the benefit of these days indefinitely, which can create a problematic build-up. Set up a template letter or an automatic email upon return from sick leave.

Carry-over of leave: a new 15-month period

Where an employee has been unable to take their paid leave due to sick leave, that leave is carried over. The law sets a carry-over period of 15 months from the date on which the employee is informed of their entitlements. This period replaces the former case-law rules, which could lead to unlimited carry-over.

If the sick leave lasts more than one year, the 15-month carry-over period begins to run at the end of the accrual period during which the leave was accumulated. For example, for leave accrued between June 1, 2025 and May 31, 2026, the carry-over expires on August 31, 2027 (15 months after May 31, 2026), provided the employee has been informed.

Financial impact for the employer: how to make provisions

This reform carries a real cost for employers, particularly because of retroactivity. Provisioning must take several parameters into account:

For current employees: identify all sick leave since December 1, 2009 and calculate the leave days theoretically accrued. Multiply by the employee’s current daily rate. This is your maximum exposure.

For former employees: the risk concerns a compensatory paid-leave indemnity. It is harder to quantify because it depends on the number of former employees who file a claim before April 23, 2026.

In practice, not all companies will be exposed in the same way. Sectors with high absenteeism rates (industry, healthcare, large-scale retail) will be proportionally more affected than service sectors with few long-term absences.

5 concrete actions to achieve compliance

1. Update your payroll software to incorporate the new accrual rules (2 days/month for ordinary illness, 2.5 days/month for industrial accident/occupational illness with no time limit).

2. Create a template information letter to be sent to the employee within one month following their return from sick leave. This letter must specify the number of days accrued and the deadline for taking them.

3. Audit your leave balances to identify employees who have had sick leave since 2009 and calculate any retroactive entitlement.

4. Make provisions for the cost in your accounts, distinguishing the certain cost (current employees) from the potential cost (former employees).

5. Brief your managers on the new rules so that they can schedule leave following returns from sick leave without disrupting teams.

The DAIRIA tip: The April 23, 2026 deadline is a hard cut-off for retroactivity. Review your workforce now. DAIRIA can help you identify the employees concerned, calculate the days owed, and generate information letters compliant with the law.

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