The Council of State has just issued a long-awaited opinion on the acquisition of paid sick leave. The retroactivity of the measure should be closely regulated.
Wednesday March 13, the Council of State has published an important notice concerning modifications to the Labor Code, in particular with regard to the accumulation of paid leave during periods of sick leave. This opinion will allow the government to quickly legislate on this subject, reports BFM.
The decision follows a series of rulings from the Court of Cassation in September 2023, which called for the alignment of French labor law with European law. A 2003 European directive stipulates that employees should be able to accumulate leave during sick leave.
French companies were concerned about the financial impact of this measure, fearing in particular the retroactive costs associated with sick leave in recent years, which could amount to several billion euros.
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Retroactivity limited to three years
The Council of State, however, limited this retroactivity to 3 years. So, only employees who left their job less than 3 years before the new law comes into force will be able to claim compensation leave for periods of sick leave.
For those who are still in office, the retroactivity will be 2 years. Although this decision always involves a cost for employers, it is significantly lower than that initially feared, estimated at 6 billion euros in the event of retroactivity of 3 years. Some jurists have even put forward the figure of 14 billion euros!
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Furthermore, the Council specified that paid leave could be taken within a period of 15 months and that compensation would be calculated on the basis of 4 weeks per year, unlike the 5 weeks provided for by French law, which is more generous than European legislation.
This decision was welcomed with relief by employers’ organizations such as CPME and Medef, according to BFM. A government amendment is expected to be presented at the end of March or beginning of April at the latestthus concretizing these changes in French legislation.
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