All employees of a company are entitled to days off paid by their employer. How to set them up, what are the other types of leave you can benefit from? We explain how to do it. Improve the understanding on your holidays
Paid vacation
Whatever your seniority and your type of contract (CDI, CDD, temporary or work-study contract) you have the right to leave paid by your employer.
How are paid holidays calculated?
Each employee acquires 2.5 working days per month, which corresponds to 5 weeks of paid leave for a full year of work. Throughout the year, you accumulate some days, this is called the reference period. It takes place in most companies between June 1 and May 31.
The good news is when the number of vacation days acquired is not a whole number, it is rounded up. The number of accumulated paid holidays is mentioned at the bottom of your payslip.
How to take a paid vacation?
As part of a permanent contract, leave must be used. They cannot be replaced by compensation.
A few important rules should be known to take advantage of your paid leave:
- You cannot take more than 24 consecutive paid vacation days.
Except in the case of a particular geographical constraint, for example for foreign workers or workers coming from overseas or if you have in your household a disabled or elderly person whom you must take care of.
- The employer can accept or refuse the dates requested depending on the constraints of the company’s activity.
Be careful, if you are absent without the agreement of your employer, you risk a sanction which can go as far as dismissal. An unjustified absence can be assimilated into an abandonment of position.
- You must take 12 consecutive working days during the period from May 1 to October 31.
This is called the main leave. The employer must inform you of the exact leave period at least 2 months in advance.
Other information to know: spouses and PACS partners who work in the same company are entitled to simultaneous leave.
Can you postpone your days off?
You can submit a leave request to your employer, but he is free to accept or refuse. He is also not required to reimburse the days of leave not taken, remember to ask for your vacation in advance.
Also read : How to boost your CV during holidays?
Reductions in working time (RTT)
It is a device for people who work more than 35 hours a week and which allows them to have days or half-days off. Work-study students also benefit.
How are RTTs calculated?
There are two calculation options: the so-called “actual” method and the lump sum method.
With the “actual” method, the RTTs are calculated according to the hours worked during the week. For example, if you work 37 hours over a week, you are entitled to 2 hours of RTT.
With the flat-rate method, you benefit each year from a number of RTT days defined in advance.
You can ask for your RTT days whenever you want. But the employer can also impose RTT days on the whole company (to bridge the gap, for example).
Other types of leave
There are several other types of leave (maternity, paternity, parental leave, adoption, illness, marriage, PACS, death, disability, etc.) and each has its own terms.
Review leave
If you are on a work-study program , you have the right to 5 days in the month preceding your exams to revise. During these 5 days, your remuneration is maintained by the company.
If you have a student job in addition to your studies, you also have the right to 5 days off to revise. But beware, this leave is unpaid.
Unpaid leave
Unpaid leave is unpaid leave that you can request if needed. It is not subject to any specific regulations and is awarded on a case-by-case basis.
The sabbatical
Unlike leave without pay, sabbatical leave is subject to specific legislation. It can range from 6 to 11 months. During this period, you are not paid but you are guaranteed to find your job on your return.
To be eligible for a sabbatical leave, several criteria must be met:
- Have 3 years of seniority in the company;
- Justify at least 6 years of professional activity (without having previously benefited from a professional transition project or leave for the creation or takeover of a business or a previous sabbatical leave);
- You must send your request to the employer at least 3 months before the planned departure date.
The employer can refuse your sabbatical leave request if:
- You do not meet the eligibility conditions;
- If he judges that this leave represents a prejudice against the proper functioning of the company after consulting the CSE (social and economic committee).
You can challenge a refusal by seizing the industrial tribunal within 15 days.
Business start-up leave
This leave allows you to suspend your employment contract to create or take over a business. To be entitled to it, you must have a seniority of at least 2 years in the company. In this case too, the employer may refuse to grant the leave if the employee does not fulfil the conditions giving him the right to it.
In companies with less than 300 employees, he can also refuse this leave if he considers that the departure will have detrimental consequences after having sought the opinion of the CSE. As for the sabbatical leave, in case of refusal, you can seize the council within 15 days.
sick leave
If you are sick, you must provide your employer with your sick leave within 48 hours. You will be compensated by Health Insurance following a waiting period of 3 days. The waiting day is the period during which you receive neither compensation nor salary.
Leave for family events
Birth, marriage, PACS, death of a loved one: when these events occur you can be absent. Your request for absence must be sent to the employer with proof of the event (birth certificate, death certificate, for example).
The law sets a minimum duration for each circumstance:
- 4 days for a wedding or PACS;
- 1 day for the marriage of a child;
- 3 days for the arrival of an adopted child.
A longer period may be set by the convention or the company agreement.
Moving leave
There is no legal leave in the event of a move. But there are certain collective agreements or company agreements that allow you to benefit from this leave.