French workers who fall sick on holiday can now get holiday days back

Employees who fall sick during paid holiday leave will soon be able to recoup these rest days provided they have a doctor’s note, following a landmark French court ruling.

Until now, falling sick when taking pre-scheduled paid leave was simply an unfortunate incident for workers. 

They rarely bothered to get a sick note for the dates as French law ruled they could not receive sick-leave if on paid leave at the time, with the latter superseding the former.

However the Cour de cassation, France’s highest judicial court, recently ruled that if you are issued with an official sick note during your holiday period, the paid leave covered by these days must be returned to you to be taken at a future date.

The court made its decision based on EU laws that implement similar practices across the bloc such as Italy and Belgium. 

In June, France was warned by the EU Commission over a lack of such rules, arguing that French legislation is not guaranteeing “the health and safety of workers.”

France will soon update its labour laws to make the practice automatic, however a delay is possible due to the current political situation. 

The Code du Travail is expected to be updated to reflect the ruling by the end of the year and potentially as soon as October.

Before this time, businesses may remain reluctant to grant employees extra days off in such a situation. Employees have the right to go to the labour courts to assert their rights, but this could prove expensive.

How will new rules work?

The number of days returned to an employee corresponds with the dates indicated on the sick note. 

For example if the worker is on paid leave from a Monday to a Friday but their sick note only covers Thursday and Friday, they have two days of paid leave returned to them. 

The rules also apply if people fall sick just prior to a holiday, and the sick leave period is ongoing while their planned paid leave begins. 

In this case they must be returned the paid leave back for any days covered by a sick note.

In all cases an official sick note from a doctor (electronic or physical) for the period. 

Rising health costs on the way? 

The news may be good for workers but it is sure to lead to grimaces in the government. 

France is running an estimated €22 billion health spending deficit each year, and is looking at ways to cut spending, including attempts at reducing sick-pay. 

The new rules mean people who fall sick while on leave will be far more likely to go to a doctor to get a sick note to benefit from getting their paid leave back – beforehand, many chose not to bother as they saw no benefit.

However, the influx of people who will now request a sick note in such circumstances will lead to additional state spending on sick-pay that previously would not have been given.

As a reminder, sick-pay begins for public sector employees from the first day off sick (although the government has frequently suggested increasing this to align with the private sector). 

Private sector employees generally see state sick-pay begin after four days, but those in certain departments or at certain companies can see employer-based sick-pay begin earlier.