France: Leave Mapping

A practical overview of annual, sick, maternity, paternity and public holiday entitlements for employees in France.

Understanding statutory leave entitlements is an important part of managing employees and payroll in France. Employers need to ensure that employees receive the appropriate leave while maintaining accurate payroll and absence records.

This leave mapping outlines the key leave provisions employers should understand when employing staff in France.

1. Annual Leave

  • Employees are entitled to a minimum of 5 weeks of paid annual leave, equivalent to 25 business days per year.
  • Annual leave accrues at a rate of 2.5 days per month worked.
  • The leave year runs from 1 June to 31 May of the following year.

2. Sick Leave

An employee who is medically unfit to work can be placed on sick leave following certification by a doctor. The duration of sick leave depends on the employee’s medical condition and medical certification.

Annual leave accrues at a rate of 2.5 days per month worked.

3. Maternity Leave

Employees are entitled to a minimum of 16 weeks of statutory maternity leave.

The duration varies according to the employee’s family situation and is divided into:

  • Prenatal leave: 6 weeks before the expected due date.
  • Postnatal leave: 10 weeks after childbirth.

4. Paternity Leave

Fathers are entitled to a minimum of 25 days of paternity leave following the birth of their child.

5. National Holidays

France has 11 public holidays. However, Labour Day on 1 May is the only statutory paid public holiday.

𝘐𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘦𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵.

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Soné Smith
Head of Operations, Praxiwork