Since the end of April 2024, you can acquire paid leave days in the event of non-professional sick leave. But be careful, if you don’t use them on time, they are permanently lost.
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You couldn’t have missed it: since April 24, 2024, you have benefited from new rights in terms ofacquisition of your paid leave during sick leave. From now on, any employee on sick leave, whether professional or not, continues to receive paid leave. Before this reform, only employees on leave due to work accidents or occupational illnesses automatically benefited from such a provision. Workers on sick leave of non-professional origin did not accumulate any days of leave – unless there was a better collective agreement. From now on, each employee on sick leave therefore accumulates 2 working days of paid leave per month of absence for non-professional sick leave, with a ceiling of 24 working days (4 weeks) over a year. In the event of time off due to a work accident or occupational illness, the rule remains unchanged: you benefit from 2.5 working days of paid leave per month of absence, up to a maximum of 30 working days (5 weeks) per year.
A maximum deferral period of 15 months
But be careful: these leaves are not unlimited in time! If, because of your sick leave, you cannot take your leave during the usual taking period, you can benefit from a deferral period of 15 months. For example, if your usual period of taking leave extends until May 31, 2025, you will be able to postpone your leave acquired during your sick leave until August 31 of 2026. Be careful, because once Once this deadline has passed, your leave is lost.
However, “this period only begins after the employer has informed the employee, upon his return, of the number of days of leave acquired and the deadline for using them”points out Louise Peugny, associate lawyer at the Voltaire lawyers firm. Clearly, as long as your boss does not correctly inform you of your rights, you can postpone the use of your leave without any time limit.
Also read: Paid sick leave: how long do you have to claim it?
The special case of long-term shutdowns
There is only one exception to this: employees on long-term leave. If you have been absent for one year at the end of the leave vesting period, the starting point of the 15 months is automatically set at the end of this vesting period. And this, even if the employer has not clearly informed you of the number of days of paid leave acquired or the deadline for using them! Two scenarios are then possible. Let’s imagine that your vesting period is set from June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025:
- You do not return to work before the 15-month deferral period : in this case, the paid leave acquired during your sick leave is permanently lost. For example, if you have been absent since April 26, 2024 and you return to work more than 15 months after the end of the leave acquisition period (i.e. beyond September 1, 2026), you lose your leave rights. acquired during this period.
- You return to work during the 15-month deferral period : here, the postponement period is suspended until the employer informs the employee of their leave rights. Once the information is communicated, the deferral period resumes until the new calculated end date. For example, if you are absent due to illness from April 26, 2024 to July 31, 2026, you theoretically benefit from a deferral period which extends until September 1, 2026. If you return to work on August 1, 2026, then If you have one month of deferral left, the deadline is suspended until your employer informs you of your rights. If he does not do so until August 7, 2026, the end of the deferral period is postponed by one week, until September 7, 2026, instead of September 1, 2026.
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