France — Statutory Benefits & Leave

France mandates a national minimum wage — the salaire minimum interprofessionnel de croissance (SMIC) — that applies to all employees aged 18 or older in the private sector and to personnel of public industrial and commercial establishments (établissements publics à caractère industriel et commercial) and private-law personnel of public administrative establishments. The framework is set out in Code du travail Articles L3231-1 through L3231-12.

Two-fold statutory purpose. Under Article L3231-2, the SMIC guarantees: (1) the purchasing power of the lowest-paid employees through indexation to inflation, and (2) their participation in the economic development of the nation through a share of productivity gains.

Current rates (as of 1 January 2026). Décret n° 2025-1228 of 17 December 2025 fixed the SMIC at:

• €12.02 gross per hour in metropolitan France and in Guadeloupe, Guyane, Martinique, La Réunion, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon (a 1.18% increase);
• €1,823.03 gross per month for a 35-hour work week (151.67 monthly hours);
• €9.33 gross per hour in Mayotte (€1,415.05 monthly; a 3.90% increase under a specific convergence trajectory set by statute).

The net monthly amount is approximately €1,443 after employee social-insurance contributions, though the exact figure varies slightly by employer-specific health-insurance arrangements.

Automatic annual indexation (Article L3231-6). Since 2010, the SMIC is revalued each 1 January by decree, based on:

• inflation measured by the consumer-price index for the first quintile of households (the 20% with the lowest living standards); and
• at minimum, half the real-wage gain of the average base hourly wage of manual and non-manual workers (the salaire horaire de base ouvrier et employé, SHBOE), per Article L3231-8.

Mid-year automatic trigger (Article L3231-5). If the consumer-price index rises by 2% or more relative to the last SMIC adjustment, the SMIC is automatically increased in the same proportion on the first day of the month following publication of the triggering index. This mechanism was invoked in May 2022, August 2022, May 2023, and November 2024 during the post-COVID inflation spike.

Government discretion (Article L3231-10). The government may issue a supplementary increase (a "coup de pouce") at any time by decree in the Council of Ministers. No such discretionary increase has been granted since July 2012.

Reduced rates for workers under 18. Article R*3231-2 sets abatements for young workers without six months of professional practice in their sector:

• 20% abatement for workers under 17;
• 10% abatement for workers aged 17 to 18.

Apprentices and employees on professional-training contracts (contrat de professionnalisation) are subject to separate reduced-rate schedules tied to age and training year (Code du travail Article D6222-26 for apprentices).

Minimum guaranteed (minimum garanti). Article L3231-12 establishes a separate "minimum guaranteed" indexed to the same consumer-price index, used primarily to value benefits in kind. Décret n° 2025-1228 set this at €4.25 effective 1 January 2026.

Employer obligations. Article D3231-5 requires employers to pay employees aged 18 or older a supplemental amount (complément) whenever their contractual hourly wage falls below the SMIC in effect. The SMIC applies regardless of the form of remuneration (time-based, piece-rate, commission, or tipping), per Article L3231-1. Elements counted toward the SMIC threshold include base salary, seniority increments, shift premiums, and certain productivity bonuses; excluded are overtime premiums, expense reimbursements, annual profit-sharing, and sporadic bonuses.

Enforcement. Article R3233-1 of the Code du travail subjects employers who pay below the SMIC to a fifth-class administrative fine of €1,500 per affected employee (€3,000 on recurrence within one year). Employees may also pursue salary arrears and damages in the conseil de prud'hommes (labour tribunal).

Convention-collective interplay. If a collective agreement sets a minimum wage below the SMIC for a given classification, the employer must pay a differential to bring the employee to the SMIC floor. Conversely, Article L3231-3 prohibits collective agreements from indexing negotiated wage scales directly to the SMIC (to prevent automatic compression of wage differentials).

Source: Code du travail, Articles L3231-1 à L3231-12 Source: Décret n° 2025-1228 du 17 décembre 2025 portant relèvement du salaire minimum de croissance

France grants every employee a statutory right to paid annual leave — congés payés — under Code du travail Article L3141-1. The entitlement is generous by international standards and strictly enforced: employees earn 2.5 working days (jours ouvrables) per month of actual work, capped at 30 working days per year (the equivalent of five calendar weeks). Part-time employees earn leave at the same monthly rate; the entitlement does not scale with contractual hours.

Accrual formula (Article L3141-3). Article L3141-3 provides: "Le salarié a droit à un congé de deux jours et demi ouvrables par mois de travail effectif chez le même employeur. La durée totale du congé exigible ne peut excéder trente jours ouvrables." One month of actual work equals four weeks or 24 days of work (Article L3141-4). The leave is earned for time actually worked plus certain assimilated periods described below.

Jours ouvrables vs. jours ouvrés. The French working-day metric is the jour ouvrable (a day other than Sunday and a public holiday — typically Monday through Saturday, six days per week). Thirty jours ouvrables is therefore equivalent to 25 jours ouvrés (actual working days, Monday–Friday in a five-day workweek). Employers in five-day-per-week environments typically track leave in jours ouvrés for simplicity, but the statute is written in jours ouvrables and that remains the legal unit of account for disputes.

Reference period for accrual. In the absence of a collective or company agreement, the default reference period runs from 1 June of year N to 31 May of year N+1 (Code du travail Article D3141-9, incorporating suppletive rules for non-agreement cases). Building and public-works employers affiliated with a caisse de congés payés (a statutory holiday-pay fund) use a 1 April–31 March reference period. Collective agreements may negotiate alternative start dates (Article L3141-10).

Periods assimilated to actual work (Article L3141-5). Employees continue to accrue congés payés during:

• maternity, paternity, parental, and adoption leave;
• occupational accidents and illnesses;
• paid training periods;
• compensatory rest for overtime (RTT counterpart);
• the annual leave itself (the prior year's paid holiday counts toward the next year's accrual);
• absences to exercise an elected mandate (within limits set by Article L3142-88);
• periods of non-occupational illness or accident, capped at two jours ouvrables per month (24 days per year maximum), effective 22 April 2024 under Loi n° 2024-364 with retroactive effect to 1 December 2009 for employees still employed or within specified limitation periods (Article L3141-5, paragraph 7°).

The 2024 sick-leave amendment reversed decades of French case law that had excluded ordinary sickness absences from accrual and brought France into compliance with the CJEU's interpretation of the EU Working Time Directive.

Mandatory main leave period — congé principal (Articles L3141-12, L3141-17). Leave must be taken within a period that in all cases includes 1 May through 31 October. Within that window, the employee must take a continuous block of at least 12 jours ouvrables (roughly two calendar weeks), but no single continuous block may exceed 24 jours ouvrables (four weeks). The fifth week (6 jours ouvrables remaining from the 30-day total) must be taken separately, either during the main leave period or outside it. Exceptions permitting attachment of the fifth week to the main block are granted only to employees with special geographic constraints (posted workers, employees returning to overseas departments) or caring for a disabled dependent (Article L3141-17).

Fractionnement — split-leave bonuses (Article L3141-19). If an employee does not take at least 24 jours ouvrables of the 30-day entitlement during the 1 May–31 October main period (and the shortfall is not the employer's fault), the employee earns additional jours de fractionnement:

• 1 extra day if 3–5 jours ouvrables of main leave remain untaken;
• 2 extra days if 6 or more jours ouvrables remain untaken.

This statutory incentive, rooted in the 1936 Popular Front congés payés law, encourages concentrated summer holidays and workforce rotation.

Employer control over leave dates. Article L3141-16 grants the employer the right to fix the order and dates of departures, after consulting the comité social et économique (CSE, the workplace committee) where one exists. The employer must notify employees of the main leave period at least two months before it opens (Article D3141-5) and must notify each employee of their individual departure date at least one month in advance (Article D3141-6). In practice, most employers solicit employee preferences and accommodate them; the statutory power is invoked primarily to manage summer shutdowns or peak-season coverage in retail and hospitality.

Leave upon contract termination — indemnité compensatrice (Article L3141-23). If the employment contract ends before the employee has taken all accrued leave, the employer must pay an indemnité compensatrice de congés payés covering the untaken days, calculated under Articles L3141-24 to L3141-27 (the tenth rule or salary-maintenance rule, whichever is more favorable). The indemnity is due whether termination results from employer dismissal, employee resignation, or mutual agreement, and is payable even to the heirs of a deceased employee who had not yet taken the annual leave (Article L3141-23).

Prohibition on waiver and monetary substitution. Article L3141-1 establishes congés payés as a public-order (ordre public) right; employees cannot waive it, and employers cannot substitute pay in lieu of time off except at contract termination. An employer who employs a worker during the worker's designated leave period is deemed not to have granted the statutory leave and is liable for damages (Article D3141-1).

Additional leave for young employees and employees with dependents (Article L3141-8). Employees aged 21 or older as of 30 April of the prior year receive two additional jours ouvrables per dependent child, subject to the 30-day statutory cap. Employees under 21 receive the same two days per child but without the cap limitation. A dependent child is one living in the household and under age 15 as of 30 April, or any age if disabled (Article L3141-3 definition by reference).

Compatibility with collective-agreement enhancements. Article L3141-9 provides that the statutory regime is a floor; collective agreements, company agreements, or individual contracts may grant longer leave (for example, additional days for seniority or age). Many French collective agreements provide 1–3 extra days after 10 or 20 years of service.

Source: Code du travail, Articles L3141-1 à L3141-33 Source: Code du travail, Article L3141-3 Source: Code du travail, Articles D3141-5 à D3141-6

France requires employers to pay a complementary sick-pay indemnity (indemnité complémentaire) that tops up the social-security daily allowance (indemnités journalières de sécurité sociale, IJSS) during medically certified absences for illness or accident. This obligation—rooted in the 1978 loi de mensualisation—is now codified in Code du travail Articles L1226-1 and D1226-1 to D1226-8. The statutory scheme applies as a floor; many collective agreements provide more generous terms (shorter ancienneté, longer duration, higher rates, or reduced or eliminated waiting periods).

Qualifying conditions (Article L1226-1). An employee is entitled to the employer complement if she meets all of the following:

1. One year of ancienneté (ancienneté = seniority) in the enterprise, measured as of the first day of the absence;
2. Medical certificate (certificat médical) establishing incapacity, furnished within 48 hours of the absence, unless the employee belongs to a category exempted from the notification deadline under Code de la sécurité sociale Article L169-1 (for example, employees receiving long-term-illness or invalidity benefits for whom the timeline is streamlined);
3. Social-security coverage (prise en charge par la sécurité sociale): the employer complement is payable only if the employee is entitled to IJSS from the Caisse primaire d'assurance maladie (CPAM);
4. Treatment within France or the European Economic Area (Article L1226-1, paragraph 3°): the employee must be cared for on French territory or in another EU / EEA member state.

Employees excluded from the statutory scheme (Article L1226-1, final paragraph): home workers (travailleurs à domicile), seasonal workers (saisonniers), intermittent workers, and temporary-agency workers (salariés temporaires).

Waiting period—délai de carence (Articles D1226-1 and D1226-3).

• Non-occupational illness or commuting accident (maladie non professionnelle or accident de trajet): the employer complement begins on the 8th calendar day of absence (a seven-day délai de carence). Days 1–7 are unpaid by the employer, although the CPAM pays IJSS from day 4 onward (subject to its own three-day waiting period under social-security rules).
• Occupational accident or occupational illness (accident du travail or maladie professionnelle, excluding commuting accidents): no waiting period; the employer complement starts on day 1 of the work-stoppage taken into social-security charge.

Amount and duration (Articles D1226-1 and D1226-2). The employer pays an indemnity calculated as a percentage of the gross salary the employee would have received had she continued to work, net of the IJSS and any employer-financed complementary-insurance benefits (Article D1226-5). The statutory formula is:

| Ancienneté | First 30 days | Next 30 days | |-------------------|---------------|--------------| | 1–5 years (< 6) | 90 % | 2/3 (66.67 %) | | 6–10 years | 90 % for 40 days | 2/3 for 40 days | | 11–15 years | 90 % for 50 days | 2/3 for 50 days | | 16–20 years | 90 % for 60 days | 2/3 for 60 days | | 21–25 years | 90 % for 70 days | 2/3 for 70 days | | 26–30 years | 90 % for 80 days | 2/3 for 80 days | | 31+ years | 90 % for 90 days | 2/3 for 90 days |

Precisely: Article D1226-2 provides that the durations increase by ten days (five at 90 %, five at 2/3) for each completed five-year period of ancienneté beyond the one-year threshold, capped at 90 days at each rate (180 days total for employees with 31 or more years).

Rolling twelve-month cap (Article D1226-4). If an employee has multiple sick absences over a twelve-month period, the employer totals all days indemnified during the preceding twelve months and stops once the ancienneté-based maximum is reached. For example, an employee with three years' ancienneté who was already paid for 45 days at 90 % in the prior twelve months has exhausted the first tier and would next receive 2/3 indemnity (subject to the 30-day cap at that tier).

Occupational-accident / occupational-illness treatment. Although the waiting period is zero for accidents du travail and maladies professionnelles, the same duration and percentage schedule applies. Social-security IJSS rates are more generous for AT/MP (60 % of daily reference salary for the first 28 days, 80 % thereafter, with higher ceilings), so the employer's net complement obligation is correspondingly smaller once the IJSS is deducted.

Interaction with social-security IJSS. The employer's indemnity is a complement (complément), not a replacement. Article D1226-5 requires the employer to deduct from the statutory percentage the amount of IJSS the employee receives from the CPAM (and any share of employer-financed complementary insurance). The employee therefore receives approximately 90 % or 2/3 of gross pay in hand—part from the CPAM, part from the employer. Many employers use subrogation (subrogation de l'employeur, Code de la sécurité sociale Article L323-4): the employer pays the full indemnity to the employee on the payroll and directly collects the IJSS from the CPAM, simplifying cash flow for the employee.

Collective-agreement enhancement. Article L1226-1 is a public-order floor. Most French collective agreements (hundreds of conventions collectives) specify more favorable terms. Common enhancements include:

• Zero or reduced waiting period (many agreements eliminate the seven-day gap for non-occupational illness);
• Shorter ancienneté requirement (six months or two months instead of one year);
• Higher rates (100 % gross for a period, rather than 90 %);
• Longer durations (for instance, 90 days at 100 %, then 90 days at 90 %, scaled by ancienneté).

When an agreement is more favorable on some dimensions (for example, shorter ancienneté) but less favorable on others (lower percentage), French case law requires a global comparison (appréciation globale avantage par avantage) for each absence to determine which regime applies. The employer cannot "cherry-pick" the best provisions from each; one regime or the other applies in its entirety.

Employer counter-visit rights. Article L1226-1 permits the employer to arrange a contre-visite médicale (counter-examination) by an independent physician at any time during the sick leave. Articles R1226-10 to R1226-12 specify the procedure: the examining physician may visit the employee at the employee's home or lieu de repos (notified rest location) outside authorized outings, or may summon the employee to the physician's office. If the employee refuses the counter-visit without legitimate cause, the employer may suspend the complementary indemnity (the CPAM IJSS continues unless the social-security medical service also suspends it). The employee may contest a suspension through the conseil de prud'hommes.

Exclusions and reductions. Employees working from home (travailleurs à domicile), seasonal, intermittent, and temporary-agency workers are excluded by statute (Article L1226-1, final paragraph). Part-time employees are covered; the indemnity is calculated on the basis of the gross pay they would have received (that is, their contractual part-time salary), not a full-time equivalent.

Enforcement. Failure to pay the statutory indemnity is an infraction of the public-order provisions of the Code du travail and gives the employee a wage claim in the conseil de prud'hommes. No dedicated administrative fine is specified; the employee's remedy is recovery of the unpaid complement plus interest and, potentially, damages for abuse (préjudice).

Interaction with long-term disability and return-to-work procedures. When a sick absence exceeds 30 days, Article L1226-1-3 (effective 31 March 2022) creates a right to a rendez-vous de liaison (liaison meeting) with the employer and the occupational-health service (service de prévention et de santé au travail) to discuss return-to-work accommodation and early-intervention measures under Code de la sécurité sociale Article L323-3-1. This meeting does not affect the sick-pay indemnity, but it is part of France's broader prévention de la désinsertion professionnelle (prevention of workplace exclusion) framework.

Source: Code du travail, Article L1226-1 Source: Code du travail, Articles D1226-1 à D1226-8