Leave and time off in France

In most countries, employees are entitled to a certain amount of time off each year to go on holiday or simply recharge. Here’s how that system works in France.

Annual leave in France

All employees in France are entitled to paid annual leave each year, whether they are employed on a CDI (permanent contract) or CDD (fixed-term contract) and whether they work full-time or part-time hours. Full-time employees accrue leave at the rate of 2.5 working days per month, amounting to a total of five weeks’ leave (Saturdays are counted as working days). When an employee’s leave entitlement is a fraction, it should be rounded up to the nearest whole day.

Accruing and using annual leave in France

Employees accrue annual leave from 1 June of one year to 31 May of the next year, unless their collective bargaining agreement says otherwise. They must take their ‘main’ period of leave between 1 May and 31 October. This main leave must be a minimum of two weeks and can be up to four weeks. It’s typically taken in July or (more commonly) August.

If an employee chooses not to take all of their main leave (four weeks out of the total five weeks) during this period, they are entitled to additional leave. If they take 3–5 days of their main leave outside of the 1 May to 31 October period, they are entitled to one additional working day of leave. If they take six or more days outside of the main period, they are entitled to two days of additional leave. Many collective bargaining agreements have specific rules for splitting leave in this way.

Additional annual leave in France

Annual leave in France is calculated based on a 35-hour work week, which is classed as full-time work in France. When employees work more hours than this in a week, they are entitled to a ‘reduction of working time’ (reduction du temps de travail or RTT) of up to two days per month. This functions as additional holiday leave that can be added to their standard five-week entitlement.

Carrying forward annual leave in France

It is generally possible for employees to carry forward annual leave in France, though it is not mandatory for employers to allow this practice. Often, employees can carry over some leave but lose any leave that has not been taken by 31 May of the following year. RTT days cannot be carried forward.

Sick leave in France

Employees in France are entitled to sick leave when they are ill. This is unpaid by the employer, but employees receive a benefit amounting to 50% of their daily earnings (up to a cap of EUR 53.31 per day) through the social security system. Some collective bargaining agreements require employees to top up this payment, so the employee continues to receive their normal wages.

Employees must meet certain conditions to receive sick pay from the social security system. Specifically, they must meet at least one of the following conditions:

• Have worked at least 150 hours during the three months before the leave.
  
• Have made social security contributions on earnings of at least 1,015 times the legal hourly minimum wage in the six months before the leave (EUR 12,058.20 in 2025).
  

If an employee meets these standards, they can get sick leave paid by social security for up to six months. To continue receiving sick pay after six months, the employee must meet at least one of the following requirements:

• Have worked at least 600 hours in the year before the sick leave.
  
• Made social security contributions for at least a year before the leave.
  
• Made social security contributions on income of at least 2,030 times the hourly minimum wage the year before the leave (EUR 24,116.40 in 2025).