2024-03-15 14:20:00
C’is a relief for employers. Employees on sick leave will now acquire paid leave, but limited to four weeks per year and the retroactivity of compensation measures due to employees is limited to three years, indicated the Council of State in an opinion issued on Wednesday March 13 . “Our work, carried out in concert with the government, has borne fruit,” rejoiced on X (ex-Twitter), the president of Medef, Patrick Martin.
This decision is the culmination of several months of negotiations by employers’ organizations to limit the scope of a judgment of the Court of Cassation dated September 2023. The high court then considered that the Labor Code, which excludes the acquisition of days of leave for employees on sick leave, was contrary to European regulations.
READ ALSO “A catastrophe”: employers worried about future paid leave accumulated during sick leaveUntil now, French legislation considered that an employee on sick leave acquires rights to paid leave only in the event of a work accident or occupational illness, and within the limit of an uninterrupted period of one year. The CGT and Force Ouvrière unions, at the origin of the legal proceedings, had obtained the conviction of the State. The articles of law contrary to this European charter could then no longer apply, even if they were not deleted.
Up to 3 billion euros in compensation
The Borne government then had no choice but to enforce the measure, while trying to limit its scope for business leaders. The Confederation of SMEs (CPME) had in fact warned of the considerable cost that the retroactivity of such a right would impose on companies: between 2 and 3 billion euros per year, according to the employers’ organization. At the beginning of February, an opinion from the Constitutional Council considered that the limitations of the Labor Code on the acquisition of rights to paid leave by employees on sick leave respected the Constitution. A decision contrary to that of the Court of Cassation, creating a legal imbroglio which left a little room for maneuver to the executive.
The decision, rendered on March 13 by the Council of State, validates the principle of this acquisition of paid leave, while limiting its scope. “The legislator is not required, to ensure the conformity of French law with the Constitution and the law of the European Union, to confer on periods of absence due to illness the same effect of acquisition of leave rights as periods of actual work,” indicates the high administrative court in its opinion.
Concerning the retroactivity of the measure, the Council specifies: “The action for payment may relate to the sums due for the last three years from this day or, when the employment contract is terminated, to the sums due for of the three years preceding the termination of the contract. » To translate this decision into law, the government intends to propose an amendment as part of a draft law adapting to European Union law which must be examined in the Assembly from Monday March 18, indicated the Council of State.
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