Public service: Caregiver leave is evolving

These measures concern civil servants and trainees, contract staff governed by public law, magistrates of the judiciary and administrative order, and medical, dental and pharmaceutical staff working in public health establishments who wish to take compassionate care leave to assist a person with a particularly serious disability or loss of autonomy.

Terms and conditions

The duration of the leave is set at a maximum of 3 months renewable within the limit of 1 year over the entire career.

Caregiver leave is taken:

• for a continuous period;
• for 1 or more periods of at least 1 day;
• in the form of part-time service.

In order to be entitled to compassionate care leave, the staff member shall send a written request, at least 1 month before the start of the leave, to the head of department for the official of the State, to the territorial authority for the official of the territory, to the appointing authority of which he is responsible for the hospital official, to the head of department of which he is responsible for the contract staff member. In the event of renewal, he shall send it at least 15 days before the end of the leave.

He shall state in his application the estimated dates of leave and the detailed rules for its use and provide certain supporting documents in order to establish his entitlement.

If the staff member wishes to change the estimated dates and the chosen conditions of use, he shall inform the authority to which he belongs in writing with at least 48 hours' notice.

The leave may commence or be renewed without delay for any of the following reasons:

• the sudden deterioration in the state of health of the person being assisted;
• a crisis situation requiring urgent action by the immediate caregiver;
• the abrupt cessation of residential accommodation enjoyed by the assisted person.

In such cases, the staff member shall transmit within 8 days to the authority responsible for him the medical certificate attesting to the sudden deterioration in the state of health of the person being assisted or to the crisis situation requiring urgent action by the caregiver or the certificate attesting to the abrupt cessation of accommodation in an establishment.

A staff member may terminate his leave early or waive it in the following cases:

• death of the assisted person;
• admission to an establishment of the assisted person;
• a significant reduction in staff resources;
• use of a home help service to assist the person being assisted;
• compassionate care leave taken by another family member;
• where the health of the staff member so requires.

He shall then inform in writing the authority to which he belongs at least 15 days before the date on which he wishes to benefit from those provisions. In the event of the death of the assisted person, this period shall be reduced to 8 days.

During the period during which he is granted compassionate care leave, the staff member shall remain employed in his post or shall retain the benefit of his contract or employment.

The case of trainee officials

Where an official who is granted leave as a caregiver is required to undergo an internship prior to establishment in another corps or framework of posts, his appointment as a trainee in the new corps or framework of posts shall, if he so requests, be postponed to take effect on the date of expiry of the period of entitlement to that leave.

The date of end of the probationary period of the probationary official who has taken immediate care leave shall be postponed by a number of working days equal to the number of days and, where applicable, half-days of immediate care leave he has taken.

The length of time spent on compassionate care leave shall be taken into account in its entirety when the staff member is established in the calculation of the services used for grading and advancement.