Better protection for parents of sick, disabled or injured children

The law of 19 july 2023 aims to

to strengthen the protection of families of children suffering from illness or disability or victims of a particularly serious accident

.

Protection against dismissal

The new law guarantees protection against dismissal of employees during the parental leave No employer may terminate an employee's employment contract during parental leave taken in installments or on a part-time basis.

This measure shall not apply if the employer can justify the termination by grave misconduct on the part of the employee or by reason of the impossibility of upholding the contract on grounds foreigner to the child's state of health.

Extension of paid leave

The law extends the period of paid leave for the death of a child:

• the leave passes from 7 days to 14 days minimum for the death of a child under 25 years of age, or whatever its age if the deceased child was itself a parent, or in the case of the death of a person under the age of 25 who is his or her effective and permanent dependant;
• the leave passes from 5 days to at least 12 days if the child is over 25 years of age ;
• leave shall be increased from 2 days to 5 days minimum for the announcement of the occurrence of a cancer, a disability or a chronic pathology of the child.

Ensuring access to telework

The law guarantees access to telework for employees helping a child who is seriously ill or disabled. An employer can no longer deny these employees access to telework without give reasons for its refusal, as is already the case for disabled workers and employees who are close caregivers of an elderly person.

Advance payment of the daily parental attendance allowance (AJPP)

The law also aims to speed up financial support to parents:

• the family allowance funds (CAF) will be able to pay advances on the daily parental attendance allowance without waiting for the opinion of the medical control department of the primary health insurance funds (CPAM);
• the explicit agreement of the Medical Examining Service for the renewal of the PJA is deleted.

Protection of the right to housing

The law was supplemented by an amendment to protect the right to housing of parents of sick or disabled children.

The bill prohibits landlords, on presentation of medical evidence, from granting leave to a tenant who is a beneficiary of the AJPP and has low income, in the absence of alternative accommodation.