Employee parental leave in the private sector
Verified 14 February 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
Can you stop working to care for a dependent child whose health condition requires sustained presence and compelling care? What are the consequences for your employment contract? How long is the leave? We present you the information you need to know about parental leave.
You can take parental leave if your dependent child has illness, disability or accident of particular gravity.
This is the case if the health of your dependent child requires a sustained presence and compelling care.
A dependent child is considered to be dependent when the employee effective and permanent load.
The child must respond to 3 conditions:
- Be under 20
- Not receiving a gross monthly salary greater than €1,082.87
- Not to receive a housing allowance or a family benefit on a personal basis
No seniority requirement is required.
You must apply for parental leave with your employer at least 15 days before the desired start date of the leave.
You can send him a registered letter with notice of receipt (LRAR) or hand-deliver your application against discharge.
You must attach your request a medical certificate which attests to the following:
- Particular seriousness of illness, accident or disability
- Need for sustained presence with the child and compelling care
Whenever you wish to take one or more days off, you must inform your employer at least 48 hours in advance.
In case of extension leave beyond the period specified in the medical certificate, you must notify your employer under the same conditions as for your initial application.
No, this is a right that the employer cannot refuse or postpone.
Initial Leave
The leave shall be granted for a maximum period of 310 working days by child and by sickness, accident or disability.
You use this 310-day reserve according to your needs and up to a maximum of 3 years.
The medical certificate should specify the expected duration of your child’s treatment.
The duration of the leave shall be equal to the duration of the salary.
The leave may be taken in one or more steps.
You can, with the agreement of your employer, transform the leave into period of part-time employment or the split into half-days.
Every time you want to take a half-day, a day or several days off, you must inform your employer at least 48 hours in advance.
On the other hand, no warning period is required in case of sudden deterioration of your child's state of health or crisis situation requiring your presence without delay.
Renewal of leave
You can benefit from another parental leave (either 620 days in total) at the end of the initial 3-year period.
You can also benefit from another parental leave (either 620 days in total) if you have used the 310-day reserve before the end of the 3 years of the initial leave.
The leave may be renewed in one of the following cases:
- Or if your child has had a relapse or recurrence of the disease
- Or when the seriousness of your child's condition still requires a sustained presence and restrictive care
Please note
Since February 5, 2024, the renewal of parental leave shall no longer be subject to the explicit agreement of the Caf: titleContent or the MSA: titleContent (if you are dependent on the agricultural diet). You only need to attach a new medical certificate issued by the doctor following your child to your employer.
No, during your leave, your employment contract is suspended.
You're not getting your salary anymore.
However, you can collect, under conditions, the daily parental attendance allowance (DPA) .
You must make a request to the Caf: titleContent or the MSA: titleContent (if you are dependent on the agricultural diet).
Please note
If you take parental leave days per half-day, the PPIA is adjusted accordingly.
You may not be dismissed during your parental leave
However, your employer may terminate your contract if gross negligence or the inability to maintain your contract for any reason other than your parental leave.
General case
At the end of your leave, you must find your previous job or a similar one with at least equivalent remuneration.
All your benefits earned before the start of the leave are retained.
Your absence during your leave of absence is taken into account in the calculation of the benefits related to your seniority.
To calculate the training hours that feed the personal training account (PTA), each period of absence during your leave shall be taken into account in full.
Significant decrease in resources
You can to interrupt your leave before the scheduled time in the event of a significant reduction in your household resources.
You must then inform your employer by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt (LRAR) at least 1 month before your trade-in date.
All your benefits earned before the start of the leave are retained.
Your absence during your leave of absence is taken into account in the calculation of the benefits related to your seniority.
To calculate the training hours that feed the personal training account (PTA), each period of absence during your leave shall be taken into account in full.
Death of child
You can to interrupt your leave before the scheduled time in case of death of the child.
You must then inform your employer by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt (LRAR) at least 1 month before your trade-in date.
All your benefits earned before the start of the leave are retained.
Your absence during your leave of absence is taken into account in the calculation of the benefits related to your seniority.
To calculate the training hours that feed the personal training account (PTA), each period of absence during your leave shall be taken into account in full.
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
Telephone administrative information - Allo Public Service
For more information on this topic, you can contact Allô Service Public.
Cost: free service
The informants who answer you belong to the ministry responsible for labor.
Attention: the service does not have access to users' personal files and cannot therefore provide information on their status.
He does not respond questions relating to unemployment compensation and representations to France Labor (formerly Pôle emploi), the officials or contractual of the fpublic service, the amount or payment of contributions social, wage or management.
The service is available at the following times:
- Lundi : de 08h30 à 17h30
- Mardi : de 08h30 à 12h15
- Mercredi : de 08h30 à 12h15
- Jeudi : de 08h30 à 17h30
- Vendredi : de 13h00 à 16h15
Beneficiaries, duration, renewal, employee status, end of leave
Request for leave
Amount and payment