Employee sabbatical leave in the private sector
Verified 04 January 2022 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
Sabbatical leave is leave on personal grounds granted to the employee. The employee can benefit from it if he meets several conditions. The employer is not required to grant sabbatical leave. The leave shall have a minimum and a maximum duration. During sabbatical leave, the employee's employment contract is suspended.
An employee who wishes to take sabbatical leave must meet all of the following conditions.
Seniority in the company
The employee must have at least one seniority 36 months in the company.
The length of service taken into account may be considered over several non-consecutive periods of work in the company.
However, a collective agreement or collective company agreement may provide for a different length of service.
Years of work
The employee must have completed 6 years of professional activity.
Waiting period between 2 holidays
The employee must respect a waiting period.
The employee must not have received in the company, on the date of departure on leave, during the previous 6 years:
- Or of a Career Transition Project (TPP) of a duration of at least 6 months
- Or of a leave for the creation or resumption of company
- Or from a previous sabbatical
The employee must inform the employer of his wish to take at least sabbatical leave 3 months before the planned departure date.
The employee must send the request to the employer by any means that can justify the date of the request for leave (letter or registered e-mail, for example).
The employer shall inform the employee of:
- Either of his agreement on the date of departure chosen by the employee
- Or the postponement of that date
- Or the refusal to grant him leave
If the employer does not reply within 30 days of the application being made, sabbatical leave shall be granted.
The employer's agreement, postponement or refusal is subject to conditions. They vary according to the size of the company:
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Company of less than 300 employees
Employer's agreement
The employer shall inform the employee of his agreement on the date of departure chosen, by any means which can justify the date of his reply.
Postponement of leave
The employer may postpone the departure on leave:
- Or, during 9 months maximum, from the date of the employee's request, to limit the number of employees absent due to sabbatical leave
- Either to limit the number of employees absent simultaneously for sabbatical leave and leave for the creation or resumption of a company
The employer shall inform the employee of the postponement of the date of departure chosen by any means which can justify the date of his reply.
Refusal to grant leave
The employer may refuse to grant the leave for one of the following 2 reasons:
- The employee does not meet the conditions for entitlement to leave (insufficient seniority, request to leave too soon)
- The employer considers, after consulting the Social and Economic Committee (ESC), that the departure on leave will have adverse consequences for the smooth operation of the company
The employer's refusal to grant sabbatical leave is notified to the employee by any means which can be used to justify the date of his reply.
The employee may challenge the refusal of the employer within 15 days from the notification to the prud'homme council.
Company of 300 or more employees
Employer's agreement
The employer shall inform the employee of his agreement on the date of departure chosen, by any means which can justify the date of his reply.
Postponement of leave
The employer may postpone the departure on leave:
- Or, during 6 months maximum, from the date of the employee's request, to limit the number of employees absent due to sabbatical leave
- Either to limit the number of employees absent simultaneously for sabbatical leave and leave for the creation or resumption of a company
The employer shall inform the employee of the postponement of the date of departure chosen by any means which can justify the date of his reply.
Refusal to grant leave
The employer may refuse to grant the leave if the employee does not fulfill the conditions giving entitlement to it (insufficient seniority, request for leave within too short a period).
The employer's refusal to grant sabbatical leave is notified to the employee by any means which can be used to justify the date of his reply.
The employee may challenge the refusal of the employer within 15 days from the notification to the prud'homme council.
The duration of the leave varies from Minimum 6 months to Maximum 11 months.
However, a collective agreement or a collective company agreement may provide for different durations.
Consequences for the employment contract
During the sabbatical leave, the employment contract shall be suspended.
Compensation
Sabbaticals are not paid.
However, it may be used in the case of treaty provisions or use.
Postponement of PTO
If the sabbatical leave is unpaid, the employee may finance it from part of his paid leave.
The leave will then be taken and paid upon departure on sabbatical.
The conditions for such deferral shall be laid down by collective agreement or collective company agreement.
In the absence of an applicable agreement or agreement, the employee may carry forward each year the leave earned from 5e week of paid leave until departure on sabbatical.
Such paid leave may be accumulated during 6 years maximum.
Example :
An employee, entitled to 5 weeks of paid leave per year, decides to defer his 5 for 6 yearse holiday week:
- He then accumulates 36 working days leave at the end of these 6 years of professional activity
- His 36-day paid leave allowance is then paid when he leaves on sabbatical
Occupational activity during leave
During sabbatical leave, the employee may engage in another occupation, whether employed or not.
However, it must respect the duty of loyalty and non-competition vis-à-vis his employer.
Early Recovery
The employer is not obliged to re-employ the employee before the end of his sabbatical leave.
However, an early return to the company is still possible with the agreement of the employer.
After a sabbatical, the employee returns to his previous or similar job in the company.
He shall receive remuneration at least equivalent to that which he received when he left on leave.
The employee has the right to a professional interview with his employer devoted to his career prospects.
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Conditions, employer's response, situation during sabbatical leave, end of leave (public order)
Conditions, employee request, employer response, duration, situation during sabbatical (scope of collective bargaining)
Conditions, employee request, duration, situation during sabbatical leave (additional provisions)
Carry-over of leave with pay (supplementary provisions)
Employer Response (Public Order)
Employee's request, employer's response (supplementary provisions)
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