Sick leave: daily allowances paid to the employee

Verified 01 April 2025 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

If you are an employee and are on sick leave, you are entitled to a daily subsistence allowance (DI) from your sickness insurance scheme (CPAM: titleContent, MSA: titleContent,...). You want to know the terms of compensation, whether there is a waiting period before receiving your IJs, their amount or can you also receive additional compensation from your employer? We present you with the information you need to know.

The terms of compensation differ depending on the length of your work stoppage: up to 6 months, after 6 months.

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Up to 6 months off

To be compensated during the first 6 months of your stoppage, you must prove one of the following conditions, on the day of the interruption of work:

  • You worked at least 150 hours in the 3 calendar months or the 90 days prior to the stop
  • You have contributed, in the 6 calendar months preceding the termination, on the basis of a remuneration at least equal to 1,015 times the amount of the Smic: titleContent schedule set at the beginning of this period.

Example :

If your work stoppage started on 1er July 2023, you are entitled to the JI if one of the following conditions is met:

  • You worked at least 150 hours between the firster April 2023 and June 30, 2023
  • You have, between the 1er January 2023 and June 30, 2023, assessed on the basis of remuneration at least equal to €11,824.75

These conditions apply whether you work full-time or part-time.

FYI  

In case of discontinuous or seasonal work, the payment of daily subsistence allowances shall be maintained if you one of them the following conditions:

  • You have worked at least 600 hours in the 12 months or 365 days prior to starting the shutdown 
  • You received a salary equal to or greater than 2,030 times the hourly minimum wage during the 12 months or 365 days prior to the start of the stop.

After 6 months

To continue to be compensated if your shutdown lasts longer than 6 months, you must meet one of the following conditions:

  • You must prove, on the date of interruption of work, that you have been a member of a social security scheme (CPAM, MSA) for at least 12 months and have worked at least 600 hours on 12 calendar months or the 365 days preceding the shutdown
  • You must have contributed, during the 12 calendar months or the 365 days preceding the termination, on the basis of remuneration at least equal to 2,030 times the amount of the Smic: titleContent schedule set at the beginning of this period.

Example :

If your work stoppage of more than 6 months started on 1er July 2023, you are entitled to IJs beyond 6 months if you meet one of the following conditions:

  • You were already a member of a social security scheme before July 2022 and you worked at least 600 hours between the firster july 2022 and june 30, 2023
  • You contributed, during that same period, on the basis of a remuneration at least equal to €23,649.50.

These conditions apply whether you work full-time or part-time.

FYI  

In case of discontinuous or seasonal work, the payment of daily subsistence allowances shall be maintained if you one of them the following conditions:

  • You have worked at least 600 hours in the 12 months or 365 days prior to starting the shutdown
  • You received a salary equal to or greater than 2,030 times the hourly minimum wage during the 12 months or 365 days prior to the start of the stop.

FYI  

When a telemedicine is performed by a person other than your attending physician or a midwife, the prescription of a work stoppage (or its renewal) cannot exceed 3 days. After these 3 days, you will not be entitled to a daily allowance.

Calculation method

Per diems (IJ) are equal to 50% the basic daily wage.

If you are paid monthly, your basic daily wage is equal to the total of the last 3 gross wages received before the work stoppage, divided by 91.25.

Example :

If you received a gross salary of €2,000 per month during the 3 months prior to your work stoppage, you will be able to obtain YIs based on the following calculation:

  • Gross salary for the last 3 months = 6,000 (2,000 x 3)
  • Basic daily wage = €65.75 (6,000 / 91.25)
  • IJ = €32.87 (€65.75 (basic daily wage) x 50%).

IJs cannot exceed €41.47 raw.

Your salary, taken into account to calculate your basic daily gain, is capped at 1.4 times the amount of the Smic in force, on the last day of the month preceding the stoppage (either €3,243.24 per month in 2025).

If you are earning a higher salary, your IJ will be calculated as follows:

  • Basic daily wage = €82.93 [(€3,243.24 (x 3) / 91.25]
  • IJ = €41.47 (82.93x 50%)

Warning  

For judgments that started before 1 ᵉʳ April 2025, the old ceiling remains applicable: the salary taken into account for the calculation of the basic daily gain is capped at 1,8 times the amount of the Smic in force on the last day of the month preceding the judgment.

Example: if your monthly gross salary is €3,500, only €3,243.24 will be taken into account for the calculation of your daily allowances.

Maximum amount

IJs cannot exceed €41.47 raw.

Removal of valuation adjustment

Since 1er July 2020, if the work stoppage exceeds 3 months, the IJ is no longer revalued (within the limit of the maximum gross amount) in the event of a general increase in wages.

Thus, for sickness stops prescribed since the 1er july 2020 (and work stoppages prescribed before that date, the duration of which has not reached 30 consecutive days on 1er July 2020), the revaluation is replaced by a modulation depending on the financial results of the health insurance scheme.

IJs are paid after a waiting period of 3 days.

Example :

In the event of a shutdown from 1er in July, the IJs are paid from 4 July.

The waiting period shall apply to each work stoppage.

Warning  

There is no waiting period in case of resumption of activity between 2 work stoppages not exceeding 48 hours. Similarly, there is no waiting period in the event of successive work stoppages due to a long-term illness (ALD).

Waiting days are counted in the calculation of your pension as long as it is the duration of the stop that is taken into account.

For short-term breaks, there is no impact on the calculation of your pension.

However, if the stoppages are of long duration, they are also taken into account as follows: 1 quarter is validated for each period of 60 days of compensation up to a limit of 4 quarters per year.

Days Indemnified

IJs are due for each calendar day work interruption, including Saturday and Sunday.

Periodicity of payment

Your Social Security Organization (CPAM: titleContent, MSA: titleContent) pays you the IJs every 14 days. He's sending you a statement at the same time. You can also download it.

Certificate of payment of daily allowances

Maximum payment period

General case

The Social Security Agency (CPAM, MSA) pays up to 12 months of IJ per period of 3 consecutive years.

In case of ALD

If you suffer from ALD, the IJs shall be paid during 3 years.

A new 3-year period is open if you have worked for at least 1 year.

If, after 3 years, you are again on sick leave after working less than one year, you can be compensated if you received less than 12 months of DI over the 3-year period.

Tableau - Possibility of combining income with daily allowances

Income

Can I accumulate with per diem?

Invalidity pension

Yes, if your disability rate is compatible with a return to work

Old-age pension

Yes, if you are retired and are otherwise employed

Additional share of your salary paid by your employer

Yes

Unemployment benefits

No

Maternity daily allowance

No

Accident at work Daily allowances for occupational diseases (AT-MP)

No

Conditions

To receive the additional compensation, you must complete all the following conditions:

  • Have at least 1 year of seniority in the company (calculated from your 1er day of absence)
  • Have forwarded the medical certificate to the employer within 48 hours
  • Benefit from daily allowances (IJ) paid by the Social Security
  • Be treated in France or in one of the Member States of the European Economic Area (EEA)
  • Not to be a homeworker or seasonal, intermittent or temporary employee.

Waiting period

One waiting period of 7 days shall be provided for each work stoppage.

Thus the payment of supplementary allowances begins on the 8the day of sick leave except treaty provisions or more favorable collective agreement.

If the work stoppage is due to a accident at work or to a occupational disease, the payment of IJs starts from 1er day of absence.

Duration of payment

The length of time the employer pays out the benefits varies according to your seniority, as follows:

Tableau - Duration of payment of additional allowances according to your seniority

Length of service in the company

Maximum duration of payment of allowances

1 to 5 years

60 days (30 days to 90% and 30 days at 66.66%)

6 to 10 years

80 days (40 days to 90% and 40 days at 66.66%)

11 to 15 years

100 days (50 days to 90% and 50 days at 66.66%)

From 16 to 20 years

120 days (60 days to 90% and 60 days at 66.66%)

21 to 25 years

140 days (70 days to 90% and 70 days at 66.66%)

26 to 30 years

160 days (80 days to 90% and 80 days at 66.66%)

31 years and older

180 days (90 days to 90% and 90 days at 66.66%)

If you have already received one or more periods of sickness compensation from the employer in the previous 12 months, the duration of payment is deducted from the number of days already compensated.

Amount

During First 30-90 days off depending on your seniority, you can receive allowances, which in addition to the IJ, make it possible to collect 90% the gross remuneration you would have received if you had worked.

During 30 to 90 days of next shutdown, the percentage is lowered to 2/3 (i.e 66.66%) of your remuneration.

In order to calculate the amount paid by the employer, it is necessary to deduct the IJ paid by your social security organization (CPAM, MSA,...) and, if this is the case, the benefits resulting from the employer's payments under a supplementary pension plan.

Your collective agreement may include more favorable provisions (such as full maintenance of your salary).

If the IJ paid by your social security organization (CPAM, MSA,...) are reduced (for example, due to hospitalization or a penalty of the CPAM: titleContent for non-compliance with its regulations), the amount paid by the employer remains calculated taking into account the full amount of the JIs.

Warning  

In return for the obligation to pay the allowances, the employer may resort to a counter-medical examination.

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