Can my French employer insist I take my holiday in the summer?
France has a culture of July and August summer breaks to coincide with school holidays
School holidays run through July and August, before children return in September
Song_about_summer / Shutterstock
Reader Question: It is my first year working in France. I know many take a long holiday in the summer but I would prefer shorter periods. Can I do this or is there a rule saying when time off must be taken?
France is known for giving a high number of paid holiday days (congés payés) compared to many other countries..
Workers on a full-time contract receive a minimum five working weeks leave, with this right being acquired at a rate of 2.5 days per month worked, according to French labour laws.
Saturdays off are counted within this system as a day of leave when a full week of uninterrupted holiday is taken, so where full weeks are taken, the employee typically receives 30 days of pay for five full weeks.
A recent ruling by the Cour de cassation, France’s largest judicial authority, ruled that workers on long-term sick leave are entitled to accrue two days of holiday leave per month.
Read more: Workers in France can now earn holiday days during sick leave
As you say, France is also known for many people taking a long period of paid leave during the school summer holidays in July or August.
Families will use this time to travel, often remaining inside France to either visit family, go to a second home, or travel to coastal areas.
Read more: Who are France’s juilletistes and aoûtiens?
In general, employees can request to take their paid holiday when they choose if asked for early enough in advance and it is within any guidelines set by their employer. However, the employer is not obliged to agree.
If too many people are likely to request the same holiday period, many firms have an order of hierarchy as to which requests will be accepted. Seniority in the company, age and number of children, the holiday limits of a person’s spouse etc can all affect this.
Alternatively such matters may be governed by a collective agreement relating to the work sector in which the firm operates or a specific agreement between the firm and its employees.
A ‘main period of leave’ must be taken
Having said this, employees on a full-time contract are required to take a ‘main period of leave’ between May 31 and October 1.
This equates to two uninterrupted weeks, or 12 continuous days of leave (when Saturdays are counted).
At the same time, however, an employee cannot take four straight weeks of paid leave during this period.
Your employer should remind you of the rules and the fact you need to take days off during this time.
Some companies may close completely for a portion of the summer, which may see employees required to take these two weeks of leave at this specific time.
Your employer will have agreed this with the comité social et économique (Social and Economic Committee) in firms with 11 employees or more.
