The Social Security Financing Act for 2026[1] has created a new leave related to parenthood: the Supplementary Birth Leave (French “congé supplémentaire de naissance”, or “CSN”), particularly for the benefit of employees in the private sector. This leave allows new parents to take care of their child during his or her first months. The publication of several decrees[2] allows the implementation of this scheme from 1 July 2026.
- Articulation with other leaves
The CSN does not replace, but is in addition to, other parent-related leaves:
- Maternity leave
- Leave for birth or for the arrival of a child for adoption (3 working days in principle)
- Paternity and childcare leave
- Adoption leave
- Child-raising leave
To benefit from the CSN, employees must have previously taken their maternity leave, paternity and childcare leave, or adoption leave[3].
- Employees and children concerned
The CSN is open to all employees, as long as they meet the following conditions for entitlement, assessed on the date of the start of the CSN:
- Affiliation to the French Social Security (at least 6 months)
- A minimum activity (at least 150 hours of work during the previous 3 calendar months, or contribution on a salary at least equal to 1,015 times the hourly minimum wage over the previous 6 months)[4]
The CSN is open to 2 parents: the mother, the father, as well as the spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner who lives with the mother. Each parent can benefit from the CSN, simultaneously or alternately with the other parent.
The CSN applies to children born or adopted on or after 1 January 2026. It also concerns children born before this date but whose birth was supposed to take place on or after 1 January 2026[5].
- Duration and start date
Each parent can benefit, according to their choice, from a CSN of 1 or 2 months, which can be taken at once, or split into two non-consecutive periods of one month each[6].
The CSN period(s) begin(s) within 9 months of the birth or arrival of the child[7]. In cases where the duration of maternity leave, paternity and childcare leave, or adoption leave is increased (in particular in the event of postponement of prenatal leave, multiple births, birth from the 3rd child, premature delivery, pathological leave, hospitalization of the child, or under a collective agreement), the 9-month period is increased by the same amount[8].
The 9-month period runs from 1 July 2026 (and until 31 March 2027) for children born or adopted between 1 January and 30 June 2026[9] (or born before but expected from 1 January 2026)[10].
- Application
Employees who wish to benefit from a CSN must inform their employer[11], by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt or delivered against receipt [12], with a notice period of 1 month before the desired date of the start of the leave[13]. This period is reduced to 15 days when the CSN immediately follows the paternity and childcare leave or the adoption leave, and it begins during the month following the birth or arrival of the child[14]. The employee must specify the duration of the leave, if it is split, as well as the period during which the leave period(s) will be taken[15]. He/she can use an official model letter.
The employer cannot refuse the CSN, as long as the employee has complied with the notice period. It is the employer’s responsibility to forward the leave request to the CPAM (health insurance), even if the latter may contact the insured in the event of missing supporting documents[16].
- Impact on the employment contract
During the CSN, the employee’s employment contract is suspended[17]. He may not engage in any other professional activity[18].
During the CSN, the employer may not dismiss the employee, except in the event of serious misconduct or the impossibility of maintaining the contract for a reason other than the CSN[19]. On the other hand, the employee can resign and, a priori, it would be possible to conclude a termination by mutual agreement with him/her during the CSN.
The duration of the CSN is assimilated by law to a period of actual working time for the purpose of determining seniority rights; in addition, the employee retains the benefit of all the benefits he or she had acquired before the start of the leave[20].
At the end of the CSN, the employee returns to his or her previous job, or a similar job with at least equivalent pay[21]. They may benefit from a career interview, if this interview has not already been carried out at the end of maternity or adoption leave[22].
In the event of the death of the child or a significant reduction in the household’s resources, the employee has the right to resume his or her activity before the initially scheduled end of the CSN, after having notified his/her employer by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt or delivered against receipt at least 8 days in advance, attaching supporting documents[23].
- Indemnification
During the duration of the CSN, the employee does not receive his or her salary from his or her employer, but daily allowances from the Social Security (French “IJSS”)[24].
When the CSN is subsequent to maternity leave, paternity and childcare leave, or adoption leave, the reference salary used to calculate the IJSS is the salary received during these leaves. If the employee returns to work between two periods of split CSN, the reference salary is then the one that precedes the leave. The allowance is calculated according to the terms and conditions provided for maternity leave, but is subject to a sliding scale: 70% of the net salary in the first month, and 60% in the second month, within the limit of the monthly Social Security ceiling, i.e. €4,005 per month in 2026[25].
The CSN allowance cannot be combined with other benefits: unemployment benefits; other IJSS (maternity, paternity, adoption, sickness, work accident or occupational disease); shared child-raising benefits (French “PreParE”); free choice of childcare supplement (French “CMG”); daily caregiver allowances (French “AJPA”); daily parental presence allowances (French “AJPP”)[26].
- Retirement
A quarter of retirement is generated for each period, continuous or not, during which the insured person has received 58 days of compensation under the CSN[27].