In two rulings that caused quite a stir in 2023, the Court of Cassation ruled that sick employees are entitled to paid leave during periods of suspension of their employment contract due to non-occupational illness, as well as for occupational accidents, even beyond one year (Cass. Soc. September 13, 2023, No. 22-17.340 and No. 22-17.638). These decisions were intended to comply with European Union law and led to an amendment to French law (Law No. 2024-364 of April 22, 2024 – Articles L. 3141-5, L. 3141-5-1, L. 3141-19-1 to L. 3141-19-3, L. 3141-21-1, L. 3141-22 and L. 3141-24 of the Labor Code).
On September 10, 2025, the Social Chamber of the Court of Cassation handed down a new ruling on the impact of sick leave on paid leave entitlements (Cass. Soc. September 10, 2025, No. 23-22.732).
Until then, the High Court had considered that an employee who fell ill during their leave could not demand to take the leave they had been unable to take due to their sick leave at a later date.
However, this position contravened the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which, based on Directive 2003/88/EC of November 4, 2003 (Article 7 § 1), has long held that the purpose of the right to paid leave (rest, relaxation, and leisure) differs from that of the right to sick leave (medical recovery), and that a worker who is unable to work during their paid annual leave must therefore be granted that leave at a later date, coinciding with the period of incapacity for work (CJEU January 20, 2009, C-350/06 and C-520/06; CJEU September 10, 2009, C-277/08; CJEU June 21, 2012, C-78/11).
In line with EU law, the Court of Cassation now rules that “an employee who is unable to work due to illness occurring during the period of paid annual leave is entitled to take the days of paid leave coinciding with the period of absence from work due to illness at a later date.” In practice, employees who fall ill or have an accident during their paid leave can now claim the corresponding days of leave, which cannot be deducted from their paid leave balance. This right to carry over paid leave days naturally requires employees to obtain a sick note and send it to their employer.
The combination of the 2023 and 2025 rulings means that an employee who falls ill during their vacation not only acquires new vacation rights, but also benefits from a postponement of their exercise. Regardless of the risk of fraud, these rules can lead to very long absences, which can disrupt businesses.