The French Supreme Court reforms the right to paid leave during sick leave

Harmonization of vacation pay legislation

In two rulings dated September 13, 2023, the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) brought French vacation pay law into line with European law.

Previously, under the French Labor Code, periods of absence due to illness, whether work-related or not, were not fully taken into account when calculating paid leave. This practice was contrary to European Union law.

Court of Cassation decisions

The Cour de cassation has issued the following two decisions:

Acquiring paid leave during non-work-related sick leave

The French Supreme Court has ruled that the provisions of French law do not comply with European Union law.

In other words, employees suffering from an illness or accident of any kind, whether occupational or non-occupational, will continue to acquire paid leave entitlements for the duration of their absence from work.

(Cass.soc. September 13, 2023, no. 22-17.340)

Acquiring paid leave after a workplace accident

Contrary to previous French law, the French Supreme Court has ruled that in the event of an accident at work or occupational disease, vacation pay cannot be limited to one year.

From now on, paid leave will be earned for the entire duration of the work stoppage, and will no longer be limited to a single year.

(Cass. Soc. September 13, 2023, no. 22-17.638)

Things to remember :

Paid leave must now be calculated taking sick leave into account.
This decision applies to the 5 statutory weeks of paid leave, as well as to conventional vacations.
For earlier periods, companies are advised to check whether adjustments are necessary for the last three years, as vacation pay is in the nature of wages and is subject to a three-year statute of limitations. In this case, you’ll need to set aside a provision if necessary.

Worth knowing:

These rulings also raise an important question concerning the limit on paid vacation entitlement for employees on sick leave.

If the employee is off work for several years, will he or she continue to earn paid vacation that can then be carried forward?

For the time being, the answer is yes, unless your company’s collective bargaining agreement sets a time limit on the deferral of paid vacations.

For example, European case law has accepted a 15-month carry-over period for annual leave entitlement, but considered a 9-month period to be too short.

This deferral right must therefore be limited to at least 12 months.

In anticipation of the expected and necessary legal changes to frame this new case law, DESRUMAUX AVOCATS is at your disposal to answer any questions you may have concerning the management of paid leave for your employees on sick leave.

14 September 202310 February 2025

SYNTEC Index

The SYNTEC index was created in 1961 and recognized by the Ministry of Economy and Finance in 1974.

It is of particular importance to companies in this sector, as it provides an accurate and transparent representation of cost trends.

What is the SYNTEC index?

The SYNTEC index measures changes in labor costs for services provided by companies in the SYNTEC sector, within the framework of certain projects (long-term contracting, software or application maintenance, etc.).

It consists of five digits, including two decimal places.

What is the purpose of the Syntec index?

This index is used within the industry to update or revise the financial clause of a contract, according to a formula specified in the clause.

This index may, where appropriate, be coupled with other economic indices, depending on the nature of the service provided.

How is this index calculated?

The Syntec index is calculated monthly, based on responses to a survey of companies belonging to a control group within the sector.

Once these responses have been obtained, a monthly report is drawn up, showing the average full-time equivalent workforce of these companies and the total gross salaries corresponding to this workforce.

Based on these results, a calculation is made to measure the change in the sum of gross payroll and the sum of full-time headcount, relative to the working time in question. The resulting index is then smoothed over a 12-month period.

Since 2019, the Syntec index has been revised to incorporate methodological changes recommended by INSEE.

This revised, more precise index is now produced each month by calculating the average payroll and corresponding full-time equivalent workforce declared by the control group, by sector (Digital, Engineering and Consulting) and by employee bracket (20-199 employees / 200-499 employees / 500 employees and over).

Since September 2022, this revised index has been the only one published and monitored.

12 September 202317 April 2025

What is the Syntec IDCC code?

Collective bargaining agreements

Collective bargaining agreements enable labor law to be adapted to the specific features of an industry. These written agreements, the result of negotiations between employers and trade unions, are therefore extremely important.

Each collective agreement is identified by an IDCC code.

Which IDCC code for the Syntec agreement?

The IDCC code is a 4-digit code assigned by the French Ministry of Labour that can be used to find the agreement;
The Syntec collective agreement code is 1486 ;
The code is usually indicated on the employee’s pay slip.

Please note: The agreement also has a brochure number, which should not be confused with the Syntec IDCC code.

How do I know if the Syntec agreement applies to my company?

When it is registered, the company is assigned an NAF number (nomenclature d’activité française) or APE number (activité principale exercée).
This number is different from the IDCC code, which is only used to find the collective agreement.
Each Collective Bargaining Agreement defines its professional scope according to the company’s NAF / APE codes.
To find out whether the Syntec collective bargaining agreement applies, refer to the APE/NAF.

Article 1 of the Syntec Convention sets out its scope of application.

The agreement applies to :

With the NAF codes listed below;
And whose main activity is engineering, consulting engineering firms, studies and consultancy, digital services, events management or translation and interpreting.

Sector of activity	APE code
Digital	58.12Z: publishing of directories and address files. 58.21Z: publishing of electronic games. 58.29A: publishing of system and network software. 58.29B: software development tools and languages. 58.29C: software applications. 62.01Z: computer programming. 62.02A: computer systems and software consulting. 62.02B: third-party maintenance of computer systems and applications. 62.03Z: management of computer installations. 62.09Z: other IT activities. 63.11Z: data processing, hosting and related activities. 63.12Z : internet portals.
Engineering	71.12B : engineering, technical studies. 71.20B : technical analysis, testing and inspection. 74.90B : various specialized, scientific and technical activities.
Consulting	70.21Z: public relations and communications consultancy. 70.22Z: business and other management consultancy. 73.20Z: market research and surveys. 78.10Z: activities of employment agencies. 78.30Z: other provision of human resources.
Events	25.11Z : manufacture of metal structures and parts thereof. 43.32C : shop fittings. 68.20B : rental of land and other real estate. 68.32A : administration of buildings and other real estate. 82.30Z: organization of trade fairs, exhibitions and conferences. 90.04Z : management of concert halls.
Translation and interpreting	74.30Z : translation and interpreting.

If your company has several different areas of activity, you will need to refer to your main activity to determine whether the SYNTEC agreement applies to you.

Naturally, DESRUMAUX AVOCATS is at your disposal not only to determine the collective bargaining agreement applicable to your company, but also to help you implement it.

6 September 202310 February 2025

Contractual termination

What is a “rupture conventionnelle”?

The employer and employee terminate the employment contract by mutual agreement;
This termination option is only available to employees with permanent contracts.
It is strictly regulated by law

The procedure is organized in accordance with the provisions of the Labor Code:

The negotiation interview

Organization of one or more meetings between the employee and the employer to negotiate the terms of termination.
The employer must summon the employee to this interview by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt or by hand-delivery against receipt. This letter must include the conditions under which the interview is convened, and specify the conditions under which the employee may be assisted during the interview.

During this interview, the employee may be assisted by :

By a company employee of his or her choice (employee representative);
By an employee advisor chosen from a list drawn up by the administrative authority, in the absence of an employee representative within the company.

If the employee is assisted, he must inform his employer, who may also be assisted:

By a company employee of his or her choice
By a member of its employers’ union, or by another employer in the same industry, if the company employs fewer than 50 people.

Signing the contractual termination agreement :

This agreement is signed following the interviews;
It must specify the date of termination of the employment contract (which cannot be the date of signature) and the amount of compensation;
It must be signed by both parties;
One copy must be given to the employee;

Please note: once the “rupture conventionnelle” has been signed, each party has 15 calendar days in which to withdraw from the agreement.

This period begins the day after the agreement is signed.

Important: if the last day of the deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the deadline is extended to the 1st working day.

Once this deadline has passed, the DDETSPP must approve the termination.

Approval of the contractual termination agreement

The request must be made after expiry of the withdrawal period;
The request must be sent to the DDETSPP
Registration applications must be submitted online, via the TéléRC.travail.gouv.fr website;
If the person making the request for homologation is not able to use the teleservice, the request can be made by submitting a form, by filling in the cerfa n°14598 form for requesting homologation of a contractual termination and sending it to the DDETSPP;
In the absence of a response from the DDETSPP within 15 working days, the agreement is deemed approved.
If approval is refused, reasons must be given for the decision.

Important: any appeal concerning the agreement, its homologation or the refusal to homologate must be submitted to the Conseil de prud’hommes within 12 months of the date of homologation of the agreement.

How is the severance pay calculated?

Under French law, the severance pay payable on termination of employment by agreement must not be less than the statutory severance pay or the severance pay payable under the collective bargaining agreement.

To calculate the severance pay, we need to take into account the employee’s length of service and reference salary, which corresponds either to the monthly average of the last 12 months prior to dismissal, or to the monthly average of the last three months prior to dismissal.

Please note: Collective bargaining agreements may provide for a more favorable severance payment for the employee, which should be taken into account.

For example, the Syntec collective bargaining agreement provides for a specific redundancy payment, and therefore a contractual termination payment, for engineers and managers with more than 2 years’ seniority.

For other employees, the indemnity provided for in the agreement is the same as the statutory indemnity.

Engineers and managers with more than two years’ seniority receive an indemnity equal to 1/3 of a month for each year of presence.

It is therefore advisable to take into account this particularity of the agreement when concluding a contractual termination with an engineer or manager with more than two years’ seniority in the company.

For other employees, the legal and conventional indemnities are similar.

Important: Since September 1, 2023, a contribution payable by employers has been levied on the portion of the severance pay that is exempt from social security contributions. The rate is set at 30%. This contribution will apply to all contractual termination agreements.

DESRUMAUX AVOCATS is at your disposal to support you at every stage of the contractual termination of employment with one of your employees.

5 September 202317 April 2025

Consulting and Litigation: Prevent or Cure?

Imagine driving a car without checking the condition of your brakes. You drive along carefree until you have to stop suddenly – but the brakes don’t respond. An accident is inevitable.

The same is true in the business world.

A law firm can help you in two ways:

By advising you to avoid legal pitfalls, rather like a good mechanic checking your brakes. Legal counsel can help you understand complex regulations, ensure your company’s compliance, protect your rights, manage risks, and draft and review contracts. It can also give you a head start in negotiations, and help you avoid mistakes that could cost your business dearly in the future.
By defending you when a dispute arises, similar to car insurance after an accident.

The services are complementary, and our firm offers both.

Indeed, a company’s first contact with a lawyer is often through litigation. The financial outlay involved in seeking legal advice often forces the entrepreneur to postpone this expense as long as possible.

However, in most cases, with a prior investment in consultancy services, litigation could have been avoided.

In such cases, the company is obliged to invest in resolving the dispute, and then to entrust us with a consultancy mission to correct the contract or practice that gave rise to the dispute, so that it does not recur with another business partner or employee. In this case, the cost is doubled for the company, which also runs the risk of not emerging victorious from the dispute.

Litigation cannot always be avoided, even with early legal advice, but its chances of occurrence can be significantly reduced. If it does occur, litigation can be made far less painful by the reassurance of having acted in accordance with the law, and a far greater chance of victory.

Our legal advice is therefore as follows: it is better to invest in advisory services from the outset, so as to establish your company on a solid legal footing, than to endure litigation that could jeopardize the development of your business.

Some examples of avoidable litigation:

Business law :
- Conflictual termination of a contract whose obligations and conditions of termination were poorly negotiated beforehand
- Non-payment for services whose price or performance has not been clearly agreed in writing (quotation, contract, etc.).
Employment law :
- Non-compliance with a conventional termination procedure: failure to approve a conventional termination, failure to meet deadlines. The risk: invalidation of the contractual termination as a dismissal without real and serious cause.
- Implementation of a fixed-day contract for an employee under the Syntec agreement, even though he did not have sufficient autonomy and was not a manager with a minimum 3.3 grade (before the reform).

5 September 202329 November 2023

DESRUMAUX AVOCATS takes action for the planet

For almost a year now, the firm has been using ELISE to recycle its corporate waste. Despite all the firm’s efforts to reduce waste production, the use and disposal of large quantities of paper remains an inherent part of the legal profession. In an effort to reduce its environmental impact, the firm calls on ELISE to collect and recycle its waste.

By giving priority to recycling and avoiding the incineration of a large proportion of corporate waste, ELISE and the firm are helping to reduce atmospheric pollution and preserve natural resources.

In addition, ELISE’s workforce is mainly made up of people with disabilities or integration difficulties. By switching from incineration or landfill to recycling used paper, the firm is helping to create 10 times more jobs in the paper and cardboard processing sector.

After almost a year, the firm is very pleased to conclude that ELISE is a professional company, and would like to recommend it to all other companies wishing to reduce their environmental impact.

On a day-to-day basis, the firm pursues its efforts by adapting the insulation of its premises, encouraging teleworking, favoring soft mobility for its journeys, calculating its carbon footprint, etc.