Employers’ organizations hope, with the support of the State, to close the Pandora’s box opened by the Court of Cassation. On September 13, senior magistrates recognized the right of employees to accumulate paid leave even when they are on non-professional sick leave. A case law which aligns with that of the European Union, but goes against the French Labor Code. On the union side, the CGT is rubbing its hands and is already thinking of doing away with the “Macron” scale of severance pay. The CFDT also welcomes this, while calling on staff representatives to initiate social dialogue in the company with a view to “dealing with this situation”.
“Paid leave obtained without even working: complete rubbish!” the Confederation of SMEs immediately reacted, arguing that “this decision, which risks costing several billion euros each year to businesses, large or small, is unacceptable”. The costing varies depending on the retroactivity used but the bill promises to be steep for those who, in addition to having to replace the absent employee, will have to provision their leave…
The petition launched by the employers’ lobby to ask “the government to act” collected, in a few days, the signatures of 20,000 small bosses on the verge of a nervous breakdown. They who already have to deal with inflation in energy prices, financing the green transition and… absenteeism. But it’s not just private sector employers who are tearing their hair out. The ear of the executive is all the more attentive to their concerns as the civil service boasts 5.7 million agents. “State services are analyzing the decision of the Court of Cassation to assess its scope, several avenues are being considered,” the Ministry of Labor is told. It remains to be seen what the reflections of this unusual objective alliance will lead to.