Estimated reading time (in minutes)
An employee on a permanent contract has the option of requesting long-term leave, whether professional, such as individual training leave (CIF), or personal, such as parental education leave (CPE). There are also lesser-known leaves, such as International Solidarity Leave (CSI). To benefit from it, it is necessary, in most cases, to justify a certain seniority in the company. In addition, the employer has the possibility of refusing certain types of leave.
INDIVIDUAL TRAINING LEAVE (CIF)
Individual training leave (CIF) offers an employee the opportunity to take training to acquire a new qualification or even change profession. To benefit from it, you must have at least 24 months of seniority in the company and submit your request 60 or 120 days in advance, depending on the duration of the training. This cannot exceed 1 year or 1,200 hours. The employer cannot refuse it, but can postpone it for a maximum of 9 months.
LEAVE FOR THE CREATION OF A COMPANY
An employee who wishes to create or take over a company can request leave for the creation of a company. His contract is suspended for the duration of the leave or the employee can work part-time. This leave is for a maximum of one year. To benefit from it, the employee must have at least 24 months of seniority. The employer can refuse this leave if his absence goes against the smooth running of the company or if the quota of employees who can benefit from it has already been reached. To compensate for a loss of salary, the employee can unblock his time savings account (CET).
PARENTAL LEAVE FOR EDUCATION (CPE)
This leave is intended for the father or mother following maternity leave or adoption. The employee can ask to take full advantage of it or work part-time for a minimum of 16 hours in the company. It is enough to have one year of seniority. The employer cannot refuse this leave. It is one year for the first request but is renewable twice within a maximum period of 3 years. Compensation from the family allowance fund is possible.
FAMILY SOLIDARITY LEAVE (CSF)
This leave is intended for an employee with a family member, or a close relative living with him, suffering from a serious pathology involving the vital prognosis. To benefit from it, no seniority in the company is required. The employee only has to send a letter with acknowledgment of receipt and a medical certificate at least 15 days before. The employer cannot refuse this leave. In an emergency, no time limit is required and only a medical certificate is required.
SABBATICAL LEAVE
The employee does not need any particular reason to request a sabbatical leave of between 6 and 11 months. It is necessary to have 3 years of seniority in the company, to have at least 6 years of professional activity and not to have benefited from such leave in the last 6 years, nor from a project for the creation of a company. The employee must make the request at least 3 months before, and the agreement is deemed granted if there is no response within 30 days. The employer cannot refuse it if his company has more than 200 employees.
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY LEAVE (CSI)
International solidarity leave (CSI) allows an employee to take part in a mutual assistance mission abroad on behalf of an international organization or a humanitarian association of which France is a member. The duration of this leave may not exceed 6 months. The employee must provide proof of at least 12 months of seniority and his request must be made 30 days in advance. The employer may refuse within 15 days if he considers that the employee’s absence has detrimental consequences for the smooth running of the company, or if the number of employees benefiting from it is too high in proportion to the effectiveness.
DAMY Law Firm, Nice, long-term leave, Update 2022
