France: The Fact that an Employee did not Warn Her Employer Sufficiently in Advance of her Wish to Take Parental Leave Does not Authorise the Employer to Delay or Refuse Such Leave
Under French law, an employee, subject to having been with the company for at least 1 year, can ask to take parental leave upon the birth or adoption of a child. The duration of such leave is for a maximum of 1 year but can be renewed up to the child’s 3rd birthday (different rules apply in case of multiple births). The employment contract is suspended during this parental leave and, except if this is provided in the applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement, the company no longer pays the employee who receives indemnities directly from the State.
An employee who wished to benefit from a parental leave at the end of the maternity leave is supposed to inform the company at least 1 month prior to the end of the maternity leave. In case of a request after the employee has returned from maternity leave, the applicable notice period is 2 months.
Case law had already stated that an employee who did not respect this notice period could not be sanctioned, even if this disorganized the company. This new ruling now indicates that the company can be sanctioned by an award of damages if they refuse or try to delay the taking of such parental leave.
Key Action Points for Human Resources and In-House Counsel
Ensure that you have adequate resources to deal with a last-minute parental leave request, and do not try and convince the employee to delay such parental leave.
