An employee who becomes ill during his paid leave may postpone it

In its judgment of September 10, 2025, the Court of Cassation confirmed that, for any work stoppage that occurred during his vacation, the employee ‘may subsequently benefit from days of paid leave coinciding with the period of sick leave’.

Until now, French case-law has been contrary to that of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which allows sick employees to recover their sick leave at a later date.

The purpose of paid leave is to enable the worker ‘to rest and to have a period of relaxation and leisure, [and] differs from that of the right to sick leave, which is granted to the worker so that he can recover from an illness’.