Stronger rights for parents of children with serious illnesses

In the foreword to the bill aimed at improving the protection and support of parents of children with cancer, serious illness or disability, it is recalled that "the detection of a serious illness or disability in a child is the cause of major upheavals in the lives of families. In addition to the anxiety and the care protocol, there is a complete reorganization of daily life and numerous material constraints, often causing financial and administrative difficulties. »

Numerous developments are thus taking place to support parents of critically ill children, following the promulgation of this act dated june 12, 2026.

Changes in the daily allowance for parental presence

The Daily Parental Presence Allowance (AJPP) is financial assistance, which can be paid to you if you are caring for your critically ill, injured or disabled child. This aid is granted subject to conditions.

The doctor of the sick child must establish a certificate attesting to the seriousness of the disease and the indispensable nature of the sustained presence of the parents alongside their child. This certificate specifies the expected duration of the treatment administered; and the parents of the sick child can benefit from the AJPP for a period equal to this expected duration of treatment.

The expected duration of treatment may be reviewed at a time set by the physician. This review takes place at the earliest 6 months after the previous examination carried out by the doctor. The maximum time limit for carrying out this review was amended by the Law of 12 June 2026. The objective, according to the report of the bill, is to « simplify the parents' journey in their annual renewal of the daily parental presence allowance ». From now on, the child may be re-examined by the doctor, in order to determine a new foreseeable duration of treatment and therefore the new period for entitlement to the AJPP, later than before; the maximum period for such re-examination is now set at 14 months, compared with one year previously.

The time limit for informing your employer that you are taking parental leave

You can take parental leave if you have a dependent child who has an illness or disability, or who has suffered an accident of a particular severity, requiring a sustained presence and compelling care.

Now, you must inform your employer that you want to take parental leave at least 10 days before the start of the leave, compared to 15 days previously.

Dismissal and parental leave

The Act of 12 June 2026 extends the period during which an employer cannot dismiss an employee who has taken parental leave. Until then, it was only provided that an employer could not break an employee's employment contract during parental leave (or during periods worked, when parental leave is split or taken part-time). Now, in addition to these periods, the employer cannot dismiss the employee during the 10 weeks following the end of parental leave.

Possibility of flexible working hours

It is now stated in the Labor Code that parents or legal guardians of a child whose state of health makes a sustained presence with him indispensable can benefit from individualized work schedules. This measure is modeled on what was already in place for family caregivers and relatives of a person with a disability, in particular.

Extending the duration of parental leave in the event of the announcement of a disability or pathology in their child

The duration of leave you can take when you are faced with the announcement of the occurrence of a disability, a chronic pathology requiring therapeutic learning or cancer in your child is now 10 working days, compared to 5 working days previously.

Possibility of early release of savings

Parents who have a child with a disability, a serious illness, or who are victims of an accident of a particular severity, can now release their savings in advance in:

• a life insurance contract, the performance of which is linked to the cessation of professional activity;
• a retirement savings plan. Savings in an individual retirement savings plan, for example, are normally blocked until the holder of the savings product retires.

Right to housing for parents of sick children

Having a dependent child with an illness or disability, or who is the victim of an accident of a particular severity, is now part of grounds for entitlement to public assistance from the community for access to decent and independent housing, or to remain in a dwelling corresponding to those criteria.