What are the rights of a locally elected employee who stops working?

Verified 01 January 2026 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

A locally elected employee may temporarily leave his or her job to exercise his or her mandate. During his term of office, the locally elected employee can benefit from an individual right to training. We present you the information to know.

If the employee wishes to interrupt his professional activity to become elected local, he must complete the 2 conditions following:

  • Have a seniority in the company of at least 1 year on the date of taking up his duties
  • Be elected for one of the following terms: mayor, deputy mayor of a city of 10,000 inhabitants minimum, president of a departmental or regional council (or vice-president having received delegation).

If the employee interrupts his professional activity to exercise his mandate as a local elected official, his employment contract is suspended during the interruption period.

Individual right to training

Every elected member of a municipal, departmental or regional council has an individual right to training.

Type of training

The training taken may be unrelated to the exercise of the mandate.

In particular, they enable the local elected employee to acquire new skills for his return to the company at the end of his term.

Amount of individual training entitlement

Every elected member of a municipal, departmental or regional council has an individual right to formation in the amount of €400 by year of mandate.

Funding

The individual right to training is financed by a compulsory contribution levied on the civil service allowances received by the members of the council (municipal, departmental or regional).

A national collecting body shall levy the levy.

The contribution rate for each elected official may not be less than 1%.

Request for training

The request for training of the local elected employee can be made by post or by email.

It must be accompanied by the copy of the training organization registration form.

The request must be addressed to the manager of the Caisse des dépôts et consignations financing fund no later than 6 months following the end of the term.

Please note

travel and subsistence expenses are reimbursed.

Validation of prior learning (VAE)

The validation of experience linked to the exercise of a local mandate is possible for all members:

  • of municipal councils 
  • departmental councils 
  • and regional councils.

At the end of his term of office, the employee shall, at his request, benefit from all guarantees following:

  • Right to reinstatement in the company (provided that the term of office does not exceed 2 consecutive terms)
  • Benefits acquired by employees in his category during the exercise of his mandate
  • Refresher course organized in the company
  • Vocational training and skills assessment

For the calculation of seniority, the periods of suspension of the employment contract of local elected officials are taken into account.

The employee may receive a specific allowance, called end-of-mandate differential allocation, if he has resumed a professional activity whose income is lower than the official allowances they received during his term of office.

The employee must complete the application form for the end-of-term differential allowance.

Application for end-of-term differential allowance

The application must be sent to the Caisse des dépôts et consignations (CDC) at the latest 5 months after the end of the mandate.

The allowance compensates for the difference between the gross monthly allowance received during the term of office and the income received at the end of the term.

For the first 6 months, the rate is at most equal to 80%.

From 7e month, this rate is at most equal to 40%.

This allowance is paid during 2 year maximum.

At the end of his term of office, the employee may receive a specific allowance, called end-of-mandate differential allocation, if he is registered with France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) as a jobseeker.

The employee must complete the application form for the end-of-term differential allowance.

Application for end-of-term differential allowance

The application must be sent to the Caisse des dépôts et consignations (CDC) at the latest 5 months after the end of the mandate.

The allowance compensates for the difference between the gross monthly allowance received during the term of office and the income received at the end of the term.

For the first 6 months, the rate is at most equal to 80%.

From 7e month, this rate is at most equal to 40%.

This allowance is paid during 2 year maximum.

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