French Supreme Court’s dual rulings on paid leave: A decisive alignment with EU law

At a glance

• On 10 September 2025, the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) issued two landmark rulings aligning national law with EU directives on paid leave.
• The first decision confirms that employees who fall ill during their paid leave are entitled to postpone those days since the employer has been made aware of the sick leave.
• The second decision states that paid leave days must be included in the calculation of weekly overtime, when working time is counted on a weekly basis.
• These rulings bring French law into compliance with the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) long-standing interpretation of the Working Time Directive.
• Employers must urgently review their HR and payroll practices to mitigate legal and financial risks.

Sick leave during holiday: right to reschedule confirmed

In a long-awaited reversal of its established case law, the French Supreme Court ruled that an employee who becomes ill during paid leave is entitled to take those days at a later date. This decision aligns French law with the European Court of Justice’s interpretation of Article 7 of Directive 2003/88/EC (the Working Time Directive).

The Court emphasized the distinct purposes of paid leave (rest and leisure) and sick leave (recovery), concluding that illness deprives the employee of the benefit of their vacation. The right to reschedule is, however, conditional on timely notification of the sick leave to the employer.

The employee on sick leave during paid annual leave is entitled to benefit from those days at a later time.

This ruling follows a formal notice from the European Commission in June 2025 and anticipates legislative reform. It has immediate operational consequences for employers, who must now:

• Adapt leave management policies.
• Monitor sick leave notifications closely.
• Prepare for potential retroactive claims.

Paid leave counts toward overtime thresholds

In a second decision issued the same day, the Court ruled that paid leave days must be included in the calculation of weekly overtime when working time is tracked weekly.

Previously, French courts excluded paid leave from the calculation of 'effective working time'. However, the ECJ considers that excluding paid leave creates a financial disincentive to taking leave, which is incompatible with the purpose of the Working Time Directive.

Employees subject to weekly working time tracking may claim overtime pay for weeks in which they took paid leave and did not reach 35 hours of actual work.

This decision significantly increases the risk of retroactive claims for unpaid overtime and requires employers to:

• Reassess how overtime is calculated.
• Adjust payroll systems accordingly.
• Anticipate potential litigation or collective actions.

What’s next for employers?

These judgments mark a turning point in the French legal landscape and reinforce the primacy of EU law in labour matters. Employers should:

• Conduct a legal audit of their leave and overtime practices.
• Train HR teams and managers on the new rules.
• Consider negotiating collective agreements to manage the impact.