Paid leave earned over the period
PL = min(30, roundUp(2.5 × Mw + 2 × Ms))
With Mw + Ms ≤ 12 months; the sick-leave part 2 × Ms never exceeds 24 days.
French paid leave accrual calculator
Calculate paid leave earned under French law: 2.5 working days per month worked, 2 days per month of non-occupational sick leave since the April 2024 law, rounding up and a 30-day ceiling.
- Clipboard
- France
French private-sector rules (Labour Code, art. L3141-3 to L3141-7): 2.5 working days per month of actual or equivalent work, 2 days per month of non-occupational sick leave (24 days at most), total rounded up and capped at 30. A collective agreement may grant more.
Check the values: work and sick-leave months cannot exceed 12 months in total, and rates must be positive.
Leave earned
- Days from work and equivalent periods
- Days from sick leave
- Total before rounding
- Total rounded up
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How does this tool work?
This calculator applies French employment law. A private-sector employee in France earns 2.5 “working days” (jours ouvrables, six per week) of paid leave per month of actual work for the same employer: 30 days, or five weeks, for a full year. Since Act No. 2024-364 of 22 April 2024, non-occupational sick leave also earns paid leave, at a reduced rate of 2 working days per month. The tool keeps the two kinds of periods apart, applies the statutory rounding and ceiling, and shows each step so you can compare it with a French payslip.
Months of actual work and periods treated as work (paid leave taken, maternity, paternity or adoption leave, compensatory rest, rest days under a working-time agreement, work accidents and occupational diseases) are multiplied by 2.5. Months of non-occupational sick leave are multiplied by 2 (article L3141-5-1 of the French Labour Code), with at most 24 days per reference period. Both amounts are added; a fractional total is rounded up to the next whole day (article L3141-7), then capped at 30 working days, the maximum set by article L3141-3. Four weeks or 24 days of work count as one month (article L3141-4), so six weeks are entered as 1.5 months. Rates and ceiling stay editable for a more generous collective agreement. Results are in jours ouvrables: 30 of them equal 25 jours ouvrés (Monday to Friday).
How to use this tool
Find the reference period
By default 1 June to 31 May; 1 April to 31 March in sectors using a leave fund (construction, performing arts); or the dates set by an agreement.
Count months worked or equivalent
Include leave taken, maternity or paternity leave, work accidents and occupational diseases. Convert weeks: 4 weeks = 1 month.
Count months of non-occupational sick leave
Enter them in the second field: they earn 2 days per month, not 2.5.
Keep or adjust the rates
2.5 and 2 days are the statutory values. Change them only if your collective agreement grants more.
Read the rounded total
It is the number of working days earned, rounded up and capped at 30.
Paid leave formula under French law
Work-based and sick-leave entitlements are added, rounded up, then capped.
- Mw
- months of actual or equivalent work (4 weeks or 24 working days = 1 month)
- Ms
- months of non-occupational sick leave in the reference period
- PL
- paid leave earned, in working days (jours ouvrables)
Work accidents and occupational diseases count as actual work: enter them in Mw, they earn 2.5 days per month.
Use cases
A year with sick leave
7 months worked and 5 months of sick leave: 7 × 2.5 + 5 × 2 = 27.5, rounded up to 28 working days, instead of 17.5 days before the 2024 reform.
Joining mid-period
Hired on 1 January with a reference period ending on 31 May, you have 5 months: 12.5 days, rounded up to 13.
Off sick all year
12 months of non-occupational sick leave give 24 working days, the maximum for such periods.
Checking a French payslip
Compare the “congés acquis” counter on the payslip with the work and sick-leave breakdown shown here.
More generous agreement
Change the rate or ceiling to include seniority days or a specific collective-agreement scheme.
Examples
Work and sick leave
Rounding up applies to the total.
Input
7 months worked, 5 months of non-occupational sick leaveResult
17.5 + 10 = 27.5 → 28 working daysJoining mid-period
The example given by Service-Public.fr.
Input
5 months worked, no sick leaveResult
12.5 → 13 working daysFull year
That is 25 days when counted Monday to Friday.
Input
12 months workedResult
30 working daysTips and best practices
- Part-time employees in France earn as many days as full-time staff; working hours do not reduce the number of days, only how days taken are counted.
- Sick leave caused by a work accident or occupational disease goes in the work field: it earns 2.5 days per month, with no time limit since 2024.
- After sick leave, the employer must tell you within a month of your return how many days you have and until when to take them; leave you could not take because of illness can be carried over for 15 months.
- Rights earned during sick leave since 1 December 2009 could be claimed retroactively; for employees still in post, the two-year window opened by the 2024 law closed on 23 April 2026.
- Absences not treated as work (unpaid leave, parental leave…) earn nothing: leave them out of both fields.
- If your employer counts in jours ouvrés (five per week), multiply the result by 5/6: 30 jours ouvrables = 25 jours ouvrés.
- The tool calculates days earned, not the remaining balance or holiday pay: subtract the days already taken yourself.
Sources and references
Frequently asked questions
How many paid-leave days are earned per month in France?
2.5 working days per month of actual work for the same employer (article L3141-3 of the Labour Code), so 30 working days for a full year. A collective agreement may grant more.
Do you earn paid leave while on sick leave in France?
Yes, since the Act of 22 April 2024: non-occupational sick leave earns 2 working days per month, up to 24 days per reference period. Sick leave due to a work accident or occupational disease counts as actual work and earns 2.5 days per month.
Why does 12.5 days become 13 days?
Article L3141-7 requires a fractional number of days to be raised to the next whole number. Rounding always goes up, never to the nearest.
Can statutory leave exceed 30 days?
Not under the statutory entitlement, which is capped at 30 working days. Agreement-based days (seniority, splitting, age, disability) may be added depending on the applicable agreement.
How do I count a partial month?
Four weeks or 24 working days count as one month. Enter a decimal: 2 weeks = 0.5 month, 6 weeks = 1.5 months.
What is the difference between jours ouvrables and jours ouvrés?
Jours ouvrables are all days except the weekly rest day (usually Sunday) and public holidays off, so six per week. Jours ouvrés are the days the company actually works, usually five. Counting in jours ouvrés must give at least equivalent rights: 25 jours ouvrés for 30 ouvrables.
Do part-time employees get less leave?
No. They earn 2.5 working days per month like full-time employees. Holiday pay follows their salary.
Does the tool calculate holiday pay?
No. French holiday pay is calculated separately by comparing salary maintenance with one tenth of gross pay over the period; the more favourable method applies.
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