© - ATH all rights reserved - Edition 2024 56 EMPLOYER’S GUIDE 2024 MATERNITY Pregnant employees are entitled to maternity leave, with no length of service conditions, which includes prenatal and postnatal leave. The length depends on the number of children. In the event of a single birth resulting in one or two children, the leave granted is 16 weeks (6 before and 10 after delivery). Maternity leave suspends the employment contract. During maternity leave, the employee receives the daily social security benefits. The collective agreement may provide for the payment of a salary top-up by the employer. The employee benefits from a number of protective guarantees : protection in terms of dismissal (during pregnancy and the 10 weeks after maternity leave), right to authorised absence (for compulsory medical examinations), guarantee of one pay review, entitlement to paid holidays on return from maternity leave. After an absence for maternity leave, a back-to-work medical is compulsory. Employees are entitled to an appraisal on their return from maternity leave. Employers may not terminate an employee's employment contract during the 10 weeks following a medically certified spontaneous termination of pregnancy between 14éme and 21éme weeks of amenorrhoea inclusive. PATERNITY The father can benefit from paternity leave. It is combined with the 3 days’ birth leave. Paternity leave is set at 25 calendar days (32 days for multiple births). Four days must be taken following the birth leave. The remaining leave entitlement may be taken immediately afterwards or within 6 months, where applicable, by splitting the remaining leave into two periods of at least five days each. Leave is extended if the child is hospitalised immediately after birth in a specialised treatment unit. This leave is not paid by the employer, unless the collective agreement has more favourable provisions. It is eligible for daily social security benefits. The employee must inform the employer one month before taking leave. The employer can neither refuse it nor require it to be postponed. For 10 weeks from the birth, employees cannot be dismissed, except for misconduct or inability to maintain the contract for a reason not connected with the birth. The leave is treated as effective working time for the purpose of accruing paid holiday entitlement and determining rights connected to length of service. Ask us, it’s not just the child’s father who can benefit from paternity leave or leave to look after a new child. 27 What you need to know : Employees have a number of rights in terms of maternity or paternity leave. Other leave related to family events is also laid down by the French Employment Code. MATERNITY, PATERNITY AND OTHER FAMILY LEAVES
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