France: definitive adoption of the 28-day paternity leave

On 30 November, France’s National Assembly definitively adopted the Social Security Financing Law, which is applicable for children born from July 1, 2021, and extends paternity leave from 11 consecutive days to 25 calendar days (or 32 days in the case of multiple births) and comes on top of the currently existing birth leave (which is a minimum of three days and is paid by the employer). This increased leave will be distributed as follows: 4 consecutive calendar days immediately following the birth leave, and then 21 calendar days, which increases to 28 calendar days in the case of multiple births. A subsequent decree will specify the notice period required for specifying the dates for taking the leave, the period within which the leave days must be taken, and the terms and conditions for any partitioning of the leave period. The law strictly prohibits employers from making fathers work during both the 3 days of birth leave and the following 4 obligatory consecutive days. As a result, a total of 7 days must be taken out of the total month of paternity leave (the only exception being if the employee is not eligible for the relevant compensation due to insufficient social security rights). Compensation received during these 25 days is aligned with the daily allowance received by the mother during her maternity leave.