Holidays Do parents have priority over other employees
Allocating leave is often a challenge for companies. Between legal constraints and employee expectations, employers must make a choice. Summer is often a headache for HR and managers. They have to find a way to let everyone breathe, without disrupting the whole company,” notes Maud Grenier, co-founder of Temple RH, a training center for HR professionals.
It’s not easy to please everyone when everyone is making their case: a spouse who can only get away in August, friends who have already booked accommodation in the sun in September, children who need to be looked after in mid-July, and more seniority than other colleagues…
But when it comes to deciding who leaves when and who has priority over whom, the employer doesn’t have complete freedom. “They must take into account criteria set by company agreement, or failing that, by industry-wide agreement. Otherwise, they must refer to the Labor Code. In practice, it’s very rare for a collective agreement to set criteria different from this one,” explains Olivier Thibaud, a lawyer specializing in labor law and a partner at the firm Littler France.
Seniority counts
According to the Labour Code, the employer must, among other things, study “the family situation of the beneficiaries”, including the possibilities of leave for their spouse or civil partner.
Another factor that takes into account is whether employees have a child or adult with a disability, or an elderly person with reduced autonomy, living in their household. Those with longer tenure at the company are also given priority over more recently hired employees.
The final criterion considered is whether employees have other jobs with another employer that require them to be absent at certain times. The employer is expected to make a decision based on all this information. Furthermore, one rule must be respected: if employees in a civil partnership or married are working within the organization, they must be allowed to take time off at the same time if they wish.
Often, parents are given priority by employers when taking days off during school holidays, sometimes to the great dismay of employees without children who would also like to get away at that time.
Are employers within their rights to give parents priority? Are they obligated to grant them these periods? “The Labor Code doesn’t explicitly state this,” notes Olivier Thibaud. “While it’s quite logical to give them priority during these periods, other criteria can be taken into account. In any case, the employer is not legally required to grant parents leave during school holidays, as their absence must also be compatible with the company’s operations and organization.”
At least two periods during the year
In some companies, vacation periods are mandatory – for example, because production stops. In this case, the employer must inform you of your vacation dates at least one month in advance.
You have five weeks of vacation in a year, and your company would like you to take all your vacation at once? Impossible: your vacation must at least be broken up into two periods over the year – for example, four weeks and one week.
However, there are two exceptions to this, allowing employees to combine their leave: “If they justify particular geographical constraints – for examp, le if they work in mainland France and come from overseas territories – or the presence in the home of a child or adult with a disability or an elderly person with loss of autonomy,” explains the labor law specialist.
A possible backpedaling
Whether your employer imposes leave on you or consults you beforehand, “you must be able to be absent for at least two consecutive weeks during the so-called ‘taking’ period, that is to say by default between May 1 and October 31, this period being able to be extended by collective agreement,” says Olivier Thibaud.
Your employer gave you the green light to set sail whenever you wanted, but then changed their mind? “They can postpone your leave up to a month before your departure. Unless there is an exceptional circumstance, such as the unforeseen absence of another employee or a large order that could not be anticipated, which explains why they are informing you later,” explains Olivier Thibaud.
