6 questions to know everything about parental leave

Whether you’re getting ready to have a baby in a few months, or planning to have children one day, you’ve probably heard of parental leave.

Different from maternity leave and paternity leave, parental leave is the name given to the period during which one of the parents chooses to put aside his professional activities to devote himself fully to the care and education of his child.

It can be taken by the father or the mother of the child, and this just after the birth of the baby, as an extension of maternity leave or paternity leave, or later, or even as part of the adoption of a child under the age of sixteen.

Who can take parental leave?

Parental education leave is open to all employees provided they can prove that they haveat least one year of seniority in his company.

This minimum length of service of one year is assessed:

• either on the child’s date of birth;
• or on the date of arrival at the home of an adopted child under the age of 16, in the context of an adoption.

As soon as these seniority conditions are met, the employer cannot refuse the employee to take parental leave, regardless of the size of the company.

Parental leave can begin at any time until the child is 3 years old, in the case of a birth, or until the expiration of a period of one or three years from the date of the child’s arrival at the home, if it is This is an adoption (see the dedicated paragraph below).

Throughout the duration of parental leave, the employment contract is suspended, as “on break”, and will resume once this leave has ended.

It should also be noted that it is possible to request total parental leave, or a period of part-time work (at least 16 hours per week). A choice that the employer can not oppose.

When and how to request parental leave?

If you wish to take parental leave immediately after maternity, paternity or adoption leave, you must inform your employer at least one month before the end of this first leave (in the case of maternity leave or adoption). If you want to take parental leave spaced apart from maternity, paternity or adoption leave, you must inform the employer two months before taking the leave.

To request parental leave, you are strongly advised toformalize this request, either by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt (LRAR), or by a letter delivered by hand against discharge. The goal is to have proof that the employer has received the request in question.

In this letter, make sure to specify whether it is a request for total parental leave or part-time (in this case the number of weekly hours worked), the start date of the leave and its duration.

If the employee wishes to renew his leave, he must notify his employer by the same procedure, one month before the expiry of the current parental leave.

Recall that the employer does not have the right to refuse an employee to take parental leave. In the event of refusal, the employee can refer the matter to the industrial tribunal.

Unemployed, am I entitled to parental leave?

It is possible to take parental leave – and to benefit from certain benefits from the CAF which result from it – if one is unemployed. On the other hand, it is not it is not possible to combine unemployment benefits issued by Pôle Emploi and CAF aid relating to parental leave. Because Pôle Emploi pays unemployment benefit in lieu of a salary, and it is not possible to receive a salary during parental leave.

If you take parental leave during a period of unemployment, unemployment benefits will be suspended for the duration of parental leave, and will resume with a vengeance once this leave is over. Be careful to redo the registration procedures with Pôle Emploi once parental leave has ended.

To benefit from paid parental leave when you are unemployed, certain conditions must however be respected, in particular in terms of contributions during several years preceding the birth of the child. It is to the CAF that it is necessary to apply to know the steps to be carried out.

I have adopted a child, am I entitled to parental leave?

It is quite possible to be able to benefit from a parental leave of education when one has had recourse to the adoption. There are, however, conditions, such as parental leave after the birth of a child.

To be entitled to parental leave, an employee who has adopted must justify at least one year of seniority in his company, seniority which is assessed according to the date of arrival at the home of the adopted child.

Clearly, if the child arrives in the home on January 1, 2021, the salaried parent will only be able to benefit from parental leave if he can prove that he has worked for one year on January 1, 2021, in other words if he is joined the company on or before January 1, 2020.

Parental leave in the event of adoption cannot exceed 3 years if the child was less than three years old when he arrived at the home. On the other hand, parental adoption leave is only one year maximum if the child was over three years of age when it arrived in the family.

Parental leave: can it be modified or interrupted along the way?

It is possible to terminate parental leave early, but for this there must be an agreement between the employee and his employer. However, in the event of a significant drop in household resources (which must not be linked to parental leave) or the death of the child, the employee does not need the prior consent of his employer to end parental leave.

In all cases, when you wish to extend, modify or interrupt your parental leave, you must send a reasoned request to your employer, in the form of a registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt or a letter delivered by hand against receipt, at least one month before the effective date of the modification or interruption of parental leave.

What assistance from CAF during parental leave?

During parental education leave, it is possible, under certain conditions, to benefit from what is called the shared child education benefit (PreParE). It is itself part of the childcare benefit (Paje) paid by the Family Allowance Fund (CAF).

The “PreParE” can be granted during full or part-time parental leave. But beware: the duration of the PreParE payment depends on the family situation and the number of dependent children. Thus, it is possible that this financial assistance from CAF does not cover parental leave for its entire duration. It is therefore important to obtain information from your CAF beforehand in order to properly plan what parental leave means financially.

Sources and additional information: 

• https://travail-emploi.gouv.fr/
• https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F2280
• http://www.caf.fr