Employment law
Authorised absence
Statutory family leave or personal-convenience absence? The distinction decides whether it comes out of annual leave.
An employee asks for two days for a personal matter. The question is not only "grant it or not?", but under which regime. Because the answer carries a very concrete consequence: will the absence be deducted from paid leave, or not?
The Labour Code distinguishes two situations that should not be confused: exceptional permissions, protected by law, and authorised absences for personal convenience, left to the employer's discretion.
1. Exceptional permissions
The Code protects absences linked to family events directly affecting the employee's own household. Within a limit of ten days, such permissions may not be deducted from accrued leave.
Two clarifications matter. First, the Code does not list the events concerned or their individual durations: it is the applicable collective agreement, and where relevant the establishment agreement, that sets them out : marriage, birth, bereavement, with durations specific to each sector. Second, the ten-day limit is an overall cap on non-deduction, not an allowance to be spent freely.
The first answer to any absence request is therefore always the same: check the collective agreement first. If the event appears there, the absence falls under exceptional permissions, and the analysis stops. Labour Code, Article L.146 (French).
2. Absences for personal convenience
Where the reason is not among the recognised exceptional permissions, the absence falls under a different regime:
- it is not a right: it requires management's agreement;
- it is in principle deducted from paid leave, or treated as unpaid leave as agreed;
- it must be formalised in writing, before it takes effect.
This is organisational flexibility, not a legal obligation. The employer may refuse, and the refusal need not be reasoned, but consistent practice across employees remains the best protection against a sense of arbitrariness.
3. How should the authorisation be formalised?
The authorisation takes the form of a certificate drawn up by the HR department and signed by management. It states:
| Particular | Why it is needed |
|---|---|
| The applicant's surname and first names | Identifies the beneficiary unambiguously |
| The applicant's position | Allows cover for the post to be organised |
| The reason for the authorisation | Determines the regime: exceptional permission or convenience |
| The length of the absence | Fixes the count, in working or calendar days as the practice provides |
| The date of return to work | Separates authorised absence from unjustified absence |
| The treatment applied | States whether the absence is deducted from leave, unpaid, or non-deductible |
The last line is the one most often omitted, and it is the one that produces payroll disputes. Writing down from the outset how the absence will be treated avoids having to explain it a month later on a payslip.
4. What approval route?
A simple route suffices, provided it is known and consistently applied:
- the request is made in writing by the employee, as far in advance as possible;
- the line manager's opinion addresses feasibility given the workload;
- HR review checks the applicable regime and the leave balance;
- management's signature makes the authorisation effective;
- a copy goes to the employee, another to the personal file.
This route and the notice periods for requests naturally belong in the internal rules, under the technical organisation of work.
5. Authorised, justified and unjustified absence
Three neighbouring notions, three different regimes:
| Situation | What characterises it | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Authorised absence | Requested and granted before it takes effect | Treatment agreed in advance: leave, unpaid, or non-deductible |
| Absence justified after the fact | Not requested, but covered by a proven legitimate reason : illness, unforeseeable event | The contract is suspended under the regime specific to that reason |
| Unjustified absence | Neither authorised nor covered by a legitimate reason | No service rendered; may give rise to a disciplinary sanction |
An unjustified absence does not, however, permit any fine or disciplinary deduction: pecuniary sanctions are prohibited. The only lawful financial consequence is the absence of pay for time not worked. Labour Code, Articles L.69 and L.121 (French).
On other forms of absence and their effects on the contract, see Absence: various grounds.
Key takeaways
| The rule | What it implies |
|---|---|
| Two regimes, not to be confused | Protected exceptional permission, or convenience authorisation |
| Ten days not deducted from accrued leave | For family events directly affecting the employee's own household |
| The collective agreement lists the events | It is the first document to consult |
| Convenience authorisation is not a right | It requires management's agreement |
| The writing states how the absence is treated | Leave, unpaid or non-deductible: decided before, not after |
| No fines, no disciplinary deductions | Only time not worked goes unpaid |