Paid leave: accumulated untaken leave

What Article L.150 says: carrying over leave, at the worker's request, "may not, however, exceed two years of actual service". The text limits how long leave can be carried over; it provides for no penalty and mentions neither loss nor forfeiture.

The loss of a right is not presumed. For an employee to lose an acquired right, there must in principle be a text that says so. Google refers to a "mandatory interpretation", but without citing any text or court decision.

Other articles point rather in the opposite direction:

• L.114: the paid leave allowance claim remains a preferential claim for two years following the date on which the right was acquired. The Code therefore contemplates that it may still be claimed after it has been acquired.
• L.118: any action for payment of sums owed in respect of work is time-barred after three years.
• L.324: an employer who fails to comply with Article L.150 is liable to a fine. If the employer prevented the employee from taking leave, concluding that the employee loses those days would amount to making the employee pay for the employer's fault.

The argument "no carry-over, no payment, therefore loss" is not sufficient. Another equally logical conclusion can be drawn: the employer must ensure the leave is taken. And if the contract ends, the question of compensation arises, with the uncertainties of Article L.162.

Conclusion for the article

The "lost days" reading is a possible interpretation, not a written rule. For a reference website, presenting it as a certainty is risky: an employer could rely on it against an employee.

Two options:

Option A: keep the rewritten, neutral version (my recommendation).

"The Code does not expressly settle what happens to days not taken beyond two years; the safest solution remains to plan leave so that this limit is never reached."

Option B: mention the debate, with caution.

"The Code limits carry-over to two years, without specifying what happens to days beyond that. Some conclude that they are lost, but no text expressly provides for this. In any event, this reading seems difficult to enforce against the employee when it was the employer who prevented them from taking their leave.". The explanation must be given to the employee when their employment contract is drafted.

• The employee loses the benefit of all untaken leave after two (2) years (L.150) of the Labour Code.
• Any leave not taken within two (2) years of being granted is lost (L.150).
• Any agreement providing for a compensatory allowance in lieu of leave is void (L.162).

Carry-over:

At the worker's request, the entitlement may be carried over for no more than two years of service; the worker must then take at least 8 days, including non-working days, in the first year.

Payment of the allowance:

No later than the last day before leave begins.

Carry-over is an option for the worker, limited in time: it does not allow indefinite accumulation. The Code does not expressly settle what happens to days not taken beyond two years; the safest solution remains to plan employees' leave so that this limit is never reached.