Sick pay in France: what is the difference between an arrêt de travail and arrêt maladie?
Guide for people in jobs and those who are self-employed
Both salaried and self-employed workers can claim sick pay
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The terms arrêt de travail and arrêt maladie are often used interchangeably in France but legally they are different and it is sometimes important to distinguish between them.
Both salaried and self-employed workers can claim an arret de travail, which opens the door to daily sick pay (dependent on level of income and length of time in the social security system for self-employed workers).
Broadly, an arrêt de travail is for someone unable to work due to an incapacity linked to their job, whether caused by an accident at work, or for some other reason. Accidents at work also include those that happen while commuting. Other reasons include ‘burn-out’, now recognised as a mental illness in France, and flu or stomach bugs, which mean you should not be in the workplace due to the risk of infecting others.
An arrêt de travail is temporary, with doctors usually specifying the number of days they expect the patient to be unfit to work.
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What is an arrêt maladie?
An arrêt maladie, on the other hand, relates to ongoing illness or an injury that occurred in your private life, and which is treated and prescribed by your médecin traitant (GP).
In both these cases your régime d’assurance maladie (usually the CPAM for the department where you live) will pay half your salary. This is calculated by adding up your gross salary for the past three months, dividing it by 91.25 (the official average number of days in three months) and then halving the sum. For someone earning a gross salary of €2,000 a month it works out at €32.87 a day, and there is a maximum of €41.47 for higher earners.
These payments are called indemnités journalières, and must be declared separately on annual income tax returns.
The first three sick days are not covered by this regime, although some employers undertake to pay the sum themselves during this period.
In terms of job protection, an arrêt de travail is generally better – an employer can only lay you off for faute grave (a serious mistake) or if it is impossible to find you something to do in the workplace, not necessarily in the same job as before.
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Employment termination
With an arrêt maladie there is wider scope for employment termination – being laid-off is possible for the disorganisation of the workplace due to you being off sick, mistakes, or because you are no longer capable of doing the job you did before.
Officially, anyone returning to work after an arrêt de travail needs a check-up from a company doctor or nurse to make sure they are fit to resume their job. It is at this appointment that a possible change of job within the company will be suggested, if necessary.
With an arrêt de maladie, a check-up is only needed if the employee has been away for longer than 30 days. However, the employer can impose a change of job within the company to accommodate the health of the employee.
Just to confuse things further, there is a third way sick employees can take time off work – the congé maladie. This needs an employer’s approval and its purpose is to allow workers to rest and recover from illness. No medical sign-off is required, but the length of time is determined by the employer.
