If you are not familiar with the formalities to be carried out in the event of sick leave in France, MIA Assurances offers an overview of the steps to take to declare the leave and understand how compensation works through death and disability cover. Deadlines to meet, the new secure form, the carrying over of paid leave: this guide explains step by step the employer’s obligations and the best practices for avoiding any delay or loss of entitlements.
Declaring sick leave: is it necessary?
When an employee reports their leave, they must send you their sick leave notice (employer section). The employee has 48 hours to send their sick leave to their employer, whatever the length of the absence; if they have several employers, they must send a copy to each of them. It is then up to you, as the HR manager or director, to declare this leave to the French statutory health insurance and to your death and disability insurer. This declaration determines the payment of the allowances.
How to declare sick leave?
- Declaration to the French statutory health insurance
The first step is to report the leave to the French statutory health insurance via the DSN (Nominative Social Declaration), from your payroll software.
You must send the salary certificate, which allows the CPAM to calculate the amount of the daily allowances (IJSS) on the basis of the usual salary. For certificates sent via the DSN, the law requires a deadline of 5 days following knowledge of the leave; for other channels, there is no strict legal deadline, but the certificate must be sent as quickly as possible, failing which the allowances cannot be paid.
Please note: it is not necessary to draw up a new certificate in the event of an extension, if it is issued for the same reason as the initial leave, the total duration does not exceed 6 months and there is no interruption between the periods of leave. In the DSN, you simply need to change the expected end date.
The forms are available on ameli.fr.
- Declaration to your death and disability insurer
Once the CPAM formality is completed, inform your death and disability insurer:
- Consult the Specific Terms of your contract to find out the length of the waiting period (often 30, 60 or 90 days).
- Even if the waiting period has not elapsed, declare the leave from the outset to “put it on record” and avoid any dispute.
- Once the waiting period is reached, the insurer pays the allowances provided for in the contract.
- Documents to send to the insurer
- The sick leave declaration form provided by the insurer;
- The confidential medical questionnaire, completed by the doctor and sent directly to the insurer;
- The requested payslips (generally the last 3 or 12 depending on the activity);
- The statement of the daily allowances paid by social security.
Good to know, the secure Cerfa: in the event of paper submission (section 3), the only paper form accepted in 2026 is the secure sick leave Cerfa no. 10170*08 (or later version), fitted with anti-fraud features. Old forms, scans and plain photocopies are refused.
Sick leave compensation: how does it work?
Two scenarios are possible.
The most common: the employer maintains the employee’s salary, so they continue to receive their usual pay, and in return the employer collects the allowances from social security and from the death and disability cover (the subrogation mechanism).
In other cases, the employee receives the IJSS directly, topped up by the death and disability cover. Remember to check the waiting period provided for in your contract: the death and disability cover only steps in once this period has elapsed.
Sick leave and paid leave
What has changed?
Since the law of 22 April 2024, aligned with European law, sick leave has a direct impact on paid leave. Employees now accrue paid leave during leave for non-occupational illness, and a carry-over period of 15 months is introduced for entitlements accrued during the absence.
Point to watch for the employer: absence on leave for an accident at work or occupational illness is considered as effective working time giving entitlement to leave, whatever its duration. Above all, you have an obligation to inform the employee of their leave entitlements and of the deadline for taking them on their return, via a traceable medium (email, payslip, letter and so on). Without this information, the carry-over period does not start.
Consequences of a late or missing declaration
A delay can be costly. The insurer can refuse all or part of the compensation, forcing the employer to maintain the salary without the compensation provided for in the contract. On the CPAM side, a delay in the certificate pushes back the payment of the allowances to the employee accordingly. Rigour in meeting deadlines and in collecting supporting documents protects both the company and the employee.
MIA Assurances supports you
Managing sick leave combines obligations towards the French statutory health insurance, your death and disability insurer and the employee, with deadlines and supporting documents not to be missed. As a specialist insurance broker in social protection, MIA Assurances supports VSEs, SMEs, mid-cap companies and foreign companies established in France: choosing and managing the death and disability contract, checking the waiting periods and guarantees, and providing support with the compensation procedures.
FAQ: employee sick leave
- Within what timeframe must an employee’s sick leave be declared?
The employee has 48 hours to send you their leave notice. On your side, the salary certificate sent via the DSN must be sent within 5 days following knowledge of the leave.
- Do you need to redo a salary certificate in the event of an extension?
No, if the extension has the same reason as the initial leave, the total duration does not exceed 6 months and there is no interruption. In the DSN, you simply need to change the expected end date.
- Which Cerfa form should be used for paper leave in 2026?
Only the secure Cerfa no. 10170*08 (or later version) is accepted. Scans and photocopies of old models are refused.
- Does an employee accrue paid leave during sick leave?
Yes, since the law of 22 April 2024, including in the event of non-occupational illness, with a possible carry-over over 15 months. The employer must inform the employee of their entitlements on their return.
- What happens in the event of a late declaration?
The insurer can reduce or refuse compensation, and the payment of the social security allowances to the employee is delayed. The employer then risks maintaining the salary without compensation.
