The Syntec Agreement contains special provisions for employees absent due to illness or accident.
In particular, these provisions stipulate the compensation to be paid to the employee during this stoppage, as well as its duration.
In this article, we take a look at the key points to be aware of when one of your employees is absent due to illness or accident.
What are the effects of sick leave on the employment contract?
All absent employees must justify their absence.
Thus, if the absence is the result of a work-related accident or illness, whether work-related or not, the absence must be confirmed by a medical certificate, which must be sent to you as soon as possible by the employee, and within a maximum of 48 hours.
Once this absence is justified, it suspends the employment contract, not terminates it.
Please note: employees on sick leave benefit from special protection against dismissal.
We recommend that you include a clause in your employees’ employment contracts specifying the deadline by which they must inform you of the reason for their absence.
This clarification can also be included in the company’s internal regulations.
How are employees compensated?
There are two distinct situations:
Incapacity following an accident at work or occupational disease
The right to payment of the allowance is acquired from the first day of presence in the company, with no seniority conditions.
Incapacity following a non-occupational accident or illness
Entitlement to the allowance is acquired after one year’s service, in accordance with legal provisions.
Important : There is no waiting period under the Syntec Agreement. This means that an absent employee who meets the conditions for entitlement to the relevant allowance will receive it from the first day of absence, duly certified by a medical certificate.
Under the SYNTEC agreement, sick pay paid by the employer to supplement Social Security benefits is guaranteed for all absences due to illness or accident, whether work-related or not, for a maximum of 90 consecutive or non-consecutive days over a period of 12 consecutive months.
Beyond this 90-day period, the employer’s health insurance scheme will continue to provide cover.
Secondly, the method for calculating the amount of sick pay will vary according to the employee’s classification and length of service:
| Employee classification | Seniority | Salary retention |
|---|---|---|
| ETAM | From 1 to 5 years | 1 month at 100% + 2 months at 80% salary |
| 5 years or more | 2 months at 100% + 1 month at 80% discount | |
| Engineers and managers | 1 year or more | 3 months at 100% |
⚠ Warning: If the employee reaches the seniority referred to above during his illness, he receives, from the moment this seniority is reached, the allowance or fraction of allowance fixed according to this seniority for the remaining days of illness.
Important: The Syntec Agreement stipulates that periods of absence due to illness or accident are included in the calculation of paid leave when the employer maintains the employee’s salary.
Following a new ruling by the French Supreme Court (Cour de Cassation), any absence of an employee on sick leave will have to be taken into account in its entirety for the calculation of the paid leave from which the absent employee may benefit, including, for Syntec companies, for periods of illness which would not give rise to continued payment of salary.
DESRUMAUX AVOCATS is naturally at your disposal to discuss the terms and conditions of the Syntec agreement on sick leave, and more generally all the provisions of this agreement.
