How does French paid leave accrue?

Under the Code du travail, an employee acquires 2.5 jours ouvrables of paid leave for each month of actual work. A full reference period of twelve months gives 30 jours ouvrables, which is five weeks. The reference period runs from 1 June to 31 May.

What is the difference between jours ouvrables and ouvrés?

Jours ouvrables count Monday to Saturday, so a week is six days and the full entitlement is 30 days. Jours ouvrés count Monday to Friday, so a week is five days and the equivalent is 25 days. The employer must apply whichever method is more favourable to the employee.

How are partial months counted?

Acquisition can be measured in equivalent months, where four weeks of work or 24 days of work each count as one month. This lets irregular or part-year schedules still build entitlement. Select the weeks basis to use this method in the tool.

Is there a maximum entitlement?

Yes. Statutory paid leave is capped at 30 jours ouvrables, which is five weeks, per reference period. Collective agreements can grant more, but the legal acquisition formula stops at 30 days regardless of extra months claimed.

How is the final day count rounded?

Under Article R3141-7 a fractional day of entitlement is rounded up to a whole day in the employee's favour at the end of the reference period. The tool applies this rounding when the option is enabled, so 27.5 days becomes 28.

France Congés Payés Calculator

French paid leave, the congés payés, is earned at 2.5 working days a month over a reference period that runs June to May, reaching five weeks for a full year. This calculator applies that accrual, the legal cap, and the jours ouvrables versus ouvrés comparison that employers must resolve in the employee’s favour.

How it works

Leave is acquired per month of work, in jours ouvrables, then capped and optionally converted to the five-day equivalent:

months equivalent : months worked, OR weeks worked / 4
ouvrables         = months equivalent × 2.5   (capped at 30)
ouvres equivalent = ouvrables × 5 / 6         (Mon-Fri basis; 30 -> 25)
final rounding    = round fractional day up in employee's favour (R3141-7)

A full twelve-month reference period produces 30 jours ouvrables, the five-week maximum.

Example and notes

An employee who works seven months of the reference period acquires seven times 2.5, so 17.5 jours ouvrables, rounded up to 18 in their favour. Because the reference period is fixed at June to May, a new joiner part-way through the year acquires leave only for the months actually worked within that window. Always check whether your collective agreement uses the jours ouvrés method, since the employer must grant whichever calculation gives the employee more rest.