French maternity leave runs at least 16 weeks — 6 before the birth, 10 after. It is not optional. The employee cannot work through it. The employer cannot end her contract while she is on it. The state pays her, through a daily allowance called the IJSS, not the employer. But many employers still owe a top-up on top of that, under their collective agreement. Here is what an employer owes, pays, and protects, as of July 2026.
This guide covers the duration, and how the state allowance is calculated. It covers when an employer has to top it up, and job protection before and after the leave. It ends with what an employer of record handles, if you hire someone in France without a French entity.
Last updated July 31, 2026. Jump to: How long is it · IJSS pay vs. employer top-up · Job protection & return · What changes during leave · What an EOR handles · FAQ
How long is maternity leave in France?
The statutory minimum is 16 weeks for a first or second child. That splits into 6 weeks before the due date and 10 weeks after. This is a legal floor. An employer can offer more. It can never offer less.
The 16-week figure is only the starting point. French law extends the leave for a third child and for multiple births. The employee can also shift a few weeks between the before- and after-birth periods:
| Situation | Before birth | After birth | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st or 2nd child | 6 weeks | 10 weeks | 16 weeks |
| 3rd child onward | 8 weeks | 18 weeks | 26 weeks |
| Twins | 12 weeks | 22 weeks | 34 weeks |
| Triplets or more | 24 weeks | 22 weeks | 46 weeks |
Source: service-public.gouv.fr, checked July 2026. The employee can move up to 3 weeks from before the birth to after it. She can also bring up to 2 weeks forward. The split can shift. The total is what matters for staffing.
A doctor can extend the leave further. A difficult pregnancy adds up to 2 weeks before birth. A difficult delivery adds up to 4 weeks after. Both are paid the same way as the standard leave. Plan for a buffer. Do not assume the minimum will be the actual absence.
For how France's 16-week floor compares to other countries, see our maternity and parental leave by country table.
IJSS daily allowances vs. employer top-up obligations
The employer does not pay the employee during maternity leave by default. Social Security pays her, through a daily allowance called the IJSS (indemnités journalières de Sécurité sociale). This runs through the French health insurer, CPAM, not through the employer payroll. That separate mechanism is exactly where employers get confused.
How the IJSS is calculated
The allowance is based on the employee's last 3 months of gross salary. Add those 3 months together. Divide by 91.25. That gives a daily base salary. The allowance rate applies to that base, and both the base and the payout are capped.
| Element | 2026 figure |
|---|---|
| Reference period | Gross salary from the 3 months before leave |
| Daily base salary formula | (3 months' gross salary) ÷ 91.25 |
| Allowance rate | 100% of the daily base salary, before ~21% CSG/CRDS is deducted |
| Maximum daily allowance | €104.02/day (before the 21% deduction) |
| Monthly Social Security ceiling used in the calc | €4,005/month |
Source: ameli.fr and payroll-provider corroboration, checked July 2026 — see brief.md for the source cross-check. The salary going in is capped. About a fifth comes out as standard payroll deductions. So the amount that reaches the employee's account sits well below her normal net pay, especially once she is above the ceiling.
To qualify, the employee generally needs 6 months of Social Security registration by the due date. She also needs at least 150 hours of work in the 3 months before leave, or an equivalent contribution level. Someone who just joined the workforce, or just moved to France, can fall short of this. Check it early, not after the leave has already started.
When the employer has to top it up
Here is the concession employers need to hear. French law does not, by itself, require the employer to make up the gap between the IJSS and the employee's normal salary. Whether a top-up is owed depends on the applicable collective bargaining agreement (convention collective), not the Code du travail directly.
In practice, most French employees are covered by a convention collective that does require it. The employer pays the difference between normal pay and the IJSS, often after a minimum seniority — commonly one year. Some agreements maintain net salary. Others maintain gross. Some apply from day one. There is no single national rule here. You have to read the specific agreement that covers the role.
The honest employer checklist is short: find the applicable convention collective, check whether it has a maternity top-up clause, check any seniority condition, and calculate the gap against the IJSS the employee actually receives — not her gross salary. Getting this wrong either underpays a protected employee or overpays for no reason.
Job protection and return-to-work rights
France gives maternity leave strong job protection. It starts before the leave and continues after it, at two different strengths.
- During pregnancy and the leave itself: the employer cannot terminate the contract at all. Not for performance. Not for redundancy. Not even for gross misconduct. Protection starts once the pregnancy is medically confirmed and the employer told.
- For 10 weeks after she returns: protection continues, but it narrows. Dismissal is only allowed for gross misconduct that has nothing to do with the pregnancy, or where keeping the contract is genuinely impossible for an unrelated reason.
Source: service-public.gouv.fr, checked July 2026. In practice, any dismissal near a French employee's pregnancy or return date needs a documented, unrelated reason. A labour tribunal — the conseil de prud'hommes — can be asked to review it. The employer carries the burden of proof, not the employee.
Return-to-work rights
When she comes back, French law is specific about what she is owed:
- Her previous job, or an equivalent one, at comparable pay. Not a demotion dressed up as a reorganization.
- Any general pay rise given to her peers while she was away applies to her too. She does not return to a stale salary.
- A health check within 8 days of her return — the visite médicale de reprise — to confirm she is fit for the role, or flag any adjustment.
None of this is something the employer and employee can agree away. It is the statutory floor.
What else changes for the employer during the leave
A few things get missed because maternity leave feels like an absence, not an active employment status:
- Seniority keeps building. French law counts maternity leave as actual working time for seniority-based rights. The clock does not pause.
- Paid annual leave keeps accruing during the leave. Any leave she had not yet used before it started is preserved for her to use afterward.
- Some contributions keep running, depending on the scheme and whether a top-up is being paid. One more reason the top-up needs to be calculated correctly, not roughly.
- The role stays hers. You can arrange cover, but the position is not legally vacant while she is on leave.
None of this has to be tracked from memory. It is exactly the kind of statutory bookkeeping that either sits with an in-house French payroll specialist, or with whoever runs employment in France for you.
What an EOR handles
Say you hire someone who lives and works in France, and you have no French entity. An employer of record becomes the legal employer there. It handles all of the above for you:
- Confirms IJSS eligibility before the leave starts, so nobody is surprised about who pays what.
- Coordinates the CPAM filing with the employee, instead of leaving her to navigate a French government process alone.
- Finds the applicable convention collective and calculates any top-up owed correctly, seniority condition included.
- Tracks the job-protection window — during the leave and the 10 weeks after — so a later staffing decision does not turn into an unlawful dismissal.
- Books the return-to-work medical exam, and confirms she comes back to an equivalent role at comparable pay.
You keep directing the work. The EOR runs the compliance underneath it. See global workforce management for how Remote& structures this across contractors, EOR employees, and Contractor of Record. See our France employment guide for the fuller country picture — tax, benefits, and termination rules included. Run the numbers on our France employment cost calculator before you budget the hire.
For the other side of French employment — how termination works, notice, and severance — see our guide to firing in France.
Frequently asked questions
How long is maternity leave in France?
The statutory minimum is 16 weeks for a first or second child — 6 weeks before the due date and 10 weeks after. It extends to 26 weeks from the 3rd child, 34 weeks for twins, and 46 weeks for triplets or more. These are legal floors. An employer can offer more, never less.
Does the employer pay the employee during maternity leave?
Not by default. The state pays a daily allowance, the IJSS, through Social Security. It is calculated from the employee's last 3 months of gross salary and capped at roughly €104.02/day in 2026. Whether the employer also has to top that up depends on the applicable collective bargaining agreement, not French law directly.
Is the employer required to top up maternity pay to full salary?
Only if the applicable convention collective requires it. French law itself does not mandate a top-up on top of the state IJSS. In practice, most collective agreements do require full salary maintenance, sometimes after a minimum seniority. Check the specific agreement that covers the role before assuming either way.
Can an employer dismiss an employee on maternity leave in France?
No. During pregnancy and the leave itself, dismissal is not allowed for any reason, including gross misconduct. For 10 weeks after she returns, dismissal is only allowed for gross misconduct unrelated to the pregnancy, or genuine impossibility to continue the contract for an unrelated reason.
What job is the employee entitled to on return from maternity leave?
Her previous job, or an equivalent role at comparable pay. Any general pay rise given to her peers while she was away must also apply to her. A health check is required within 8 days of her return.
Do contractors get maternity leave in France?
No. Statutory maternity leave is an employment entitlement. It applies to employees, not to genuine independent contractors. A contractor arranges her own time off and is not covered by the IJSS as an employee would be. If you engage French contractors, keep the classification genuinely independent — see our guide to contractor misclassification.
Does maternity leave affect seniority or paid leave accrual in France?
No, it protects both. French law counts maternity leave as time worked for seniority. Paid annual leave keeps accruing during the leave. Any leave she had not used before it started stays available afterward.
Who handles maternity leave compliance if I hire in France without a local entity?
An employer of record does. It becomes the legal employer in France, confirms IJSS eligibility, coordinates the state filing, calculates any collective-agreement top-up, tracks the job-protection window, and books the return medical exam — while you keep managing the person's actual work.
Hire in France without owning the compliance
Remote& runs payroll, statutory leave, and job protection under French law for your France-based hire, on one worker record alongside contractors and Contractor of Record. See how it works, or get your exact price on a call.