Since September 1, 2026, several reforms are changing the daily lives of employees, employers, and public agents in France. Capped sick leave, suspension of the pension reform, new rules for the public service: these legal updates directly impact labor law and social protection. Here are the most concrete changes to remember this week.
Capping Sick Leave: What the Decree Changes for Employees
Have you ever received a prolonged work stoppage multiple times without a clear limitation? That practice has come to an end. Since September 1, 2026, a decree caps for the first time the duration of compensated work stoppages.
In practice, the attending physician who renews a sick leave beyond three continuous months may now have their case submitted to the medical service of Health Insurance. This enhanced medical control on long sick leaves introduces a filter that did not exist before. The stated goal is to limit automatic renewals without medical reassessment.
Specifically, daily allowances are no longer guaranteed indefinitely. An employee on extended sick leave has an interest in attending medical service appointments, or they risk having their allowances suspended. HR departments in companies must also adapt their monitoring procedures, as information on the expected duration of absence will be communicated earlier. Updates on this reform are regularly published on leveridique.info, which covers French regulatory developments as they happen.
Suspension of the Pension Reform: Which Generations Are Affected
The suspension of the 2023 pension reform is producing its first concrete effects since September 2026. The generations born between 1964 and 1968 are the first to be impacted by this shift.
Why these specific generations? Because the gradual schedule for raising the legal retirement age, as outlined in the initial reform, no longer applies under the previous terms for those born in 1968. The legal retirement age is readjusted for these age groups, which directly alters end-of-career projections.
For an employee born in 1965 or 1966 who planned to retire according to the accelerated schedule, the suspension means a return to the previous rules, at least temporarily. Before making a decision, it is wise to check their career statement on the Retirement Insurance website and verify the conditions applicable to their generation.
Public Service: Rules Aligned with the Private Sector
A point often overlooked in the media coverage of these reforms: the civil and military public service is also affected. The decree of July 29, 2026, transposes to public agents rules similar to those in the private sector regarding sick leave.
Until now, civil servants enjoyed a distinct regime, with specific leave durations and controls. The partial alignment creates a harmonization that affects several hundred thousand agents. Public employers (local authorities, hospitals, ministries) must revise their absence management protocols.
Conditions of Detention and Decisions of the Council of State in September 2026
This week’s legal news is not limited to labor law. The Council of State issued a notable decision in the case of the Condé-sur-Sarthe prison.
The Ministry of Justice contested an order from the administrative court of Caen, dated July 18, which mandated it to put an end to behaviors deemed unlawful by certain prison guards in the organized crime fighting unit (QLCO). The Council of State rejected the ministry’s appeal, thereby confirming the injunction from the administrative court.
This decision reminds us of a simple principle: even in a high-security environment, detention conditions remain subject to administrative judicial review. The ministry cannot disregard the rules governing the treatment of detainees on the grounds of the dangerousness of the incarcerated profiles.
Combating Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: The Bill After the Council of State’s Opinion
The bill on sexual and gender-based violence has taken a step forward with the publication of the Council of State’s opinion on its new version. This text directly concerns social law and employers’ obligations.
Here are the key points emerging from this revised version:
- A strengthening of the obligations to prevent harassment in companies, with an expanded role for the CSE (social and economic committee) in reporting and monitoring situations
- Clarifications on the legal classification of gender-based violence at work, which complement existing provisions of the Labor Code
- A better articulation between internal disciplinary procedures and criminal prosecutions, to prevent one from blocking the other
The CSE becomes a central actor in the prevention framework in sufficiently sized companies. Employers who have not yet formalized an internal reporting procedure will need to comply within deadlines that will be specified by decree.
What Legal Professionals Should Remember
For labor lawyers, corporate legal advisors, and HR managers, this week concentrates several changes to be integrated simultaneously:
- Update procedures for monitoring long sick leaves, incorporating the new medical control after three months
- Check the impacts of the suspension of the pension reform on the departure plans of affected employees
- Anticipate future obligations related to the bill on gender-based violence, particularly the training of CSE representatives
- For public employers, adapt absence protocols to the alignment introduced by the decree of July 29, 2026
Each reform taken in isolation may seem technical, but their accumulation profoundly changes the daily management of human resources, both in the private and public sectors. The coming weeks will bring the missing implementing decrees, particularly on the harassment aspect. It is better to anticipate now rather than face urgent compliance issues later.
