Capped sick leave: what the decree of June 12, 2026 changes in concrete terms for employers

Since September 1, 2026, the duration of sick leave prescribed by a doctor, dentist, or midwife has been subject to a legal limit. This reform, presented as technical, requires employers—and their legal advisors—to immediately update their HR practices and control procedures.

Duration of sick leave: what changes from September 1, 2026

The implementing decree forArticle L. 162-4-1 of the Social Security Code, published on June 12, 2026, caps the duration of sick leave prescriptions for the first time at the national level:

• A maximum of 31 days for a first prescription;
• 62 days maximum in case of extension;
• Only 3 days when the sick leave is prescribed via teleconsultation by a practitioner who is not the patient's attending physician.

These limits are not absolute: the practitioner may deviate from them if they justify, directly on the prescription, the need for a longer duration in light of the patient's situation, if necessary by relying on the recommendations of the French National Authority for Health (HAS). The sick leave certificate must now also specify the medical reasons justifying the work stoppage.

The government's stated objective is to regulate the abuses observed with the rise of telemedicine, which has facilitated the issuing of sick leave certificates without physical consultation or real follow-up of the medical file.

Why this text directly concerns employers

At first glance, this reform falls under social security law and is aimed at prescribing physicians. In practice, it has three direct consequences for companies and their HR departments:

1. A new compliance check procedure.A sick leave certificate received by the employer must now be checked against these limits. An initial sick leave of more than 31 days without mention of a justified medical exemption, or a teleconsultation leave exceeding 3 days, constitutes a signal that must be identified by the HR or payroll department — although the employer does not have the power to contest it themselves: it is a cause for concern, not grounds for automatic refusal of coverage.
2. An impact on the management of subrogation and daily sickness benefits.Sick leave that does not comply with the maximum limits, or lacks the required medical information, can lead to difficulties in obtaining coverage from the national health insurance system. For companies using subrogation, this means an increased risk of rejections or delays in the payment of daily allowances, with a direct impact on payroll.
3. A link to employer control must be secured.Companies that conduct counter-medical examinations must now integrate these ceilings into their analysis framework: a prolonged absence beyond the thresholds without apparent justification can legitimately reinforce the relevance of an examination.

What businesses need to do right now

• Update the welcome booklet and internal procedures for managing work stoppages to incorporate the new ceilings and the alert circuit in case of atypical stoppage.
• Train payroll and HR managers to identify teleconsultation stops outside of the attending physician (often identifiable by the practitioner's stamp) and to verify the presence of the new mandatory medical information.
• Review the letter templates sent to employees in the event of a prolonged absence, to take into account the new framework rather than referring solely to pre-existing contractual or internal rules.
• Anticipate exchanges with the CPAM in case of rejection of coverage related to a non-compliant sick leave, in particular to quickly objectify the situation of the employee concerned.
• Raising awareness among frontline managers, who are on the front line to receive sick leave certificates, without however letting them interpret the medical validity of a prescription on their own — this control remains the prerogative of the HR department, or even the medical advisor in the event of a counter-visit.

One point to be aware of: do not confuse the legal limit with the employer's power to contest it

The new cap does not grant employers any new rights to refuse sick leave. It is not a tool for direct challenge, but rather a framework that now structures the assessment of the formal validity of the prescription—an assessment that ultimately remains the responsibility of the Health Insurance system and, in the event of employer-initiated review, of the physician appointed by the employer. Practitioners advising companies must therefore be careful not to allow their clients to draw excessive conclusions from this text regarding their room for maneuver when dealing with an employee on sick leave.

Duration of sick leave: the new limits in summary

This text, which has not yet been anticipated by many HR departments, deserves rapid support from companies: document update, training of payroll teams, and clarification of everyone's role in the chain of control of work stoppages.

Sources: Decree of 12 June 2026 issued for the application of Article L. 162-4-1 of the Social Security Code; Official Journal; Ministry of the Economy, government information "What changes in September 2026".

If you are facing a problem with managing sick leave, contact us.

Article written by Olivier Paquereau