Labor medal: rules, deadlines and rewards

Updated April 2026 - The medal of honor for work remains a seemingly simple subject, but in reality it touches on several HR subjects: seniority, calendar of requests, possible bonuses, payroll processing and taxation of the benefit paid. For the employer, the key point is not just to congratulate an employee. It is also necessary to check who submits the request, when, and how the recognition is translated into HR tools.

In short: the medal rewards seniority of service in the private sector. The usual levels remain silver, vermeil, gold and grand gold. Two promotions exist each year, on January 1 and July 14, with deposit deadlines to respect. Gratification is never automatic.

In many companies, the medal is seen as a formality. This is a mistake. Well managed, it plays a real rôle in building loyalty, recognition and a social signal.

It reminds us of three things:

• the value of seniority;
• the stability of the collective;
• the fact that the company knows how to recognize long journeys.

In teams, this type of distinction can have a stronger effect than an isolated bonus. Recognition is visible, symbolic and, if well announced, it supports the employer brand. Conversely, a forgotten or hastily treated medal leaves a very average impression.

To articulate this with your HR policy, see also Social, payroll and rémunération, HR & payroll: employer obligations in 2026 and therapeutic part-time.

The official Service-Public page recalls the usual major levels:

• money after 20 years;
• vermilion after 30 years;
• gold after 35 years;
• grand gold after 40 years.

These thresholds are those that many employees know, but the calculation of seniority is not always as linear as we believe. Certain periods are taken into account, others not, and you must check the supporting documents before putting together a file.

Situations that require verification#

• change of employer;
• career interruptions;
• part-time;
• work abroad;
• services in several establishments.

In a well-kept file, we anticipate the request several months before the deadline. In practice, this avoids chasing job certificates, work certificates or civil status documents at the last moment.

There are two annual promotions:

• promotion from January 1st;

• promotion of July 14. Requests must be submitted within the usual administrative deadlines set by Service-Public:

• before October 15 for the January 1st promotion;

• before May 1st for the July 14th promotion.

This calendar is important because it determines HR preparation. A company that waits until the last week takes an unnecessary risk: incomplete file, missing document, delay in validation, or even request postponed to the next cycle.

In practice, the request can be made by the employee or by the employer depending on the organization chosen. Most often, the file is prepared by HR or payroll, because they have the most reliable information on seniority and periods of service.

The correct reflex consists of centralizing:

• dates of employment;
• work certificates;
• position or status certificates;
• supporting documents relating to interruptions;
• proof of the place of exercise if this has an impact on the calculation.

A clean record is almost always a winning record.

Public Service is clear: the présentation of the medal does not automatically entitle you to a bonus. On the other hand, a sum of money or days off can be provided by:

• the collective agreement;
• a company agreement;
• sometimes a use.

In other words, the employer does not decide in a vacuum. He must first check the applicable text, then internal practice. In some sectors, gratification is almost expected. In others, it does not exist or remains very symbolic.

The correct order of control#

1. Check the collective agreement. 2. Verify the existence of an agreement or usage. 3. Check the form of the planned benefit. 4. Translate correctly the benefit into payroll. 5. Keep a written record of the decision.

This framework is important, because a poorly documented bonus can generate misunderstandings on the form or on the taxation of the payment.

Possible gratification must be treated with caution. The key point is not just whether the company wants to pay. You need to know how the amount should be qualified.

• If the bonus is paid in money, you must check your payroll plan.
• If it takes the form of days off, you must ensure proper management of the meter.
• If it is part of a use, we must ensure that the use is consistent and constant. **From a tax perspective, certain bonuses may benefit from favorable treatment under certain conditions. The good reflex therefore remains the same: do not pour before having qualified the device. A poorly coded payroll line often creates more work than it avoids.

Hayot Expertise advice: the right reflex is not only to pay a bonus. This means first checking the applicable collective text, then the correct HR and payroll translation.

Let's take a SME with 45 employees which is preparing the July 14 promotion.

The HR service identifies three différent cases:

• an employee close to 20 years old, but with periods of absence to be verified;
• a second employee who has changed site and whose supporting documents are scattered;
• a third, already éligible for a year, but whose file had never been prepared.

The correct method is to treat these cases as a mini HR project:

• collection schedule;
• validation of dates;
• arbitration on gratuity;
• information from the manager;
• preparation of payroll if a benefit is paid.

This work seems administrative, but it has a real social impact. It shows that the company knows how to recognize routes without improvisation.

• confuse the medal with an automatic right to a bonus;
• forget the deadline of May 1 or October 15;
• build a case too late to recover the evidence;
• pay a bonus without checking the collective text;
• ignore the effect of a use already installed in the company.

A good method consists of five steps.

1. Identify potentially éligible employees. 2. Check the seniority and the periods to remember. 3. Check the submission deadlines. 4. Examine the collective agreement, agreement or custom. 5. Translate the decision into payroll and internal communications.

This logic is simple, but it avoids most of the irritants. It also makes it possible to treat the medal as a coherent recognition tool, and not as a random box to be checked on the calendar.

We help employers to secure conventional bonuses, their payroll treatment and internal supporting documents.

Quick link: Secure your HR and payroll practices

In 2026, the long service award remains a seemingly simple subject, but which requires real HR monitoring if the company wants to properly recognize seniority and possibly pay a bonus. The schedule, collective agreement and payroll translation must be aligned from the start.

(Official sources: Service-Public.fr - medal of honor for work, Légifrance - decree n°84-591 of July 4, 1984)