Temporary worker sick leave in France: rights, IJSS and 2026 rules

Falling ill during a temporary assignment raises a set of practical questions that most workers cannot answer without guidance: who do you notify, who calculates the benefit, and what happens to the contract if the mission was due to end in a fortnight?

The triangular structure of temporary work complicates every step. The temporary employment agency (ETT — entreprise de travail temporaire) is the legal employer, but the worker was performing duties at the client company's site. The French health insurance fund (CPAM) is a third actor that pays the daily allowances without direct knowledge of the mission structure. This is where delays, missed deadlines, and lost income arise.

When a temporary worker goes on sick leave, they are entitled to IJSS daily allowances (indemnités journalières de la Sécurité sociale) from the 4th day of absence for a non-occupational illness, after a 3-day waiting period. The ETT remains the legal employer and must receive the sick note within 48 hours. The contract is suspended, not terminated, and the ETT cannot end it solely because of illness. Since the April 2025 reform, the salary base for calculating IJSS is capped at 1.4 times the monthly minimum wage (SMIC), approximately 2,552 euros gross as of February 2026, giving a maximum daily benefit of 41.95 euros gross.

The temporary work arrangement involves three parties with clearly defined responsibilities. Confusing their roles is the most common source of administrative error.

This structure is set out in articles L1251-1 et seq. of the French Labour Code. In practice, many temporary workers send their sick note only to the client company and forget the agency. The result: the salary certificate is not produced on time, and the CPAM cannot process payment for weeks.

Our observation: in the payroll files we manage for temp agencies, the bottleneck is almost never the IJSS calculation itself but the documentation circuit. The salary certificate that the ETT must send to the CPAM is frequently late — either because the worker only sent their paperwork to the client, or because the agency lacks a documented process for absence management.

Eligibility conditions are the same as for any employee in the French system. They are based on hours worked or the level of contributions paid in the months before the sick leave begins.

For absences up to 6 months#

To receive IJSS during the first 6 months of sick leave, one of the following conditions must be met over the 3 months preceding the absence:

• at least 150 hours worked, or
• contributions paid on earnings equivalent to at least 1,015 times the hourly minimum wage.

For absences beyond 6 months#

Beyond 6 months, the thresholds increase. The worker must have worked at least 600 hours or have contributed on earnings equivalent to 2,030 times the hourly minimum wage over the preceding 12 months, and must have been affiliated with the French social security system for at least 12 months.

For temporary workers moving between short assignments, the 150-hour threshold over 3 months is worth checking before assuming entitlement. A two-week mission immediately before an absence may not be sufficient if the preceding months were inactive.

This is the most overlooked change since the April 2025 reform. The salary cap for IJSS calculation was reduced from 1.8 times the monthly SMIC to 1.4 times the monthly SMIC. Any worker earning more than approximately 2,552 euros gross per month is directly affected.

Step-by-step calculation#

The base daily salary (salaire journalier de base, SJB) is determined as follows:

1. Total the gross salaries for the 3 months preceding the absence (or the actual mission duration if shorter).
2. Divide by 91.25 to obtain the average daily salary.
3. Cap the monthly salary figure at 2,552 euros gross (1.4 x SMIC from February 2026).
4. Apply the rate: 50% for non-occupational illness (from day 4), 60% for work accidents or occupational illness (from day 1).

The monthly social security ceiling (PMSS) for 2026 is 4,005 euros (annual PASS: 48,060 euros), set by the ministerial order of 22 December 2025. This ceiling governs many social contribution calculations but no longer directly caps the IJSS daily base salary since the 2025 reform.

Two worked examples#

Profile A — temp worker earning 2,800 euros gross/month

Total gross over 3 months: 8,400 euros. Theoretical SJB: 8,400 / 91.25 = 92.05 euros/day. Capped salary base: (2,552 x 3) / 91.25 = 83.93 euros/day. IJSS at 50%: 83.93 x 50% = 41.97 euros, capped at the legal maximum of 41.95 euros gross/day.

Profile B — temp worker earning 2,200 euros gross/month

Total gross over 3 months: 6,600 euros. SJB: 6,600 / 91.25 = 72.33 euros/day. Below the cap — no reduction applied. IJSS at 50%: 72.33 x 50% = 36.16 euros gross/day.

The reform affects only workers above the 2,552 euro threshold. For a skilled technician on 3,000 euros gross/month, the daily loss compared with the pre-reform rules is around 4 to 6 euros per day of absence.

Respecting the sequence and the deadlines is what determines whether the allowances are paid on time.

1. Consult a doctor, who issues a three-part sick note.
2. Send part 3 to the CPAM within 48 hours (via the Ameli online account or by recorded-delivery post). This triggers the IJSS entitlement.
3. Send parts 1 and 2 to the ETT within the same 48-hour window. The agency must then prepare and send the salary certificate to the CPAM.
4. Notify the client company by email or phone so it can reorganise cover. This step has no formal legal weight, but it prevents misunderstandings about availability.
5. For each extension, repeat the same circuit: part 3 to the CPAM, parts 1 and 2 to the ETT.

Missing the 48-hour deadline may result in a reduction in IJSS payments by the CPAM. The Ameli online declaration is the fastest option and creates an auditable record.

A common misconception: a mission ending on its contractual date is not an early termination. The contract was fulfilled in full. Only a voluntary departure by the worker — without legitimate reason — can disqualify the end-of-mission indemnity.

The end-of-mission indemnity#

Known in French as the indemnité de précarité, this payment represents at least 10% of total gross remuneration earned during the mission (Labour Code, article L1251-32). It is payable at the end of every temporary mission, unless the worker is offered a permanent contract by the client company or terminates the mission themselves without cause. Sick leave does not remove this entitlement.

Beyond the IJSS, some temporary workers can claim a supplementary payment from the ETT under their applicable collective agreement (convention collective). This top-up depends on the specific agreement covering the agency and on seniority conditions that workers frequently do not know exist.

The national collective agreement for the temporary employment sector includes provisions on incapacity for work. The exact conditions — seniority thresholds, salary maintenance rates — vary and must be checked in the agreement text applicable to the specific ETT.

Key questions to ask your agency:

• Which collective agreement applies? (shown on the payslip)
• Is there a group insurance (prévoyance) policy? Some agencies have cover that supplements the IJSS.
• How is seniority calculated — continuously or by cumulating successive missions?

Where no top-up exists, the worker receives only the IJSS. The level of coverage can vary considerably from one agency to another.

The ETT cannot terminate the contract while it is suspended for sick leave. Two exceptions exist:

• Serious misconduct unrelated to the health condition (theft, serious insubordination, etc.);
• A reason entirely unrelated to the illness making it impossible to maintain the contract (permanent closure of the agency, for instance).

This protection applies to both standard mission contracts and permanent-contract temporary workers (CDI intérimaire). If an ETT attempts to end the assignment solely because of the absence, the worker may challenge this before the employment tribunal (conseil de prud'hommes).

• Part 3 of the sick note to the CPAM within 48 hours
• Parts 1 and 2 to the ETT within 48 hours
• Extension certificate (same circuit) for each renewal
• Return-to-work certificate to both the ETT and the client company before resuming
• Salary certificate: to be produced and sent by the ETT to the CPAM — follow up if the agency delays

In the payroll engagements we handle for temp agencies, the same failure pattern recurs. The worker sends their sick note only to the client company. The client passes it internally but does not alert the ETT within the deadline. The ETT does not produce the salary certificate in time. The CPAM waits. The worker receives no payment for three to four weeks.

The second frequent error involves collective agreement top-ups. Some agencies apply seniority conditions restrictively, excluding periods of successive short missions from the seniority count. A careful reading of the applicable agreement text often corrects this interpretation in the worker's favour.

For user companies employing significant numbers of temporary workers, our social and payroll service covers audits of absence management processes and the design of documented procedures. Our articles on payroll outsourcing and therapeutic part-time work address similar process challenges.

Up to date as of 2026-05-26. This article is for information purposes and does not replace personalised professional advice. For your specific situation, consult a registered expert-comptable or employment law specialist.