What are the rules for paid holidays with the Cesu?

Like some 2.2 million French households, you may need the services of a home help to maintain your home, do DIY work or more generally to assist you in your daily needs. As soon as no intermediary manages this transaction, this makes you an employer and the worker your employee. As such, the latter therefore has rights that you must respect.

A supervised working relationship

While personal services often give rise to undeclared work, any family that intends to act in accordance with the rules must report its home help to Urssaf, within the framework of the specific Cesu system, or universal service employment check. The household then undertakes to submit this activity to the Labor Code. Written contract, salary meeting the criteria of the National Convention for employees of the individual employer, mandatory minimum rest time, social contributions and paid vacation… your employee benefits from the same rights as any other worker.

Unless you are a legal expert, some legal issues can be tricky, especially in terms of leave.

Compulsory rest

Even if your housekeeper only comes to your home for a few hours a week, she is entitled to 2.5 working days of paid leave per month of actual work, or five weeks per year if she works a full year for you. On the other hand, if you use it in a hashed way, the calculation will be proportional to the number of months completed.

Unless you agree between you, it is in principle up to the individual employer to determine the vacation periods of his employee, respecting a two-week rest period between May 1 and October 31. But be careful, you must inform him at least two months in advance. This period must also be indicated in his contract.

Regarding remuneration, everything depends on the working time. Does your employee work less than 32 hours per month at your place? In this case, you must add 10% to his monthly salary for paid vacation and deduct his absence from his pay when he takes his days off. From 32 hours of monthly home help, the rule is, on the other hand, to maintain the usual salary during holidays by declaring it as usual to Cesu.

Manage your absences

Other circumstances may give rise to specific rests. In principle, a home help works normally during public holidays. The private employer can however impose a rest, which will then be remunerated like a normal working day, under certain conditions of seniority. As an exception, May 1 is non-working and paid if it falls on a usual working day. If you call on your employee on this date, in this case you will have to double his salary.

In addition, exceptional leave assimilated to days worked, such as those linked to the birth, marriage or death of a loved one, must be paid to your home help and declared to the Cesu. Conversely, in the event of sick leave, for an accident at work or within the framework of maternity leave, you have nothing to pay or declare to him since his compensation is covered by Social Security. In addition, you can impose additional leave on your worker by specifying it in his employment contract. This rest period is then unpaid.