21/11/2025 • FAQ
arrêt de travail
CNETP
congés payés
FAQ Social
Foire aux questions
indemnisation
vacation bonus
Le secteur des Travaux Publics est régi par des règles spécifiques en matière de congés payés. Face à la complexité des textes et aux particularités juridiques propres à notre branche, cette FAQ a pour objectif de répondre aux questions que se posent les entreprises concernant la gestion des congés payés. Par principe, les entreprises de Travaux Publics sont affiliées à la CNETP, c’est pourquoi cette FAQ s’y réfère exclusivement. Toutefois, il est important de préciser que pour les entreprises affiliées à une caisse du Bâtiment, les règles applicables restent identiques. Seules certaines modalités de gestion peuvent différer, notamment en ce qui concerne les congés payés acquis durant un arrêt de travail pour accident ou maladie d’origine non professionnelle.
The French Labor Code sets out the principle of affiliation to paid leave funds, with reference to the scope of application of national collective bargaining agreements in the public works sector.
Under article D.3141-12 of the French Labor Code, a public works company is required to join the CNETP. Unlike the paid leave funds for the building industry, CNETP has national jurisdiction, and as such provides paid leave services for all Public Works companies.
Since April1, 2024, the CNETP's vacation pay contribution rate has been 20.20% of payroll.
A compter du 1er janvier 2026, il passera à 21% notamment pour tenir compte de la refonte des allègements généraux. Pour en savoir plus, consultez notre article sur le sujet.
Its base corresponds to the wages declared to employees(C.trav., art. D. 3141-29).
To find out which remunerations are subject to vacation pay contributions and the applicable contribution rate, the CNETP provides a table of contribution bases and a table of contribution rates on its website.
The CNETP vacation pay contribution rate includes the cost of vacation pay (5 weeks), conventional seniority pay and the vacation bonus provided for in the industry's collective bargaining agreements.
The cost of additional days for fractioning is billed back to the company by the CNETP.
For more information on paid leave contributions, the CNETP provides general documentation on its website.
Article 2 of the CNETP's internal regulations stipulates that the company must inform the CNETP each month of the amount of wages earned by employees during the previous month.
How do we do it? By means of the Déclaration Sociale Nominative (DSN) before the 5th or 15th of the month.
When must the membership fee be paid? Before the 25th of the month.
Under the terms of article L. 3141-3 of the French Labor Code, employees earn 2.5 working days of paid vacation per month of actual work, i.e. 30 working days of paid vacation per year.
This principle is reiterated in the industry's collective bargaining agreements(art. 5.5 of the CCN des Ouvriers des Travaux Publics of December 15, 1992; art. 5.1 of the CCN des ETAM des Travaux Publics of July 12, 2006; and art. 4.1 of the CCN des Cadres des Travaux Publics of June 20, 2020).
For information on the acquisition of paid leave due to suspension of the employment contract for illness or accident, whether work-related or not, see the "Taking paid leave" section of this FAQ.
Under article L.3141-5 of the French Labor Code, employees earn one paid vacation entitlement per month of actual work for :
On its website, the CNETP provides exhaustive documentation on the periods that are and are not considered as working time for the purposes of acquiring paid leave.
For information on the acquisition of paid leave due to suspension of the employment contract for illness or accident, whether work-related or not, see the "Taking paid leave" section of this FAQ.
Yes, employees earn paid leave during periods of partial activity.
In fact, under article R. 5122-11 of the French Labor Code, the hours lost during partial activity are taken into account when calculating the right to paid leave.
In application of the provisions of the industry's collective bargaining agreement, the paid vacation period in the Public Works sector runs from April1st of year N to March 31st of year N+1(art. 5.7 of the CCN des Ouvriers des Travaux Publics of December 15, 1992, art. 5.1 of the CCN des ETAM des Travaux Publics of July 12, 2006; and art. 4.1 of the CCN des Cadres des Travaux Publics of June 20, 2020).
Each year, the CNETP publishes a checklist on the subject. The aide-mémoire for 2025 is available on the FNTP website.
No, in application of article R. 3141-4 of the French Labor Code, the vacation entitlement period for the Public Works sector begins on April 1st of year N and ends on March 31st of year N+1.
Yes, based on supporting documents that can be sent directly by employees to CNETP. Article L. 3141-8 of the French Labor Code makes a distinction based on the employee's age.
Employees under the age of 21 with dependent children are entitled to two additional days off for each dependent child. When these employees have acquired a paid vacation entitlement not exceeding six days, they are entitled to an additional day's vacation per dependent child.
Employees aged 21 and over with dependent children are entitled to two additional days' leave per dependent child. However, the granting of these additional days must not result in the employee's earned leave entitlement exceeding thirty working days.
The age of employees is determined on April 30 of the year preceding the year in which paid leave is acquired.
A dependent child is defined as :
The CNETP provides a memento on the subject on its website.
Number of days of conventional seniority leave |
Seniority |
2 days |
After 20 years of continuous or discontinuous service with the same company |
4 days |
After 25 years of continuous or discontinuous service with the same company |
6 days |
After 30 years of continuous or discontinuous service with the same company |
Number of days of conventional seniority leave |
Seniority |
2 days |
After more than 5 years and less than 10 years with the company OR more than 10 years and less than 20 years with one or more construction companies |
3 days |
After more than 10 years with the company or more than 20 years with one or more construction companies |
Number of days of conventional seniority leave |
Seniority |
2 days |
After more than 5 years and less than 10 years with the company OR more than 10 years and less than 20 years with one or more construction companies |
3 days |
After more than 10 years with the company or more than 20 years with one or more construction companies |
Whatever the employee's professional category, seniority is assessed at the end of the paid leave acquisition period, i.e. March 31 of the year(art. 5.7 of the CCN des Ouvriers des Travaux Publics of December 15, 1992, art. 5.1.1 of the CCN des ETAM des Travaux Publics of July 12, 2006; and art. 4.1.1 of the CCN des Cadres des Travaux Publics of June 20, 2020).
No, like statutory paid leave, employees must take paid leave for seniority.
As a matter of principle, these conventional paid vacations are taken outside the main paid vacation, unless the employer expressly agrees otherwise(art. 5.7 of the CCN des Ouvriers des Travaux Publics of December 15, 1992; art. 5.1.1 of the CCN des ETAM des Travaux Publics of July 12, 2006; and art. 4.1.1 of the CCN des Cadres des Travaux Publics of June 20, 2020).
Pursuant to Article L. 3141-5-1 of the French Labor Code, employees earn 2 working days of paid leave per month in the event of absence from work due to a non-work-related accident or illness, up to a maximum of 24 working days per earning period.
Under article L. 3141-5 of the French Labor Code, employees earn 2.5 working days of paid leave per month in the event of absence from work due to an accident or illness of occupational origin, up to a maximum of 30 working days per earning period.
Yes, according to article L. 3141-19-1 of the French Labor Code, when an employee is unable to take all or part of the paid leave earned due to accident or illness during the paid leave period, the leave is deferred. This principle applies regardless of the cause of the accident or illness.
In the Public Works sector, the deadline for determining whether employees are unable to take all or part of their paid leave during the vacation entitlement period has been set at March 31 of year N.
In principle, paid leave is deferred for 15 months from the date on which employees receive information on the number of paid leave entitlements deferred and the deadline for deferring paid leave(C. trav., art. L. 3141-19-3). For further details on the obligation to inform employees, see questions 22 and 23.
By way of exception, article L. 3141-19-2 of the French Labor Code stipulates that when an employee has been off work due to accident or illness for at least one year at the end of the paid leave acquisition period, i.e. March 31 of year N, paid leave is automatically deferred. It is 15 months from the end of the paid leave acquisition period, i.e. March 31 of year N.
On its website, the CNETP has published a Newsletter summarizing the rules governing the deferral of paid leave in the event of absence from work due to accident or illness, with concrete examples.
No, in the Public Works sector, the CNETP is responsible for calculating the amount of paid leave earned and carried over due to accident or illness, as well as the deadline for carrying over paid leave.
To determine the number of paid vacations to be carried forward and the deadline for carrying them forward, the CNETP needs to know the employee's actual return-to-work date.
As this information is known only to the company, two options have been implemented:
The CNETP provides a newsletter on its website, detailing the two options for data exchange between the company and the CNETP.
According to the French Labor Code, in principle, paid leave earned but not taken due to accident or illness is deferred for 15 months.
The deferral of paid leave begins when the employee receives information on the number of paid leave days deferred and the deadline for deferring paid leave.
Since this information must be provided no later than one month after the employee returns to work, in order to simplify the calculation of the deferral of paid leave, the CNETP applies a deferral of 16 months for the taking of leave when the employee has been unable to take it due to illness or accident.
Yes, under article L. 3141-19-3 of the French Labor Code, the employer is responsible for providing this information.
The employee is informed of the number of paid vacations carried over and the deadline for carrying over paid vacations, using the information provided by the CNETP.
This information must be provided within one month of the employee returning to work.
The employer must inform the employee by any means that confers a date of receipt(C. trav., art. L. 3141-19-3).
He can inform the employee by means of the pay slip, by e-mail with acknowledgement of receipt, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, and so on.
If the employee is not informed of the number of vacations carried over and the deadline for carrying over paid vacations, the period for carrying over paid vacations does not run.
Consequently, paid leave earned but not taken due to accident or illness is carried forward without an end date.
The paid vacation period in the Public Works sector runs from May1st of year N to April 30th of year N+1(art. 5.4 of the CCN des Ouvriers des Travaux Publics of December 15, 1992, art. 5.1 of the CCN des ETAM des Travaux Publics of July 12, 2006; and art. 4.1 of the CCN des Cadres des Travaux Publics of June 20, 2020).
Each year, the CNETP publishes a checklist on the subject. The aide-mémoire for 2025 is available on the FNTP website.
Employers are not only responsible for arranging vacations for their employees, but also for ensuring that they take them.
The employer is therefore responsible for ensuring that all employees have taken their paid leave within the allotted time. In the event of a dispute, the employer must be able to demonstrate that it has taken all necessary measures to ensure that this right is effectively exercised.
This burden of proof also falls on the employer affiliated to a paid leave fund(Cass. soc., Sept. 22, 2021, no. 19-17.046).
Failure to do so may result in civil and criminal liability(C. trav., art. R. 3143-1).
While in practice the dates of paid vacations for employees are set by mutual agreement between the employer and the employee concerned, the employer can unilaterally set the dates of paid vacations for employees.
In this case, and in the absence of a company collective agreement, under the terms of Article L. 3141-16 of the French Labor Code, the employer must set the order of departure for paid leave, taking into account in particular :
These criteria will apply in particular to Workers.
For supervisors and managers with children attending school, the employer takes account of school vacation periods, subject to service requirements(art. 5.1.3 of the CCN des ETAM des Travaux Publics of July 12, 2006 ; and art. 4.1.3 of the CCN des Cadres des Travaux Publics of June 20, 2020).
For supervisors and managers whose family members live under the same roof and work for the same company, the employer favors simultaneous paid leave, subject to service requirements(art. 5.1.3 of the CCN des ETAM des Travaux Publics of July 12, 2006 ; and art. 4.1.3 of the CCN des Cadres des Travaux Publics of June 20, 2020).
The employer must inform employees of the basic list of paid leave dates at least 2 months in advance(art. 5.4 of the CCN des Ouvriers des Travaux Publics of December 15, 1992; art. 5.1.3 of the CCN des ETAM des Travaux Publics of July 12, 2006 ; and art. 4.1.3 of the CCN des Cadres des Travaux Publics of June 20, 2020).
Yes, the employer can impose paid leave dates on employees, provided they give 2 months' notice(art. 5.4 of the CCN des Ouvriers des Travaux Publics of December 15, 1992; art. 5.1.3 of the CCN des ETAM des Travaux Publics of July 12, 2006 ; and art. 4.1.3 of the CCN des Cadres des Travaux Publics of June 20, 2020).
This period applies not only when the company is closed, but also when paid vacations are taken in shifts.
Yes, in the absence of a company collective agreement, the employer may modify the dates of paid leave, subject to a 2-month period(art. 5.4 of the CCN des Ouvriers des Travaux Publics of December 15, 1992; art. 5.1.3 of the CCN des ETAM des Travaux Publics of July 12, 2006 ; and art. 4.1.3 of the CCN des Cadres des Travaux Publics of June 20, 2020).
No, it does not apply in exceptional circumstances(C. trav., art. L. 3141-16).
Exceptional circumstances are not defined in the French Labor Code. It is therefore up to the trial judge to verify the existence of exceptional circumstances(Cass. soc., March 24, 2010, 08-42.017).
Exceptional circumstances include
Yes, only for ETAMs and Cadres, when the employer modifies the dates of paid leave departure less than 2 months before the initial date due to exceptional circumstances.
In this case, he must reach a prior agreement with the employee to agree on appropriate compensation(art. 5.1.3 of the CCN des ETAM des Travaux Publics of July 12, 2006 ; and art. 4.1.3 of the CCN des Cadres des Travaux Publics of June 20, 2020).
An example would be the granting of additional days off.
Yes, under article L. 3141-12 of the French Labor Code, paid leave can be taken from the time of hiring, provided it has been earned and with the employer's agreement.
In addition, paid leave must be taken without prejudice to the rules for determining the period of paid leave, the order of departure and the rules for splitting paid leave.
Yes, employees who are spouses or in a civil partnership working for the same company are entitled to simultaneous paid leave(C. trav., art. L. 3141-14).
No, as a matter of principle, paid vacations can be taken in one go, up to a maximum of 24 working days(C. trav., art. L. 3141-17).
However, with the employer's agreement, employees may depart from this limit on an individual basis if they can demonstrate one of the following two situations:
In principle, the fifth week of paid vacation is taken in a single period:
However, it is possible to take the fifth week of paid vacation in the form of separate days taken during the year under a company collective agreement, or with the employee's individual agreement. In this case, the agreement must be sent to the company for information.
No, as a matter of principle, conventional paid leave for seniority cannot be added to the 4 weeks of statutory paid leave and must be taken according to the company's needs.
However, with the express agreement of the employer, these vacations can be added to the 4 weeks of paid leave(art. 5.7 of the CCN des Ouvriers des Travaux Publics of December 15, 1992; art. 5.1.1 of the CCN des ETAM des Travaux Publics of July 12, 2006; and art. 4.1.1 of the CCN des Cadres des Travaux Publics of June 20, 2020).
A distinction needs to be made according to the length of paid leave earned by employees.
When employees have acquired an entitlement to paid leave that is less than or equal to 12 working days, paid leave must be taken on a continuous basis. It is not possible to split paid vacations in this case(C. trav., art. L. 3141-18).
When employees have acquired an entitlement to paid leave that exceeds 12 working days, as a matter of principle, paid leave may be taken in instalments with the employee's agreement(C. trav., art. L. 3141-19).
However, it is mandatory that :
- one of the fractions of the paid vacation entitlement is equal to 12 continuous working days;
- between two weekly rest days.
The rules governing the splitting of paid leave, as set out in Article L. 3141-19 of the French Labor Code, only apply when paid leave is taken in shifts.
In the event of closure of the establishment or company, employees may take paid leave without their agreement. However, the CSE must be informed and consulted on the subject, if it exists(art. 5.6 of the CCN des Ouvriers des Travaux Publics of December 15, 1992 ; art. 5.1.3 of the CCN des ETAM des Travaux Publics of July 12, 2006; and art. 4.1.3 of the CCN des Cadres des Travaux Publics of June 20, 2020).
Pursuant to Article L. 3141-23 of the French Labor Code, employees are entitled to :
The fifth week of paid leave does not give entitlement to additional paid leave for fractioning(art. 5.9 of the CCN des Ouvriers des Travaux Publics of December 15, 1992; art. 5.1 of the CCN des ETAM des Travaux Publics of July 12, 2006; and art. 4.1 of the CCN des Cadres des Travaux Publics of June 20, 2020).
Yes, in accordance with article L. 3141-23 of the French Labor Code, it is possible to derogate from additional paid leave for splitting with the employee's individual agreement.
An express written agreement is recommended.
Yes, in accordance with article L. 3141-23 of the French Labor Code, it is possible to derogate from additional paid leave for splitting by means of a company-wide collective agreement.
Pursuant to Articles L. 3141-24, D. 3141-32 and D. 3141-33 of the French Labor Code, vacation pay may be calculated :
The CNETP website explains the rules for calculating vacation pay and provides a list of items to be included or excluded from the total gross salary.
In the Public Works sector, CNETP pays vacation pay to employees at least 10 days before the date of departure for paid leave.
To do this, the employer must send requests for paid leave to the CNETP at least 1 month before the date of departure.
Payment of vacation pay is evidenced by a certificate of payment, which employees must keep. The CNETP provides instructions on how to use the payment certificate on its website.
When the employee's employment contract is terminated, the employer must provide the employee with a certificate issued by the CNETP, enabling him to prove his entitlement to leave.
In this way, employees in the building and civil engineering sector are guaranteed to take their vacations effectively, even if they change employer, since their vacation entitlements are portable from one building and civil engineering company to another.
To obtain this document, the employer must notify the CNETP of the termination of the employee's contract.
The vacation bonus is paid to all workers who have completed 1,200 hours of work(art. 5.8 of the CCN des Ouvriers des Travaux Publics of December 15, 1992).
For supervisors and managers, the vacation bonus is paid to any employee who has been with the company for 6 months(art. 5.1.2 of the CCN des ETAM des Travaux Publics dated July 12, 2006; and art. 4.1.2 of the CCN des Cadres des Travaux Publics dated June 20, 2020).
The condition relating to hours worked or length of presence is assessed over the paid leave acquisition period, i.e. from April1 of year N to March 31 of year N+1.
The following conditions are taken into account in determining entitlement to the vacation bonus:
The CNETP reminds us of these rules on its website.
The vacation bonus represents 30% of the daily paid vacation allowance paid in respect of 4 weeks' paid vacation, additional paid vacation for fractioning and conventional paid vacation for seniority(art. 5.8 of the CCN des Ouvriers des Travaux Publics of December 15, 1992; art. 5.1.2 of the CCN des ETAM des Travaux Publics of July 12, 2006; and art. 4.1.2 of the CCN des Cadres des Travaux Publics of June 20, 2020).
The vacation bonus is not due on the fifth week of paid leave or on additional paid leave for dependent children.
The CNETP reminds us of these rules on its website.
In the Public Works sector, the CNETP pays vacation bonuses to employees(art. 5.8 of the CCN des Ouvriers des Travaux Publics of December 15, 1992; art. 5.1.2 of the CCN des ETAM des Travaux Publics of July 12, 2006; and art. 4.1.2 of the CCN des Cadres des Travaux Publics of June 20, 2020).
The CNETP pays vacation bonuses at the same time as vacation pay. There is therefore no payment of the vacation bonus apart from vacation pay(art. 5.8 of the CCN des Ouvriers des Travaux Publics of December 15, 1992; art. 5.1.2 of the CCN des ETAM des Travaux Publics of July 12, 2006; and art. 4.1.2 of the CCN des Cadres des Travaux Publics of June 20, 2020).
11/09/2025 • Article
La Cour de cassation poursuit la mise en conformité du droit français avec le droit européen. Après avoir reconnu en septembre 2023, l’acquisition de congés payés pendant un arrêt de travail pour maladie, elle consacre désormais le droit au report des congés payés en cas de maladie survenant pendant les congés payés.
13/03/2026 • Article
Le contrat à durée indéterminée de chantier (CDI de chantier) est un outil particulièrement répandu et structurant dans le secteur des travaux publics. Cette FAQ a pour objectif d’apporter des réponses claires et précises aux questions les plus courantes que vous pouvez vous poser sur ce type de contrat, afin de sécuriser vos pratiques et d’informer au mieux vos équipes.
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