Who pays maternity pay in France?

[flyingcloud]

I've just been told that my contract of employment will be suspended during maternity leave (although they have to keep my job open) and that my maternity pay will by zero while I am on leave.

Having a slightly panicky moment, even if I am only going to be taking a very short leave(I'm taking the legal minimum 8 weeks full time and going to work part time for a bit before and a bit afterwards).

I thought maternity pay was paid by the state or social security. I still don't have a social security number though... Why would my employer tell me this?

Sorry for another one my stupid questions. French DH is no help here.

[winnybella]

I don't know if I will be much of help, but...how long have you worked for them? Why don't you have a SS number? It seems v. bizarre. You are entitled to 16 weeks of mat leave and for them to fire/ suspend you is illegal. I think laws here are much more precise about it than in UK.
What kind of contract you have? CDI, CDD?
Get yourself to a lawyer pronto. It doesn't seem right.

[flyingcloud]

I don't know why I don't have an SS number - CPAM haven't issued me with one yet, despite chasing up. I am on DH's carte vitale but I don't have one of my own. I have also asked my employer to sort this out but they haven't.

The French lawyers advised my English employer (I have worked for them for three and a half years but only been on the French payroll for six months) that the norm was to suspend contract of employment during mat leave although I can not be dismissed during this period (except for gross misconduct or redundancy).

They also haven't finalised my contract yet (yes it has taken 6 months and it is now a full 12 months since I was offered and accepted the position).

The draft of the contract I have seen is CDI and I have cadre status.

I am very confused about the whole bloody process and I am sick chasing them up about it. It may all turn out ok in the end, but they have had so long to sort it out. I am 29 weeks pregnant too and it's beginning to stress me out. I am being made to feel guilty about falling pregnant so quickly into the new role but I am doing my best to accommodate them - taking the min mat leave and having my baby when my job is seasonally very quiet.

Even more frustrating, I work well over 35 hours a week (agreed to work 39 but I work a lot more than that) without RTT and I have only taken half my holiday allowance as I have been so busy this year in the new role (and I am only allowed take holiday 'out of season').

I worry, more than anything else, about their general inactivity, and the fact that they are so uninformed. I don't think they are trying to pull a fast one on me but I think they don't realise how pressing this is for me right now!

[flyingcloud]

Monday morning bump.

[maman2tom]

Agree with winnybella it's not right that you've not got a conrat after 6months!!Do you have any trade unions at work? they tend to know more about Human Ressources than the HR department where I work.

You're entitled to 16 weeks mat leave (normally 6before 10 after)although doctors can prescribe 2 weeks extra before "congé pathologique" (quite often) and sometimes an extra month after "suite de couches pathologique"

If you want to go back part time or take longer there is a "congé parental d'education" which means if this is your first baby you can take 6months off or 6months part-time. The state pays you top up benefits (although not a great deal eg I'm going to have weds off and i'll lose 500? but i'll get 300? benefits) plus your employer can't refuse! (although they can move you to a different job)
Hope you get things sorted not what you need right now

[flyingcloud]

Thank you. I just really want to know why they have said I am not entitled to maternity pay.

[mamaloco]

flyingcloud I can see 2 problems there "my english employer" & "No signed contract yet"
You have only been working in france for 6 months (which I am not sure is enough to be entitle to anything)
The lack of SS number is probably due to the lack of contract, for the french you are still employed by the english. Contact your lawyer/HR in the UK too, you might be intitled to the maternity there. If you haven't sign a contract for france, then your old contract in the UK is probably still valid.
Anyhow there seems to have been a gross misconduct from your employer, you should definitely see a lawyer or your HR to get everything explained.

[flyingcloud]

Thanks Mamaloco.

So you think that the fact I have worked in France for six months may affect my mat pay, regardless of how long I have worked for a particular company? This is what I am now worrying about.

They have already issued me with a P45 for my English term of employment - at the end of May and the draft of my French contract is dated from 1st June. Even though I relocated and started on 1 April.

Our English HR have told me that it is nothing to do with them and I have to go through the one person in our company who is dealing with this (the company secretary in England). This one person (the company secretary) is doing very little but also being guided solely by our French lawyers. The company has had a French base for a long time but I am the first employee for about eight years and before that they only ever had one employee so they go completely on what the lawyers tell them.

They are a fairly big company and are known to offer generous benefits in the UK. All my other benefits are fantastic too - they have just sorted me out with great health insurance.

The company secretary has been fairly apologetic and just told me that he is passing on information from the lawyers.

[Othersideofthechannel]

Unfortunately, I think Mamaloco has hit the nail on the head.

"Si elle est salarié, pour avoir droit aux indemnités journalières pendant son congé maternité, elle doit justifier de 10 mois d?immatriculation, en tant qu?assurée sociale, à la date présumée de l?accouchement.

Elle doit également justifier :

• avoir travaillé au moins 200 heures au cours des 3 mois précédant la date du début de la grossesse ou du début du repos prénatal ;
• ou avoir cotisé sur un salaire au moins égal à 1 015 fois le montant du SMIC horaire au cours des 6 mois précédant la date du début de la grossesse ou du début du congé prénatal.

If you need more, full article is here":
www.journaldudroitsocial.com/article.php3?id_article=79

[Bonsoir]

Your company is behaving outrageously, if my understanding is correct.

You were expatriated from England where you have been on an English contract (with all sorts of benefits and protection) and been transferred to a French contract as if you were a new employee. The fact that you are a new employee on the French payroll does not make you a new employee of the company, and the company ought to have an expatriation package that takes care of the minutiae of the transfer such that you are properly protected and do not lose out.

You need to talk to your head office about this. This would make a very juicy story in a newspaper, if your company refused to sort it out and you had no maternity cover.

[flyingcloud]

Thank you both. Otherside I think you are right in that the advice they are receiving comes from this.

Bonsoir - I would never work in my industry again and DH who works in the same business would be ruined if I 'took on' my company but in saying that I spoke to a senior person in the company yesterday who assured me that they would see to it that I was protected. My official contract does note that I have worked for the company for over three years, so that should hold some weight, even though the contract is not yet finalised or signed.

Feeling a bit more relaxed about this, but my main worry is getting it all sorted by Christmas before everyone winds down I get close to EDD! And being forewarned is forearmed, as clearly the lawyers will adhere to the letter of the law and the company secretary may end up following them blindly without thinking. I think I have given him enough to think about already though!

[Bonsoir]

If your company's French lawyers are any good, they should be looking at the fact that you have worked for the company for several years, not that you have just arrived in the French entity.

[AuldAlliance]

flyingcloud, I am rushing off to work, but my DH is an avocat (although not in private law). I'll try and talk to him tonight about this and see what he says.

[flyingcloud]

Thank you AuldAlliance. I appreciate it a lot but I don't want to put you or your husband out.

Just realised last post was a bit garbled! I don't think employers realise how stressful things like this can be, especially at a time when there are so many other things going on.

[frakkinaround]

If you go and sit in the CPAM office they magically issue you with a 'temporary' number, which is exactly the same as your permanant one. They still hadn't issued mine after 10(?) months so I sat in their office and hey presto! I got one.