Gimac Santé and overlapping sick leave · No. 23-22.732
Cour de cassation, Social Chamber · 10 September 2025
An employee of an occupational health association had periods of certified sickness while she was on paid holiday. She notified her employer. In a later dispute over the balance of her leave, the employer argued that the holiday dates had already been used. The distinction mattered to a substantial repayment claim.
What happened to the overlapping days
The Social Chamber upheld the employee’s right to take the overlapping days of annual leave later. Rest from work and recovery from illness serve different purposes. Given the notified periods of sickness in this case, those dates could not simply be deducted from her holiday balance.
Who owed whom money?
The lower court had ordered the employee to repay €39,427.70 in allegedly overpaid holiday pay. The Cour de cassation set that order aside. A differently constituted Paris appeal court had to reconsider the repayment and associated issues, including time limits. The figure was a disputed debt, and the final balance remained open.
The records that mattered
The leave approvals, medical certificates, proof of notification and payroll entries establish four different facts. Keeping them together makes it possible to identify the exact dates of overlap and distinguish a request to restore leave from a dispute about money.
Read the judgment on Légifrance, especially paragraphs 10–13 and the final order
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