France Cuts Sick Pay From Three Years to One for Non-Exempt Long-Term Illnesses

Updated November 11, 2026.

Since October 15, 2026, people in France with a long-term illness that health insurance does not cover at 100% can receive daily sick pay (indemnités journalières) for a maximum of one year, down from three. The change comes from decree no. 2026-866 of September 16, published in the Journal officiel on September 18.

Who Is Affected

The one-year limit applies to people with an “ALD non exonérante,” a long-term condition for which patients still pay the usual share of medical costs. Those with an exempting ALD, covered at 100%, keep the three-year maximum, according to the government’s Code du travail numérique. After at least one year back at work, an employee can open a new one-year period for the same illness, or a new three-year period for an exempting ALD.

Transition Rules

The one-year limit applies to work stoppages prescribed from October 15 and to stoppages already under way that reach six months after that date. Employees who were already off work for more than six months on October 15 keep the three-year maximum until their stoppage ends. The decree does not change how long a doctor can prescribe a stoppage, only how long the Assurance Maladie pays, according to Syndicalisme Hebdo.

Why the Government Did It

A document from the national health insurance fund (CNAM), cited by Informations Handicap, put the cost of daily allowances for non-exempting ALD at €3.17 billion, three times those for exempting ALD, with the number of stoppages growing by more than 6% a year. Exempting ALD affected more than 13 million people in 2024, according to the CNAM.

Reaction

Syndicalisme Hebdo described the measure as unfair and dangerous, saying it shortens the period in which an employee can receive replacement income.

People who are unsure whether their condition is exempting can ask their doctor or their Assurance Maladie fund. More in our Health section.

Read also: 3,000 junior doctors sent to address medical shortages in France, and French dietary supplement market grows amid rising anxiety.

Source: Code du travail numérique; Informations Handicap; RH News; Syndicalisme Hebdo. Published September 18 to November 2026.