Leave to take care of family members
Notion
Family caregivers play an important role in the care of sick or dependent persons. Sometimes an employee has to take care of an ill parent, spouse, registered partner or another relative.
Professional activity
When the caregiver also has a professional activity, accompanying a sick or injured family member to the doctor or hospital or caring for him/her when he/she cannot travel or support him/herself can be difficult.
In order to improve the balance of family responsibilities and professional life, a leave to take care of family members has been introduced on January 1st, 2021.
Leave to take care of family members
The employee will be entitled a leave to take care of an ill family member. More specifically, the employee will be able to take advantage of it to take care of a parent, spouse, registered partner or other specific categories of relatives.
The number of days of leave is limited per case of illness or accident. It is also subject to an annual limit. However, this annual limit does not apply to the care of certain categories of relatives.
Cumulation
Under specific conditions, the employee may combine the leave to take care of family members with other types of leave, in particular the leave to care for a child whose health is seriously impaired by illness or accident.
Contrary to the leave to care for a child whose health is seriously impaired by illness or accident, the employee's salary during the leave to take care of family members will not be paid by the loss of earnings insurance.