Parents Struggle as Fall Illnesses Strain Limited Sick Child Leave
PARIS – as the school year begins,a โsurge in โchildhood โillnesses is leaving โFrench parents scrambling and highlighting the inadequacy of current โsick child leave policies,accordingโ to โinterviews with working parents. Many are forced to rely on already-burdened โคfamily members, deplete limited leave days, or sacrifice income to care for sick children.
Current French law provides a maximum of five days of paid sick child leave per year for children under one โyear old, a figure many parents find โinsufficient. Lucas,a father benefiting from a more generous collective agreement offering six days annually (compared to his partner’sโข three),described the situation as unequal and quickly tired. “When our childrenโ cannot go to daycare, this is our first solution. But, it’s true that we areโข not equal with my partner. I have six a year,she has three,and โthat’s clearly not enough. There, we have already used everything,” he said. He recently had to โask his still-working parents for help.
The situation is particularly dire for self-employed โworkers likeโ Cรฉline, who have no access to paid sick child leave. “I pray that they don’t get sick, because when I don’t work, I don’t get paid. Not to mention the competition I have to prepare for,” โคshe stated. โ
Even those โขwith employer-provided โleave face challenges. Lucas noted the need to balance sick child leave withโ the five โweeks annually required when crรจches are closed.โฃ Marion, a self-employed mother, manages by working evenings, but acknowledges a “very important โคmoral impact.” “Instead โof resting when my child sleeps, Iโข have to โcatch up on work. It’s a bit of a double whammy, especially sinceโฃ no one sleeps well whenโ there is a sick child.”
Parents alsoโฃ report feeling pressure and guilt when โฃprofessional obligations are impacted. “Even though I have understanding superiors, I still feel pressure,” Lucas admitted.”In October, Iโข didn’t โdo a single full week atโค work.”
All three parents interviewed advocate for an extensionโฃ and standardization of sick childโค leave, with Marionโค stating, “Two or three days aโ year is clearly not enough.” While a project to address the issue โremains stalled, parents are hoping forโ aโค change – or, as Lucas optimistically โฃput it, “With โคaโ little luck, within a few months,โข the children will have super immunity and โwe will be at peace.”