Supporting caregiving employees: what the law requires and what employers can do | Insights

INTRODUCTION

Caregiving employees are workers who look after a family member with a serious illness, a disability, or a loss of autonomy, while continuing to work. More and more employees find themselves in this situation, and employers are dealing with such requests more frequently. This article compares how Italian and French law treat caregiving employees, looking at who qualifies for support, what leave and flexible working arrangements are available, how employees are paid during leave, what protection they have against discrimination and dismissal, and what employers can do in practice. Italy and France follow different legal models, but both aim to help employees balance their job with their caring responsibilities.

Who qualifies as a "caregiving employee" and what statutory leave is available to them?

ITALY

Under Italian law, a family caregiver is a person who looks after and cares for their spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner, or a relative or relative-in-law up to the second degree. The person being cared for can also be a relative up to the third degree if, because of a serious frailty, they are not able to look after themselves.

As an employee, a caregiver is entitled by law to two types of leave:

paid monthly leave: 3 days a month, which can also be taken in single hours. This leave is paid and covered by social insurance contributions; the employer pays it up front and is then reimbursed by INPS (the Italian social security agency).
paid extraordinary leave: up to a maximum of 2 years over the employee's whole working life, which can also be taken in separate periods. It follows a set order of priority (spouse/civil partner/cohabiting partner; if none, parents, including adoptive parents; then children living with the person cared for; then siblings living with the carer; and finally other relatives or relatives-in-law up to the third degree). It is paid by INPS on a par with the employee's current salary, up to a yearly cap (around €49,663 for 2026), and is also covered by social insurance contributions.

The law sets a minimum level of protection that cannot be reduced: collective agreements, whether national or company-level, cannot lower it, but they can improve it, following the principle that the more favourable treatment for the employee applies.

Indeed, some collective agreements include extra measures that can help caregiving employees balance work and family life.

Company policies and internal rules can also add further measures on top of those set by law or by collective agreements.

FRANCE

Under French law, an employee is entitled to statutory carer's leave if they are caring for someone from the list below who has a disability or loss of autonomy:

a spouse,
a cohabiting partner,
a civil partner,
an ascendant or descendant,
a dependent child,
a collateral relative up to the fourth degree (including certain relatives of their spouse or partner),
or an elderly or disabled person with whom they live or have close and stable ties and whom they regularly and frequently assist with everyday activities on a non-professional basis.

(French Labour Code, Art. L. 3142-16).

The person receiving care must live in France on a stable and regular basis (French Labour Code, Art. L. 3142-17).

Carer’s leave cannot exceed one year throughout an employee's career, including renewals (French Labour Code, Art. L. 3142-19). Its maximum duration and the number of possible renewals may be determined differently by a sector-level agreement or, failing that, a company-level agreement (French Labour Code, Art. L. 3142-26). If no such agreement exists, the maximum duration is three months, renewable within the overall one-year limit (French Labour Code, Art. L. 3142-27).

Where the statutory conditions are met, employers are strongly advised not to refuse a request for full-time caregiver leave. Any refusal can be challenged by the employee before the French Labour Court under an expedited procedure (French Labour Code, Art. L. 3142-25).

Separately, employees may also benefit from donated days off. With the employer’s consent, an employee may donate unused days off to a colleague who cares for a qualifying person anonymously and without consideration (French Labour Code, Art. L. 3142-25-1).

What flexible working arrangements can caregiving employees claim and how far can employers refuse these requests?

ITALY

In recent years, Italian case law has extended to caregiving employees a right that used to be reserved only for employees who were themselves in a vulnerable condition: the right to ask their employer for “reasonable accommodations” to help them balance work and family life.

Because these measures have to fit the specific situation, there is no closed list set out by law or by the courts.

That said, based on the cases seen so far, reasonable accommodations for caregiving employees can include: changing or reducing the pace of work, changing job duties or role, transferring the employee to a workplace closer to the family member (a right expressly provided for by law), allowing remote/agile working.

When a caregiving employee asks for a reasonable accommodation, the employer can refuse it if the measure requested would: i) seriously disrupt the organisation, also affecting other colleagues' positions; or ii) create costs that are excessive and disproportionate to the size and business of the company.

In any case, an employer who refuses the request must explain the reasons for the refusal.

FRANCE

French law provides several options.

Eligible carers may request individualised working hours to facilitate care for the person concerned. The employer may refuse if implementing the arrangement would create a disproportionate burden (French Labour Code, Art. L. 3121-49, read together with Art. L. 5213-6).

For remote working, any applicable collective agreement or company policy on remote working must set out the conditions under which employees caring for a child, parent or other relative can access remote working. An employer must also give reasons for refusing a remote-working request made by a working carer (French Labour Code, Art. L. 1222-9).

An employee may also, with the employer’s agreement, convert statutory carer’s leave into part-time work or take it in separate periods (French Labour Code, Art. L. 3142-20 and D. 3142-9). Unlike full-time carer’s leave, however, these arrangements generally require the employer’s agreement.

Finally, where caring responsibilities affect the employee's own health (for example, exhaustion), the occupational physician can propose individual adjustments to the employee's role or working time (French Labor Code, Art. L. 4624-3). The employer must take those proposals into consideration and, if it decides not to follow them, explain its reasons in writing to both the employee and the occupational physician (French Labor Code, Art. L. 4624-6).

How is an employee paid or compensated during care-related leave and what are the costs to the employer?

ITALY

The paid monthly leave of 3 days a month (see question 1, point A, above) is paid and covered by social insurance contributions; the employer pays it up front and is then reimbursed by INPS.

The paid extraordinary leave (see question 1, point B, above) is paid by INPS on a par with the employee's current salary, up to a yearly cap (around €49,663 for 2026), and is also covered by social insurance contributions.

This is the minimum protection set by law. Collective agreements, whether national or company-level, as well as company policies or internal rules, can provide more favourable economic treatment, and can also add further work-life balance measures.

FRANCE

Employees who meet the relevant conditions may receive the daily carer’s allowance (« allocation journalière du proche aidant » or « AJPA »), paid by the family benefits authorities, i.e. the CAF or MSA (French Social Security Code, Art. L. 168-8 et seq.). Therefore, there is no statutory requirement for the employer to maintain salary or top up the AJPA during statutory carer’s leave, unless more favourable arrangements apply.

Where an employee benefits from donated days off, their salary continues to be paid during the absence. The absence also counts as actual working time for seniority purposes and the employee retains any benefits acquired prior to the absence (French Labour Code, Art. L. 3142-25-1).

What protection do caregiving employees have against discrimination and dismissal?

ITALY

It is now well-established case law that anti-discrimination protection also covers a caregiving employee who is treated unfavourably at work because of the vulnerable condition of the family member they care for.

This protection is based on the principle that bans discrimination “by association”: the employee has the right not to be discriminated against, not only for reasons concerning themselves, but also for reasons concerning the family member they care for.

The unfavourable treatment that triggers this protection can include, for example: i) refusing a reasonable accommodation; ii) imposing a particularly burdensome way of working; iii) a disciplinary sanction short of dismissal; or iv) dismissal.

For cases i) and ii), the employee can bring a claim seeking a court order to stop the discriminatory conduct.

For cases iii) and iv), the employee can challenge the measure in court and ask for it to be set aside. In particular, when a dismissal is challenged, if the tribunal finds that there was discrimination by association, the dismissal is declared void and the caregiving employee has the right to be reinstated and to receive compensation for damages.

FRANCE

Statutory carer's leave does not offer any specific protection against dismissal. However, at the end of the leave or of the part-time period, the employee is entitled to return to their previous job or a similar job with at least equivalent pay (French Labour Code, Art. L. 3142-22). They are also entitled to a professional review meeting before and after the leave (French Labour Code, Art. L. 3142-23).

However, carers are protected against discrimination based on their family situation. A dismissal or other adverse employment decision based on an employee’s family situation may therefore be discriminatory and, where established, void (French Labour Code, Arts. L. 1132-1 and L. 1132-4). Where a dismissal is held void on discriminatory grounds, the employee may seek reinstatement. If they do not, or if reinstatement is impossible, the court must award compensation of at least six months' salary, regardless of the statutory compensation scale (French Labour Code, Art. L. 1235-3-1).

Where a working carer also qualifies for parental presence leave, however, additional protection applies. The employer may not terminate the employee's contract during that leave, during periods worked where the leave is taken intermittently or on a part-time basis, or during the ten weeks following the end of the leave. The only exceptions are serious misconduct or circumstances making it impossible to continue the employment contract for a reason unrelated to the child's health (French Labour Code, Art. L. 1225-4-4).

What policies, agreements and practices should employers implement?

ITALY

Beyond complying with the minimum legal requirements (leave and anti-discrimination protection) or national collective agreements, an Italian employer that wants to manage caregiving employees effectively needs a structured approach at several levels:

internal policies: written guidelines on work-life balance measures for caregiving employees, together with training for HR and managers;
company-level agreements: where the national collective agreement is considered insufficient, entering into second-level agreements to give caregivers greater protection;
company welfare: setting up listening/support desks, legal and tax advice, dedicated fringe benefits, and actively communicating the benefits that already exist (which employees may be unaware of);
management training: awareness initiatives for managers on caregiving-related burnout and on having an empathetic dialogue with employees.

FRANCE

At company level, work-life balance is one of the topics covered by mandatory bargaining on gender equality and quality of working life and working conditions, where this obligation applies. It may therefore be appropriate to address the situation of caregivers as part of these negotiations (French Labour Code, Art. L. 2242-17, 1°).

In practice, employers should consider the following:

ensuring that any remote-working agreement or policy properly addresses access to remote working for carers;
negotiating more favourable arrangements for carer’s leave when possible, including its duration, practical arrangements and, where appropriate, a top-up to the AJPA paid by the family benefits authorities;
setting up a clear process for donating days off;
establishing a clear process for dealing with requests for individualised working hours;
training managers and, where appropriate, appointing a dedicated contact person for working carers; and
making employees aware of the forms of leave and flexible working arrangements available to them, so that support can be provided before caring responsibilities become unmanageable.

CONCLUSION

Italy and France protect caregiving employees through different legal tools, but with a similar goal. Italy relies mainly on paid monthly time off and extended, state-funded leave, together with a duty on employers to consider reasonable accommodations. France centres on specific carer's leave paid through a public allowance, alongside rights to individualised working hours and remote working. In both countries, a dismissal linked to an employee's caring responsibilities can be challenged as discriminatory, with reinstatement or compensation as a remedy. For employers, going beyond the bare legal minimum, with clear policies, manager training and open communication about existing benefits, makes the real difference for caregiving employees.

AUTHORS:

Chiara D’Angelo is an associate at Lexellent, the Italian member of Ellint, and based in Milan. She is a graduate of the University of Siena and a member of the Milan Bar Association. She provides assistance, both in and out of court, in employment law matters, with particular reference to personnel management, employment and self-employment relationships and individual dismissals. She is also involved in research and updating activities for the publication of juridical articles and articles of general interest.

Julien Delemarle is a Counsel at MGG Legal, the French member of the Ellint network. He has been a member of the Paris Bar since 2016. He advises and represents companies in all areas of French employment and labour law, particularly focusing on restructuring procedures and the employment aspects of M&A transactions. As a qualified investigating lawyer, he also conducts internal investigations into harassment and workplace misconduct.