The end-of-career leave is not mentioned in the Labor Code under that name. It is a scheme negotiated within each company, generally linked to a collective agreement, which allows an employee to cease their professional activity before the effective date of retirement liquidation. Understanding how it works requires distinguishing this conventional mechanism from the legal end-of-career provisions.
End-of-career leave and the Labor Code: a distinction to be made
Many employees search for end-of-career leave according to the Labor Code thinking they will find a dedicated legal article. The Labor Code organizes retirement, employer-initiated retirement, progressive retirement, or even the time savings account (CET). None of these texts create an “end-of-career leave” as such.
This leave is a conventional scheme specific to each company. It arises from a collective agreement, a branch agreement, or sometimes a unilateral decision by the employer. Its existence, conditions, and duration vary from one organization to another.
The confusion arises from the fact that this leave often mobilizes tools provided by law, such as the CET. The employee accumulates days in their time savings account and then uses them to finance a period of inactivity before retirement. The legal framework provides the vehicle (the CET), but it is the company agreement that defines the rules of the journey.
Time savings account and financing of end-of-career leave
The CET is the main lever for financing this type of leave. The employee allocates unused rest days (paid leave beyond the legal minimum, RTT, compensatory rest) and sometimes elements of remuneration to it.
At the time of entering end-of-career leave, these saved days are converted into paid absence time. Depending on the agreements, the employer can contribute to the employee’s CET, meaning adding days or a financial supplement beyond the savings accumulated by the employee themselves. This contribution often represents the central advantage of the scheme.
The concrete scope of the leave directly depends on two variables: the volume of saved days and the level of contribution provided by the agreement. An employee with a well-stocked CET and a generous contribution can leave their position sometimes more than a year before retirement while still receiving a salary.
Remuneration during the leave
The agreements generally provide for the maintenance of a fraction of the salary. In some companies, this fraction reaches about 70% of the annual gross remuneration, paid in regular monthly installments. Other agreements may provide for full maintenance or a different rate.
During this period, several elements can be preserved:
- Mutual coverage and the provident scheme, based on the remuneration paid during the leave
- The possibility of contributing to the general retirement insurance on a full-time basis, with the employer covering the employer’s contributions
- The maintenance of rights to supplementary retirement (AGIRC-ARRCO contributions)
- Employee savings, according to the terms of the agreement
This maintenance of retirement contributions is a point to check as a priority. A leave without maintained employer contributions can reduce the employee’s future pension, which would partially negate the benefit of the scheme.
Collective agreement: why the applicable text changes everything
Each agreement sets its own eligibility criteria. Common conditions include: a minimum age (often around 55 years), a permanent contract status, seniority in the company, and proximity to the full-rate retirement liquidation date (sometimes set at three years before this date).
The application procedure generally involves a letter addressed to the manager or HR department, accompanied by a complete career statement. A selection committee may then review the file, with a response time that varies by company.
The trap of the agreement’s expiration
A collective agreement can expire without being renewed. The example of AG2R illustrates this risk: the end-of-career leave scheme was to be renegotiated, and management had refused to extend the existing agreement. Employees who had not yet entered the scheme risked losing the negotiated conditions.
However, one point protects employees already engaged: the employer generally commits to applying the provisions of the agreement in force at the time the employee enters the leave, even if the rules evolve afterward. Checking this clause for maintaining acquired rights in the text of the agreement is a precaution not to be overlooked.
Progressive retirement: the legal scheme not to be confused
The Labor Code provides for a distinct legal mechanism: progressive retirement. This scheme allows, under age and contribution duration conditions, to reduce working hours while receiving a fraction of the retirement pension.
The difference is structural. End-of-career leave completely suspends activity, while progressive retirement maintains part-time activity. The employee in progressive retirement continues to contribute, which improves their definitive rights at the time of full liquidation.
The two schemes are not interchangeable. An employee whose company does not offer end-of-career leave can turn to progressive retirement, which falls under common law and does not depend on a company agreement.
- End-of-career leave is based on a collective agreement and completely suspends activity
- Progressive retirement is a legal right that reduces activity without eliminating it
- The combination of the two is generally not provided for by company agreements
Before considering end-of-career leave, the first step remains to ask the HR department if such a scheme exists in the company and to consult the collective agreement that governs it. Without an active agreement, no right to this leave exists, regardless of seniority or proximity to retirement.
