Parents employees: how to support your child at the beginning of the school year without stress?

No automatic law included in the labor code

The labor code does not provide, as it is, a specific leave to accompany your child to school on the day of the start of the school year. This means that an employee cannot ask to be absent without the agreement of his employer. However, some collective agreements and branch conventions introduce developments.

For example, the Collective agreement of Metallurgy Authorizes employees to benefit from hours of remunerated absence to support their child at the beginning of the school year at kindergarten. In the Collective agreement of the bankSome companies provide half a day for this reason. Others, like the Syntec ConventionAllow an unpaid but tolerated absence, which can be recovered later.

These provisions are not uniform: they vary from one branch to another, sometimes even from one company to another. To find out if such a right is provided, it is essential to consult your collective agreement. This is mentioned on the payment sheet and can be viewed free of charge online on Legifrancewhich provides the full and on -tata version of the conventional texts.

Solutions according to his contract and his activity

In addition to the cases expressly provided for by collective agreements, parents must use the usual systems: Place a paid vacation day, a RTT, negotiate a program or exceptionally ask for telework. In some large companies, the internal agreements even give a few hours specifically dedicated to the beginning of the school year. In small structures, everything is generally based on flexibility and dialogue with management.

Public service: supervised authorizations

In terms of public officials, the situation is more supervised. Many administrations grant absence authorizations for the beginning of the school year, Generally limited to half a day, and especially when the child enters the kindergarten or primary. These absences must be officially requested upstream and validated by the hierarchy.

Good practices to anticipate the beginning of the school year

To avoid tensions, it is better to prepare the ground. Some simple suggestions allow you to approach the early school year:

• Preserve in advance : Inform his manager at the end of the summer of his desire to accompany his son. The more the question is expected, the more it is easier to organize the team’s activity.
• Check your collective agreement : a quick look at your pay sheet allows you to identify the applicable text, which is therefore sufficient to search Legifrance.gouv.fr Consult any provision relating to the beginning of the school year.
• Offer an adapted organization : If the absence cannot be covered by a conventional right, offer a compensation solution (teleworking, unusual times, recovery of hours).
• Don’t wait until the last moment : Ask for the day before or the same day can extend relationships with the employer, especially if the activity is sensitive to this period.

A family problem recognized but not formalized

Even without a legal obligation, the beginning of the school year is generally perceived by employers as an important moment. Many managers accept early delays or departures that day, in particular for the parents of kindergarten children. But this is not a guarantee. Hence the importance of anticipating, discussing and knowing your rights.

After the start of the school year, others must reconcile

Returning to school is not the only meeting of the year. Even the meetings of parents-professionalists, medical or unexpected events related to children can request agreements.

The law provides specific systems, such as The sick child leavesWhich allows you to be absent (with or without keeping wages according to the case) or even the possibility of using teleworking days to adapt to family constraints.