Sick Leave: Daily Allowance for Craftsmen/Tradesmen
Are you a craftsman, trader, business manager and your health condition does not allow you to resume your activities? Has your doctor issued you a sick leave certificate? Under certain conditions, you can receive daily benefits after a three-day waiting period.
Are you in an unregulated liberal profession? You are treated as an independent tradesperson and are entitled to the same support (including daily sick pay):
- if you have been engaged in an unregulated liberal profession with the status of a microentrepreneur since 2018;
- if you have been engaged in an unregulated liberal profession since 2019 (regardless of the tax regime).
What are the criteria for receiving sickness benefits?
Craftsmen, traders, business managers, micro-entrepreneurs or spouses of employees may receive daily allowances if certain conditions are met.
To receive sickness benefit in connection with your occupational activity, you must be continuously registered in that activity for at least 12 months.
Note: If the rights are not fulfilled, your sick leave may, under certain conditions, be paid within the framework of maintaining the rights from your previous activity. Find out from your main health insurance fund (CPAM).
To receive daily health insurance benefits while on sick leave, you must meet three conditions:
- you are temporarily unable to continue or resume professional activity due to illness;
- you have a sick leave certificate issued by your attending physician confirming this inability;
- you have ceased your activities.
Note: When a disability pension is awarded under the independent worker system, the recipient of the pension cannot receive daily sickness benefits.
Daily Allowances: What are they?
Daily benefits are paid to you by health insurance to replace your income while you are sick. Under certain conditions, you may receive daily benefits after a three-day waiting period. They are calculated based on your paid earnings and are paid on average every 14 days.
Note: Your daily benefit statements also prove your pension rights. Keep them indefinitely.
Sending a sick leave certificate
First of all, your doctor should issue you a sick leave certificate if he or she deems it necessary. There are two options.
- Your doctor issued a sick leave certificate electronically.
- Your doctor wrote out a sick leave certificate on a paper form.
What will be the amount of your daily benefits?
Basic calculation
The daily allowance you will receive during your sick leave is equal to 1/730 of your average annual salary (Raam). It is calculated based on your average income for the three calendar years preceding the date of your sick leave.
Your income is taken into account within the annual social security ceiling (Pass) in force on the day of the medical certificate of incapacity for work, which is €47,100 gross (as of 1 January 2025). Even if your average annual salary exceeds €47,100, your daily allowance cannot exceed the maximum of €64.52 gross, set as of 1 January 2025.
To increase the amount of sick leave payments you can take out a voluntary insurance policy.
With low incomes
In the case of low income from independent work, the amount of daily allowance (IJ) received by the independent worker may be low or zero (details below). From 1 January 2022, it will be possible to receive daily sickness and/or maternity benefits in the context of your previous work (regardless of the system you were part of). The request must be submitted via the electronic service "Demande de réétude de dossier indemnités journalières" on the website demarches-simplifiees.fr.
The amount of your daily benefit is €0 if your average annual salary (Raam) for the three calendar years of activity preceding your sick leave is less than 10 % of the average annual social security ceiling (Pass) in force for the three years in question (€4,383.20 in 2025).
"For the self-employed, annual income is equal to annual turnover reduced by the standard deduction (71 % for BIC Sales, 50 % for BIC Services and 34 % for BNC)."
Daily Benefit Payments - When Can You Receive Them?
Daily sick leave benefits are paid starting from the 4th day of sick leave.
Your primary health insurance fund pays your daily benefits on average every 14 days. Your reimbursement statements can be viewed in your ameli account.
Waiting period of 3 days
During the first three days of your sick leave, you will not receive any daily benefits; this is called the waiting period. It applies at the beginning of each sick leave.
Exceptions to the Waiting Period The waiting period does not apply in the following cases:
- your sick leave was extended after you resumed your activities within a maximum of 48 hours between the end of the initial sick leave and the start of the extended one;
- your sick leave is due to an ALD. In this case, the waiting period only applies to the first sick leave (valid for 3 years);
- you are on sick leave as a result of a spontaneous termination of pregnancy (miscarriage).
Who pays you your daily allowance?
This is your main health insurance fund. CPAM pays you daily benefits.
If you are interested in your financial and social guarantees, Sign up for a free diagnostic.
Unemployment and Sick Leave: Your Daily Benefits
Daily benefits (IJ) are paid to you by health insurance to compensate for the loss of your unemployment benefits while you are sick. You can receive them after a three-day waiting period if you meet the conditions. They are paid on average every 14 days.
What are the criteria for receiving sickness benefits? You can receive daily benefits (IJ) if you are unemployed and meet one of the following conditions:
- you receive Assistance to Independent Workers (ATI);
- or you received ATI within the last 12 months or ceased to be active less than 12 months ago.
What steps do I need to take to receive my daily benefits?
Your income is transferred by the Central Agency for Social Organisations (Acoss) to your main health insurance fund. To ensure that your benefits are correctly assessed, make sure that your declarations are up to date.
If you receive benefits through France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) (external site) or have received them in the 12 months preceding your sick leave, you must send your CPAM a notification of your unemployment benefit and your most recent proof of payment.
What will be the amount of your daily benefits?
Your earnings over the last three years of work determine the amount of your daily benefits, not your unemployment benefits.
Similarly, if you stopped working less than a year ago without receiving benefits, your eligibility will be considered based on your most recent earnings.
The daily allowance you will receive during your sick leave is equal to 1/730 of your average annual salary (Raam). It is calculated based on your average income for the three calendar years preceding the date of your sick leave.
Your income is taken into account for each year within the annual social security ceiling (Pass) valid on the day of the medical certificate of incapacity for work, which is €47,100 gross (as of 1 January 2025). More information about the Pass and its amount (companies).
Even if your average income over three years exceeds €47,100 gross, your daily benefit cannot exceed a maximum of €64.52 gross (set as of 1 January 2025).
Note: The daily health insurance benefit is not cumulative with unemployment benefits. Payment of your daily sickness benefits will stop your payments from France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) during your sick leave. This will delay your unemployment benefits rights by the same number of days.
When can you start receiving daily benefits?
Fixed daily sick leave benefits are paid starting from the 4th day of sick leave.
Your main health insurance fund pays your daily benefits on average every 14 days and sends you a statement at the same time.
Waiting period of 3 days
During the first three days of your sick leave, you will not receive any daily benefits; this is called the waiting period. It applies at the beginning of each sick leave.
Exceptions to the Waiting Period The waiting period does not apply in the following cases:
- resumption of activity between two sick leaves does not exceed 48 hours;
- you are on long-term care (ALD) and your sick leave is related to this condition. In this case, the waiting period applies only to the first sick leave (valid for 3 years).
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