Medal of Honor of Labor

Verified 26 September 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

The Medal of Honor for Work is an honorary award. It rewards, among other things, the length of service of an employee. You want to know what the conditions are to obtain it, if you can ask for it for yourself, if you can get a reward from your employer,...? We present you with the information you need to know.

The Medal of Honor for Work is a distinction honorary.

It aims to reward the seniority of a private sector employee, the quality of his initiatives taken in the exercise of his profession or his efforts to acquire a better qualification.

The employees (whether or not they are French nationals) or retired workers may, subject to conditions, obtain the medal of honor for the work.

Please note

The following persons may not be awarded the Medal of Honor for Work:

  • A worker who is entitled, by reason of his profession or that of his employer, to an honorary distinction awarded for seniority of services by another ministerial department

  • Magistrate of the Judiciary and civil servant in charge of the central administration of the State, the external services dependent on it and the public institutions of the State.

The services taken into account for the calculation of seniority may have been provided to an unlimited number of employers.

FYI  

Periods of unemployment do not count in the calculation of seniority.

Some periods of absence are considered to be periods of work. These are:

Please note

Years spent in the public sector are not considered for the award of the medal. An exception exists for pensioners who are no longer eligible for a seniority award the public body in which they worked.

However, the following persons may obtain the medal without having the required seniority:

The Medal of Honor for Work consists of 4 levels. They depend on the length of service provided:

  • Silver medal: 20 years
  • Vermeil medal: 30 years
  • Gold Medal: 35 years
  • Great gold medal: 40 years.

The process can be done by you or your employer.

The approach differs depending on whether you live in France or abroad:

In France

Depending on where you live, it can be done online (exclusively) or by mail:

Hautes-Alpes, Côte d'Or, Lozère, Savoy, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, French Polynesia, New Caledonia

The request has to be made by post.

According to your department of residence, the application shall be considered by one of the following bodies:

  • Departmental Directorate for Employment, Labor and Solidarity (DDETS or DDETS-PP, ex-Direct)
  • Prefecture
  • Sub-prefecture.

You should consult the websites of these organizations (or contact at least one of them) to know to which organization it should be sent.

You must make a case with the following documents:

  • Form cerfa no. 11796 completed, dated and signed
  • Photocopy of an ID (double-sided)
  • Photocopies of each employer's work certificates
    The work certificate can be replaced by a certificate drawn up by 2 witnesses and endorsed by the mayor of the municipality of residence, who will certify the reason why a certificate cannot be provided.
  • Recent certification from your last employer
  • For persons who have performed military (or similar) services, attestation of services performed under the national service or photocopy of the military booklet
  • For mutilated at work, photocopy of the statement of annuities.
Who shall I contact

Other department

You must use the following online service:

Application for the Medal of Honor of Labor

You must have the following proof:

  • Photocopy of an ID (double-sided)
  • Certification signed by the employer of the services qualifying for the medal
  • For persons who have performed military (or similar) services, attestation of services performed under the national service or photocopy of the military booklet
  • For mutilated at work, photocopy of the statement of annuities.

Please note

all the supporting documents must be scanned.

Abroad

Documents to be provided

You must complete a file and attach the following documents:

  • Form cerfa no. 11797 completed, dated and signed
  • Photocopy of your ID (double-sided)
  • Photocopies of each employer's work certificates
    The work certificate may be replaced by a certificate drawn up by 2 witnesses and endorsed by the municipality of the municipality of residence, which will indicate the reason why a certificate cannot be provided.
  • Recent certification from your last employer
  • For persons who have performed military (or similar) services, attestation of services performed under the national service or photocopy of the military booklet
  • For mutilated at work, photocopy of the statement of annuities.

Sending folder

The file must be sent to the embassy.

Deadline for submission of the dossier

The medal is awarded by decree of the Minister of Labor or, on delegation, of the Prefect on the occasion of the 1er January and July 14 of each year.

The file must reach its addressee:

  • To get the medal on July 14, before the 1er May
  • To get the medal on the 1er January, before 15 October of the previous year.

Please note

Seniority is calculated on the date of 1er January or July 14, not the date the request was sent.

Deadline

The delay between the submission of the file and the presentation of the medal varies.

You get a ribbon (or rosette) and a diploma recalling the services for which you are awarded.

A medal can be minted and engraved at your own expense or at the expense of your employer (if the latter agrees), by order sent to the Monnaie de Paris or to a private manufacturer.

Who shall I contact

Following the publication of the Prefectural Decree, a diploma is also awarded to you. It is sent to your employer's headquarters. Depending on the chosen promotion, the diploma is sent to him in February or August.

Warning  

It is not possible to obtain a duplicate of the diploma.

Based on what is written in the collective agreement or the company collective agreementHowever, the employer may pay you a sum of money to reward your services or to grant you one or more days off.

Search Extended Collective Agreement

If the amount paid by the employer is less than the amount of a monthly salary, it is not included in the taxable salaried income.

You may lose the Medal of Honor of Work in the following cases:

  • Withdrawal of French nationality
  • Criminal conviction.

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