Vocational leave in the State Civil Service (EPF)

Verified 17 July 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Do you want to deepen your training to satisfy a personal or professional project? For this, you can benefit, under certain conditions, from a vocational training leave (CFP). It involves asking his administration for permission to be absent. In principle, the duration of this leave is a maximum of 3 years for the entire career. Time spent in the PSC is considered as duty time. We'll lay out the rules for you.

In the State civil service, vocational training leave is open to all public officials: civil servants (regular public officials) or contract civil servants (non-regular public officials).

Official

You can benefit from the vocational training leave if you have completed at least the equivalent of 3 years of full-time effective service in the public service.

You benefit from a priority access to vocational training leave in any of the following situations:

  • You belong to a body category C and you don't have the bachelor's degree
  • You have a disability and you are entitled to theobligation to employ
  • It is established, after consulting the occupational doctor, that you are particularly exposed, in view of your individual professional situation, to a risk of professional wear and tear.

FYI  

If you have completed preparation for the Public Service exams and competitions on your working time, you can not obtain vocational training leave within 12 months of completion of this preparation.

You must apply for at least vocational training leave 120 days (4 months) before the training start date.

Your application must specify:

  • Training Start Date
  • Nature of training
  • Duration of training
  • Name of the training organization.

Within 30 days following receipt of your request, your administration informs you of:

  • His agreement
  • The reasons for his refusal. Refusal for operational requirements shall be subject to the opinion of the HEADING: titleContent. If your request for vocational training leave has already been refused twice, your administration cannot refuse you a 3e once after the advice of the CAP
  • Reasons for postponement.

The administration may postpone your departure on training leave, after having been notified by the CAP, in the following cases:

  • 5% staff from your department are already away for vocational training leave
  • Or your department has fewer than 10 staff and 1 staff member is already away for vocational training leave.

In other cases of deferral, your request for vocational training leave is accepted within one year of the referral to the CAP.

The duration of the vocational training leave shall be 3 years maximum for the whole career.

This maximum duration is 5 years if any of the following apply to you :

  • You belong to a body category C and you don't have the bachelor's degree
  • You have a disability and you are entitled to the obligation to employ
  • It is established, after consulting the occupational doctor, that you are particularly exposed, in view of your individual professional situation, to a risk of professional wear and tear

Leave can be used all at once or distributed throughout the career in traineeships which may be divided into:

  • Weeks
  • Days
  • Or half a day

The rules on remuneration differ depending on whether or not you are a priority for vocational training leave.

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General case

You receive a lump sum monthly allowance from your employer's administration during the 1re year off.

Subsequent years of leave are unpaid.

The monthly allowance is equal to 85% your gross index salary and the residence allowance received at the time of your leave.

However, this monthly allowance may not exceed €2,778.62 gross per month.

You have priority access to vocational training leave

If you have priority access to vocational training leave, you receive a lump sum monthly allowance during the First 2 years off.

The years leave of absence are not paid.

During 1re in the year of leave, the monthly allowance is equal to the gross index salary and the residence allowance received at the time of your leave.

The seconde in the year of leave, the monthly allowance is equal to 85% your gross index salary and the residence allowance received at the time of your leave.

However, this monthly allowance may not exceed €2,778.62 gross per month.

At the end of each month and when you return to work, you must give your employer administration a attestation of attendance in formation issued by the training organization.

Warning  

In the event of absence without good reason, your leave is terminated and you must reimburse the allowances received.

The effects of Vocational Leave on your career occur during and after Vocational Leave.

During your vocational training leave

Time spent on vocational training leave shall be considered as duty time.

During your vocational training leave, you keep your annual leave entitlements : you can take them during your vocational training leave (example: during school holidays). In this case, your vocational training leave is suspended during the annual leave periods.

In case of sickness or maternity, training leave is also suspended and you are paid according to the usual rules applicable during such leave.

Time spent on vocational training leave is taken into account for retirement.

After Vocational Training Leave

At the end of your training leave, you must work in the public service for a period of time equal to 3 times the period during which you received compensation.

If you are in one of the following situations, you must work in the public service up to 36 months :

  • You belong to a body category C and you don't have the bachelor's degree
  • You have a disability and you are entitled to the obligation to employ
  • It is established, after consulting the occupational doctor, that you are particularly exposed, in view of your individual professional situation, to a risk of professional wear and tear

You may be exempted from this requirement to remain employed in the public service by your employer's administration.

If you are not exempt from this duty to serve and you leave the public service before the end of your engagement, you must reimburse the allowances received in proportion to the time not worked.

You automatically resume your service at the end of your vocational training leave, or at the end of your vocational training leave if you ask to end it before the scheduled date.

If you are posted to a job in a different municipality from the one where you worked before your leave, you will receive a allowance for costs of change of residence, unless the change of municipality occurs at your request.

Contractual

You must have completed at least 3 years of effective full-time contract service in the Public Service of which at least 1 year in the jurisdiction from which you are requesting your leave.

In order to promote your professional development, you benefit from priority access to vocational training leave if any of the following applies to you:

  • You belong to a body category C and you don't have the bachelor's degree
  • You have a disability and you are entitled to theobligation to employ
  • It is established, after consulting the occupational doctor, that you are particularly exposed, in view of your individual professional situation, to a risk of professional wear and tear.

FYI  

If you have completed preparation for the Public Service exams and competitions on your working time, you cannot get of vocational training leave within 12 months of completion of such preparation.

You must apply for at least vocational training leave 120 days (4 months) before the training start date.

Your application must specify:

  • Training Start Date
  • Nature of training
  • Duration of training
  • Name of the training organization.

Within 30 days following receipt of your request, your administration informs you of:

  • His agreement
  • The reasons for his refusal. Refusal for operational requirements shall be subject to the opinion of the HEADING: titleContent. If your request for vocational training leave has already been refused twice, your administration cannot refuse you a 3e once after the advice of the CAP
  • Reasons for postponement.

Administration may postpone your departure on training leave, after obtaining the opinion of the CAP, in the following cases :

  • 5% staff from your department are already away for vocational training leave
  • Or your department has fewer than 10 staff and 1 staff member is already away for vocational training leave.

In other cases of postponement, your request for vocational training leave is accepted in the one year from the date of referral to the CAP.

The duration of the vocational training leave shall be 3 years maximum for the whole career.

This maximum duration is 5 years if any of the following apply to you :

  • You belong to a body category C and you don't have the bachelor's degree
  • You have a disability and you are entitled to the obligation to employ
  • It is established, after consulting the occupational doctor, that you are particularly exposed, in view of your individual professional situation, to a risk of professional wear and tear

Leave can be used all at once or distributed throughout the career in traineeships which may be divided into:

  • Weeks
  • Days
  • Or half a day

The rules on remuneration differ depending on whether or not you are a priority for vocational training leave.

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General case

You receive a lump sum monthly allowance from your employer's administration during the 1re year off.

Subsequent years of leave are unpaid.

The monthly allowance is equal to 85% your gross index salary and the residence allowance received at the time of your leave.

However, this monthly allowance may not exceed €2,778.62 gross per month.

You have priority access to vocational training leave

If you have priority access to vocational training leave, you receive a lump sum monthly allowance during the First 2 years off.

The years leave of absence are not paid.

During 1re in the year of leave, the monthly allowance is equal to the gross index salary and the residence allowance received at the time of your leave.

The seconde in the year of leave, the monthly allowance is equal to 85% your gross index salary and the residence allowance received at the time of your leave.

However, this monthly allowance may not exceed €2,778.62 gross per month.

At the end of each month and when you return to work, you must give your employer administration a attestation of attendance in formation issued by the training organization.

Warning  

In the event of absence without good reason, your leave is terminated and you must reimburse the allowances received.

The effects of vocational training leave occur both during and after such leave.

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During training

The periods spent on training leave are:

  • Included in your recognized service time
  • Taken into account in the calculation of your pension rights.

After training

At the end of your training leave, you must work in the public service (state, territorial or hospital) for a period of time equal to 3 times the period during which you received compensation.

You may be exempted from this requirement to remain employed in the public service by your employer's administration.

If you are not relieved of this duty and leave the Public Service before the end of your employment, you must reimburse the allowances received on a pro rata basis for the time you did not serve.

At the end of your training leave, if you meet the requirements, you are re-employed on your previous job or occupation to the extent permitted by the service.

Otherwise, you have priority to be re-employed on a similar job or occupation with equivalent pay.