January 2023
Tabled in Public Session on December 5th, 2022, Draft law n° 1.073 relating to vacation gifts (“The Draft law”), is currently being examined by the Parliament’s Committee for Social Interests and Miscellaneous Affairs.
The Draft law is based on an initiative from the Economic, Social and Environmental Council, concerned that a paid vacation gifs mechanism should be set up for the public and private sectors in Monaco.
Such a concern was recently taken into account for the public sector, which will not be developed in this note, in the context of the reform of the status of civil servants, by enactment of law n° 1.527 of July 7th, 2022, amending law n° 975 of July 12th, 1975 on the status of civil servants[1].
The Prince’s Government, convinced of the real solidarity and social progress that this measure represents, wished to extend it to the private sector, in order to complete the specific paid vacation already provided for by Monegasque Law[2] in order to offer the best possible support to an employee faced with a particular serious family medical situation. The objective would be to allow it to maintain its rights and remuneration, beyond the above-mentioned periods of paid vacation.
In practice, the paid vacation gift mechanism would allow a private sector employee to donate its duly earned paid leave days to another employee within the same company, under specific conditions.
In brief, the conditions for paid vacation gift would be as follows :
- The gift is only possible between employees from the same company or legal entity, to avoid disruption of the paid leave system of said company or entity;
- The approval of the employer, allowing it to retain its power of direction, the latter assessing the appropriateness of such a paid vacation gift , in accordance with the availability of its staff;
- Only the fifth week of an employee’s paid vacation may be donated, with the aim of reconciling the gift with the public policy imperatives inherent in the donor’s right to rest;
- The gift must be made on a no-names basis, voluntarily and in a disinterested manner (without any consideration), in order to avoid any pressure from the employee benefitting, the employer or third parties;
- The paid vacation gift is limited to specific medical situations listed in the text, and which are of an objective nature of particular seriousness;
- The person in need of medical care must be a dependent child of the employee beneficiary or one of its relatives, it being specified that said relatives will be listed by Sovereign Ordinance.
The vacation gift mechanism would have two consequences on the rights of the beneficiary :
- Maintaining of its remuneration, during the periods of gifted paid vacation. Its remuneration will be the same, regardless of the remuneration level of the donor.
- Benefit from its acquired benefits, insofar as the periods of absence will be assimilated to an effective working time for the determination of the rights that the latter has from its seniority.
As indicated in the Draft law, insofar as the law, as enacted, incorporates such, a Sovereign Ordinance will specify the conditions of entry into force of this new mechanism, which we will keep you duly informed of.
Our team remains at you disposal to assist you and to answer to your questions on the above.
A.L.F.A. MONACO
[1] https://www.legimonaco.mc/305/legismclois.nsf/TNC/B3FA84F9B5A704FFC125773F00389FA6!OpenDocument
[2] Additional annual leave, of up to 35 days, granted to a parent whose presence with the dependent child is medically deemed indispensable; Exceptional leave, of 2 days, in the event of the death of a child; Family support leave, of up to 3 months, granted to the family carer who looks after a relative who has the status of disabled person.