The law of 22 December 2025 came to address the concerns of local elected employees. This included promoting the conditions for the exercise of local mandates. The objective was to allow employees who were candidates or elected to have time to devote themselves to their campaigns, to the administration and management of their commune while guaranteeing them adjustments related to their functions and professional life.

How to be a candidate in municipal elections when you are an employee?

Employees who are candidates for municipal elections are entitled to elective leave. These holidays allow candidate employees to participate in the municipal campaign. In this sense, the employer must allow them to have time to devote themselves to campaigns.

They can take up to 20 working days off. The absence must be at least half a full day and the employer must be notified at least 24 hours in advance . These absences from work do not have to be paid by the employer unless otherwise provided.

How to be elected municipal when you are an employee?

Absence Permissions

The employee is granted leave to exercise his mandate. As soon as he knows about it, he must inform his employer in writing of the date and duration of the meeting. These periods of absence do not have to be paid by the employer unless there is an agreement to the contrary. The duration of absences is not defined in advance.

Credit of hours

Hour credits allow an elected employee to carry out his local functions, for example the preparation of meetings or the management of the municipality.

They are quarterly and they vary according to the size of the municipality. They are also prorated according to the working time of the employee if he is part-time for example. These hours cannot be retained for another quarter; if they are not used before the end of the quarter, they are lost.

The employee must inform the employer in writing of the date and duration of the proposed absences. Such absences shall not be remunerated unless there is an agreement to the contrary.

The employer may not limit the use of the statutory hours credit, except in the event of an overrun.

Vocational reintegration

The employee also benefits from a leave of absence 18 days of training renewable at each re-election. Such training may concern the execution of the mandate as well as vocational reintegration.

If the employee has at least 1 year of seniority and asks to suspend his contract, he can at the end of his mandate benefit from a refresher course, training or a skills assessment.