Strike-hit staff gain unpaid leave and labour-court route

A private-sector employee delayed or kept from work by a transport strike cannot be disciplined if they warn the employer by any means — phone call, text message — and justify the impossibility, for instance with a certificate from the transport operator.Service Public Pay is still withheld in principle: the deduction must be strictly proportionate to the absence, so a 20-minute delay costs 20 minutes of payService Public, though a collective agreement may keep pay in place. New text adds that any dispute with the employer arising from the strike — a sanction imposed or the amount withheld — can be taken to the conseil de prud'hommes.

Telework remains a mutual agreement, never imposed by the employer nor owed on demandService Public: it can be set up by simple agreement where the tasks allow it, orally in an emergency though writing is strongly advised, and moving an existing telework day onto the strike day also needs agreement.

Where telework is impossible, the employer and employee may agree on paid leave, a jour de réduction du temps de travail or compensatory rest where the employee has them — and, new in this update, unpaid leave (congé sans solde) for the disruption periodService Public. If no solution is found and the employee cannot reach the workplace, there is no pay.Service Public The employer may also run shuttles or a car-pooling app, or fund extra transport or nearby accommodation costs.

Hours lost on the strike day can be made up on another day of the week, but — with a widened qualification — within the contract's terms on hours, time slots or, for part-timers, the distribution of working timeService Public; the old page excluded recovery only where the contract specified working hoursService Public. An employee may leave early only with the employer's agreement.

An employee on business travel during the strike is not automatically in effective working time while travelling. New wording adds that the employer owes nothing for hours not worked during the assignment because of the strikeService Public; the page already stated nothing is owed beyond the assignment's original duration; with the employer's agreement the employee may use another means of transport such as a hire car, sharing any extra cost.

Legal basis: the service-public.fr page Grève des transports : quels droits pour le salarié ?, verified 9 October 2026 (Code du travail articles L1222-9 to L1222-11 on telework, L3141-12 to L3141-16 on leave periods).