Laboratoires Boiron, the French pharmaceutical group and world leader in homeopathy, has signed a new workplace agreement granting its 1,400 employees up to five extra days of paid leave a year based on their seniority.
The agreement took effect on September 1 and grants what the company calls up to five days of paid absence each year, depending on how long an employee has worked there. The company, based in Messimy near Lyon in the Rhone department, described the deal in a statement as a social innovation designed to meet the needs of today's workforce.
Under the scheme, employees receive four extra days a year once they have worked at Boiron for three years, rising to five days a year from five years of service. The benefit is capped at 25 years of seniority, adding up to a total of 113 days over that period. Employees can accumulate even more if they save the leave until the end of their career, with absences that can reach up to eight months in total.
Fabienne Royer, an administration coordinator who has worked at Boiron for 27 years, told TF1 that the scheme added up to roughly 170 extra days on top of her existing holiday allowance, time off in lieu and other leave entitlements.
The extra days, granted retroactively, form part of a scheme called the Key Life Moments Account, which employees can draw on freely for family projects, early retirement or simply for holidays. Manon, a sector manager at the company, told TF1 that nothing was imposed on staff and that employees could use the days whenever they needed or wanted them, for personal purposes.
Company and staff react
The new agreement has met with unanimous approval since it came into force a few days ago, according to the report. Juliette Baudry, the human resources director at Laboratoires Boiron, said the measure would likely mean more staff taking time off, but that they would ultimately be happier in the long run. She said this mattered a great deal and that any leave was taken in agreement with an employee's manager.
A tool to keep staff
Beyond making the company more attractive to future recruits, the measure is also meant to help Boiron retain the employees it already has. Morgane, who has not yet reached the three years of seniority needed to qualify for the extra leave, told TF1 she had been thrilled at the idea of having more time, adding that this was something everyone wanted. At 27 years old, she said it gave her one more reason to stay at the company.
