Sick Leave in Wage Portage: Your Rights and Process 2026

Camille has been a freelance developer working through wage portage for two years. One January morning, the flu keeps her in bed for ten days. Her first question isn't how long she'll be stuck in bed, it's whether she'll still get paid this month. Thousands of portage consultants ask themselves the same thing every year.

When you're on sick leave in wage portage, you stay an employee of your portage company: it forwards your sick note to French social security, which pays daily allowances, and the SYNTEC collective agreement can top up that income depending on your seniority. The mechanism looks a lot like a regular employee's, with a few quirks specific to portage.

How does sick leave actually work in wage portage?

Sick leave in wage portage works exactly like it would for any other employee: you see a doctor, get a medical certificate, and your portage company acts as your employer toward social security. In practice, you send parts 1 and 2 of your certificate to your local health insurance fund (CPAM) within 48 hours, and part 3 goes to your portage company.

Your portage company has no say over how long your leave lasts or whether it's valid. It simply forwards the information to French health insurance through a wage certificate, a document that's required before any daily allowance gets paid. Without it, nothing moves. So tell your portage company on day one, by phone or email, whatever works for you.

Daily allowances and salary continuity: what are you actually owed?

Statutory daily allowances cover 50% of your base daily wage, calculated from your last three payslips, up to a cap set every year. Since the 2026 reform of these allowances took effect, the cap rose to €42.97 a day as of July 1, up from a lower amount the year before.

That cap tracks the monthly social security ceiling, set at €4,005 for 2026 according to the scales URSSAF publishes. A consultant billing a comfortable daily rate won't see their full usual income through statutory allowances alone. That's where salary continuity under the SYNTEC collective agreement (IDCC 1486), which covers most portage companies, can step in.

This continuity depends on minimum seniority, usually one year, and how long it lasts scales with your time at the portage company. Past a certain point, supplementary insurance, the prévoyance, takes over instead, provided you're enrolled. Exact amounts and seniority tiers sit in the agreement itself, worth checking with your portage company or on Légifrance.

What to actually do when you go on sick leave

Three things need doing fast: send your certificate to CPAM within 48 hours, tell your portage company the same day, and confirm your supplementary insurance is active. A delay at any of these steps can push back, or shrink, your payment.

1. See a doctor and get your three-part medical certificate.
2. Send parts 1 and 2 to your CPAM by mail or online within 48 hours.
3. Hand part 3 to your portage company, which will issue the wage certificate.
4. Track your daily allowances through your Ameli account and any salary continuity on your payslip.

Some portage companies, Weepo included, walk their consultants through this paperwork to avoid the filing mistakes that usually cause payment delays. Ask your account manager for a quick check-in as soon as your leave starts, it saves headaches later.

Health insurance, supplementary cover and management fees during leave

Your company health plan and supplementary insurance stay active during sick leave, as long as you remain employed by the portage company, exactly like any employee on a standard permanent contract. Your mutuelle keeps reimbursing medical costs, and prévoyance can top up your allowances depending on what you signed up for.

A question portage consultants ask a lot: do management fees keep getting deducted during leave? It depends on your portage company and how fees are structured in your contract. Some suspend fees when there's no invoicing happening, others apply a minimum flat fee regardless. Get this clarified before you sign your employment contract, not once you're already on leave and trying to figure it out.

Long-term sick leave and what happens to your assignment

Sick leave doesn't automatically end your assignment or your employment contract in wage portage, but a long absence can complicate things with the end client. If the assignment can't be paused, the client may look for a temporary replacement. That doesn't change your employee status, but it can affect how much you bill once you're back.

For leave stretching past 30 days for a non-work-related illness, a return-to-work medical visit becomes mandatory before you resume the assignment. Plan this with your portage company ahead of time, so there's no administrative gap when you're ready to go back to work.

Situation	Who pays what	Main condition
Days 1 to 3 (waiting period)	Usually no social security payment	Statutory 3-day waiting period
From day 4 onward	Daily allowances paid by CPAM	Wage certificate submitted by the portage company
Depending on seniority	SYNTEC salary continuity top-up	Minimum seniority, usually one year
Extended leave	Supplementary insurance (prévoyance)	Active enrollment in the supplementary plan

For the official rules on employee sick leave rights, check the reference pages on service-public.fr, the contribution scales published by URSSAF, and the full SYNTEC agreement text on Légifrance.

Our full regulatory guide on sick leave, published on our wage portage pages, breaks down the applicable rules in more depth. You'll also find details on health insurance in wage portage there.

This kind of social protection is one of the reasons so many independent professionals choose wage portage over a straightforward self-employed status. Weepo supports its consultants through every step of this, from the initial declaration to the return to their assignment. You'll find all our resources on Weepo's homepage.

If an extended leave changes your income over several months, our wage portage salary simulator lets you estimate the real impact on your net income, daily allowances and salary continuity included.

Frequently asked questions

What are the downsides of sick leave in wage portage?

The main one is the three-day waiting period, which social security doesn't cover, plus salary continuity that's sometimes only partial depending on your seniority. Unlike your end client, who has no legal obligation toward you here, your portage company does have to file your paperwork correctly and on time.

Is my salary maintained at 100% during sick leave?

Not automatically. Full continuity depends on your seniority at the portage company and the conditions set by the SYNTEC agreement, whatever the reason behind the leave. Below the required seniority threshold, only statutory daily allowances get paid, topped up by prévoyance where applicable.

What happens to my pension contributions during sick leave?

Supplementary pension contributions, IRCEM or Agirc-Arrco depending on your fund, keep accruing based on whatever salary continuity applies, when there is one. Without salary continuity, the period covered by statutory allowances can still count toward your pension under certain duration conditions.

Do I need to tell my portage company about my sick leave?

Yes, on day one. Without that information, your portage company can't issue the wage certificate needed for your allowances, and the end client won't be told about your unavailability either.

Can sick leave end my assignment or my contract?

No, sick leave alone can't justify ending your employment contract in wage portage. The assignment with the end client might get interrupted if it can't absorb the absence, but that's a separate question from your status as a portage employee.

Key takeaways

• On sick leave, you stay employed by your portage company, which forwards your file to social security.
• Statutory daily allowances cover 50% of your base daily wage, capped at €42.97 a day since July 2026.
• The SYNTEC agreement can provide additional salary continuity depending on your seniority.
• Health insurance and supplementary cover stay active during leave, provided you're enrolled.
• Sick leave doesn't end your employment contract, even after an extended absence.

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