Avantages sociaux et rémunération • 8 MIN DE LECTURE
Congé annuel illimité : est-ce que ça marche vraiment?
APR 25, 2026
Le congé illimité semble être un avantage de rêve. Mais la réalité est plus complexe. Voici l’évaluation honnête dont les leaders RH ont besoin.
L’attrait du congé illimité
Unlimited annual leave policies, where employees take as much time off as they need provided their work is done and performance remains strong, have become a staple of tech company benefits packages. The logic is appealing: treat employees as adults, trust them to manage their own time, and avoid the administrative overhead of tracking accrual. For candidates from traditional environments, it signals a progressive, high-trust culture.
Pourquoi ça se retourne souvent contre vous
The research on unlimited leave is mixed at best. Several studies have found that employees with unlimited leave policies take, on average, fewer days off than those with fixed entitlements. The reason is social: without a clear entitlement, employees are unsure what is acceptable and default to caution. Senior leaders who rarely take leave set an implicit norm. The result is a benefit that sounds generous but actually delivers less rest and recovery than a conventional 25-day policy.
Comment faire pour que ça fonctionne
If you want to offer unlimited leave, set a minimum rather than just a maximum. State explicitly that employees are expected to take at least 20 days per year. Track leave-taking data and flag anyone consistently taking fewer than 15 days for a conversation with their manager. Require senior leaders to take and publicly communicate their own leave, modelling the behaviour you want. Pair the policy with a clear performance framework so employees know their work output is what is measured, not the hours they are present.
La dimension juridique
Au Royaume-Uni, tous les travailleurs conservent leurs 5.6 semaines de congé annuel prévues par la loi, peu importe toute politique de congé illimité. En pratique, vous ne pouvez pas appliquer une disposition du type « utilisez-le ou perdez-le » pour les congés légaux sans préavis adéquat et sans possibilité de les prendre. Assurez-vous que votre politique de congé illimité préserve explicitement les droits prévus par la loi et que vous avez un processus pour payer les congés légaux non utilisés à la fin de l’emploi.
