Avantages sociaux et rémunération • 8 MIN DE LECTURE
Congés annuels illimités : est-ce vraiment efficace ?
APR 25, 2026
Les congés illimités semblent être un avantage de rêve. Mais la réalité est plus complexe. Voici l’évaluation honnête dont les responsables RH ont besoin.
L’attrait des congés illimités
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 cela 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 le faire fonctionner
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 salariés conservent leurs 5.6 semaines de congés annuels légaux, quelle que soit la politique de congés illimités. En pratique, vous ne pouvez pas imposer une clause de type « utilisez-le ou perdez-le » sur les congés légaux sans préavis approprié ni possibilité de les prendre. Assurez-vous que votre politique de congés illimités préserve explicitement les droits légaux et que vous disposez d’un processus permettant de payer les congés légaux non utilisés lors de la rupture du contrat.
