Ensuring the health and safety of employees is a mandatory obligation for French employers. As such, the company must register with an occupational health provider as soon as the first employee is hired.
Many companies work with a Service de Prévention et de Santé au Travail Interentreprises (SPSTI), which provide inter-company occupational health and safety services.
How do companies choose and register with an SPSTI?
Companies with physical offices will look for a local SPSTI and sign a contract that involves an annual subscription fee, which is calculated according to the number of employees who will be monitored.
For companies employing home-based workers, an SPSTI must be located in each of the areas from which their employees work. This method can prove more expensive, due to the need for multiple subscriptions and more administrative tasks to be undertaken.
Once registered, the occupational health physician will draw up a fiche d’enterprise for the company.
Intended to preserve employee safety, the fiche d’enterprise is a document that lists any occupational hazards present in the workplace, along with the number of employees who are exposed to each hazard. Once created, the document may be checked and referenced by the Labour Inspector.
The employer should file the fiche d’enterprise alongside the Document Unique d’Évaluation des Risques Professionnels (DUERP), which is the company’s mandatory health and safety risk assessment. Note that while the fiche d’enterprise is created and updated by the occupational health physician, the employer is responsible for originating and updating the DUERP themselves.
What occupational health visits will take place?
All employees must receive an information and prevention visit – visite d’information et de prevention (VIP) – within three months of starting work in the company. This must be usually renewed within five years of the first visit but the health physician may set a shorter timeframe.
The VIP’s main purpose is to identify the employee’s state of health, inform them about workplace-related risks and make them aware of preventive measures. In some cases, an employee (such as a minor or a night-worker) will receive their VIP before they begin working for the company, so as to ensure full awareness of all pertinent risks.
The employee will also be informed of their right to see the occupational health physician at their own request.
Following the VIP, the occupational health physician will issue a monitoring certificate (attestation de suivi) to both the employee and employer. An occupational health medical file will also be opened for the employee, although its contents are not shared with the employer and the occupational health physician will not pass on any medical information about the employee.
Any specialist examinations recommended by the occupational health physician as a result of the VIP must be carried out at the employer’s expense.
What other types of occupational health visit exist?
Employees who are exposed to specific health and safety risks, such as exposure to asbestos or driving potentially dangerous equipment, must receive enhanced individual health monitoring to ensure they are appropriately medically fit. This examination is renewed at least every four years.
Additionally, the employer is required to organise a recovery visit for an employee returning to work after the following absences:
- Maternity leave
- Occupational illness
- Absence of at least 30 days following a work accident
- Absence of at least 60 days following non-work-related illness
In these cases, the visit must take place no more than eight days after the employee has returned to work.
Can we advise your French company about occupational health obligations?
Our experienced and bilingual consultants are happy to explain and answer all questions relating to occupational health in France, as well as wider employment issues.
Contact us to arrange your free initial consultation.