Apprentice: what are the workplace safety obligations?

The law governs the work of apprentices, particularly minors, by prohibiting or regulating certain hazardous tasks. A pilot program now allows apprentices to be monitored by a community physician.

Marie Faucon
Consultante HSE
Publication : 
30.12.2019
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Please note: This article concerns French legislation. The requirements described may not apply in other countries.

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Specific rules apply when hosting an apprentice in a company. We provide an overview of the regulatory obligations regarding the safety of theapprentice, especially when they are minors , and outline the pilot program implemented for the information and prevention medical visit for apprentices.

I. Prohibited or regulated work for apprentices

1. If the apprentice is on a fixed-term contract (CDD)

It is prohibited to employ them for tasks involving exposure to certain hazardous chemical agents (such as asbestos, dichloromethane, hard metal dust, etc.) unless a waiver is requested from the Direccte (Regional Directorate for Companies, Competition, Consumption, Labor, and Employment). Additionally, they must receive enhanced safety training.

2. If the apprentice is a minor

An apprentice under 18 years of age cannot be assigned to the prohibited tasks listed in Articles D. 4153-1 et seq. of the Labor Code : work involving risks of collapse or burial, work involving exposure to extreme temperatures, work involving exposure to group 3 or 4 biological agents, work involving exposure to mechanical vibrations exceeding daily exposure limits, work involving exposure to electromagnetic fields likely to exceed limit values, etc.

For the tasks listed below, it is possible to obtain a waiver from the Direccte; this waiver is valid for 3 years from the date of the declaration sent to the labor inspector. The waiver must specify the company's business sector, the tasks covered by the waiver, and the qualifications or role of the competent person(s) responsible for supervising the young workers:

  • work involving the preparation, use, handling, or exposure to hazardous chemical agents;
  • operation oflifting equipment and self-propelled mobile equipment;
  • use and/or maintenance of "hazardous" machinery (i.e., machinery subject to EC type-examination or featuring moving parts that remain accessible during operation);
  • maintenance work that cannot be performed while the equipment is shut down, without the possibility of preventing the unexpected restart of the transmissions, mechanisms, and work equipment involved
  • scaffolding assembly and dismantling;
  • handling, monitoring, inspecting, and performing interventions on pressure equipment;
  • cleaning and maintenance operations in confined spaces, such as vats, tanks, reservoirs, pits, galleries, etc.;
  • interventions likely to result in exposure to asbestos fiber dust levels of level 1 (< 10 f/l) or 2 (< 600 f/l);
  • work involving exposure to artificial optical radiation with the potential to exceed limit values.

To qualify for this exemption, you must also:

  • before assigning a young worker to the relevant tasks, inform them of the risks to their health and safety and the measures taken to address them, and provide them with safety training adapted to their age, level of education, and professional experience;
  • ensure the young worker is supervised by a competent person during their training;
  • have a medical certificate of fitness for each young worker, renewed annually.

However, certain work is permitted without an exemption for young people who are:

    • graduates or holders of a professional qualification corresponding to the activity they are performing may be assigned to work subject to exemption, provided they are medically fit for such work;
    • in possession of an electrical authorization may, in particular, perform electrical tasks within the limits set by their authorization;
    • holders of a driving permit may be assigned to operate self-propelled mobile work equipment and lifting equipment;
  • aged 15 to 18 must hold a specific medical authorization to be permitted to carry loads exceeding 20% of their body weight.

II. Medical monitoring of the apprentice

The apprentice must undergo an information and prevention visit (VIP) or, if assigned to a position requiring enhanced individual monitoring (SIR), a pre-employment medical examination no later than two months after being hired. However, if the apprentice is under 18, the VIP must be completed before they are assigned to the workstation.

As a reminder, workers benefiting from enhanced individual health monitoring include, in particular:

  • workers holding an electrical authorization,
  • workers holding a driving permit,
  • young workers under 18 assigned to prohibited tasks subject to a derogation declaration to the labor inspectorate,
  • workers exposed to the risk of falling from heights during assembly
  • and dismantling operations of scaffolding,
  • workers exposed to asbestos, certain CMR (carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic) agents, …
  • workers assigned to a position identified as high-risk by the employer and requiring enhanced individual monitoring.

III. Pilot program for apprentice health check-ups (VIP) by community physicians

To address long wait times at occupational health services, a decree defines the conditions for a pilot program allowing community healthcare professionals to conduct the information and prevention visit (VIP) for apprentices when occupational health professionals are unavailable.

1. Duration and conditions of the pilot program

This pilot program runs from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2021. It applies to all apprentices, excluding those in agricultural education, whose contracts are signed between April 30, 2019, and October 31, 2021.

2. Implementation

No later than the apprentice's start date, the employer must contact their occupational health service to arrange the VIP. This visit must be organized within two months of the start date, or before the apprentice is assigned to their role if they are a minor.

The occupational health service has eight days to respond to the employer. If, after this period, the service indicates that no healthcare professional is available to conduct the visit, or if they have not responded, the VIP may be performed by any physician practicing in an outpatient setting, subject to the conditions specified below.

Before the day of the VIP, the employer must send:

  • to the physician conducting the information and prevention visit: the job description or any other document specifying the tasks assigned to the apprentice and the conditions under which they are performed, as well as the contact details of the relevant occupational health service;
  • to the relevant occupational health service: the contact details of the physician practicing in an outpatient setting who is conducting the information and prevention visit.

At the end of the visit, the physician practicing in an outpatient setting provides the apprentice with a follow-up document confirming that the visit has taken place. They also send a copy to the employer and to the relevant occupational health service.

3. Coverage of costs related to these visits

When a company has an autonomous occupational health service, the fees of the physician who conducted the VIP are covered by the employer.

When a company is a member of an occupational health service, these fees are covered by the occupational health service to which the employer hiring the apprentice belongs.

4. Physicians authorized to conduct information and prevention visits

The employer may organize these visits with a physician practicing in the ambulatory sector, who may be:

  • one of the physicians who has entered into an agreement with the occupational health service to which the apprentice's employer belongs,
  • in the event that none of the physicians who have entered into an agreement are available, or if no such agreement has been concluded, any physician practicing in the ambulatory sector, including the apprentice's primary care physician, subject to the consent of the apprentice or their legal representatives if they are a minor.

Occupational health services shall provide the apprentice's employer with the list of physicians who have signed an agreement.

In conclusion, if you are hosting apprentices in your company, we recommend that you:

  • verify that the obligations presented in this article are properly implemented;
  • take the new pilot program into account in your management of medical visits for new apprentices.

Furthermore, we remind you that, like any employee, an apprentice must receive safety training upon joining the company.

[1] Article D. 4154-1 of the Labor Code

[2] Decree No. 2018-1340 of December 28, 2018, regarding the pilot program for conducting information and prevention visits for apprentices by community-based healthcare professionals [JORF of December 30, 2018]

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