The CSE - Social and Economic Committee: details of its powers and operation

The CSE replaces the CE, DP and CHSCT. It manages occupational health and safety. A 2017 decree and a 2018 law specify its remit, particularly for companies with 11 to 49 employees.

Marie Faucon
EHS Consultant
Update : 
12.09.2025
Publication: 
09.04.2018
Contents
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Staff delegates (DP), the works council (CE) and the health, safety and working conditions committee (CHSCT) are gradually being replaced by the social and economic committee(CSE). The "Macron" ordinance merged these employee representative bodies. We presented the new body in a previous article.

An implementing decree [1] was published at the end of 2017. In addition, a law [2] published at the end of March 2018 ratified the ordinance, making a number of changes. We propose to present you the clarifications brought by these texts on the attributions and functioning of the CSE in relation to the fields of health and safety at work as well as the environment.

CSE: companies with between 11 and 49 employees

As was previously the case for DPs, members of the CSE staff delegation must be informed of the receipt of certificates, instructions, results and reports relating to health and safety checks and inspections carried out by the employer (for example, the report on the inspection of electrical installations). They can request these documents. In practice, you can inform the CSE of the receipt of these documents at each meeting.

CSE members may ask to see all the books, registers and non-nominative documents required by Part Four of the French Labor Code relating to health and safety at work.

The CSE's investigations intoaccidents at work or occupational or work-related illnesses are carried out by a delegation comprising at least the employer or a representative appointed by the employer, and an employee representative sitting on the CSE.

The staff delegation on the CSE can exercise its right to alert in situations of serious and imminent danger, or in matters of public health and the environment. This right is exercised in the same way as for CSEs in companies with at least 50 employees. A register of serious and imminent danger and a register of alerts concerning public health and the environment must be set up within the company. These registers were previously not mandatory in companies with fewer than 50 employees.

CSE: companies with at least 50 employees

Health, safety and working conditions inspections

The frequency of CSE inspections of health, safety and working conditions is at least equal to the frequency of CSE meetings dealing in whole or in part with health, safety and working conditions, i.e. at least 4 inspections per year.

Economic and social database (BDES)

The BDES still has to be set up at company level. It must now be made available to CSE members, and regularly updated. It includes, for all companies, the following data relating to health, safety and the environment:

  • Data on part-time work and working time arrangements
  • Annual program to prevent occupational hazards and improve working conditions

In addition, for companies with more than 300 employees:

  • Data on exposure to risks and hardship factors, occupational accidents and illnesses, and safety-related expenditure
  • Environmental information included in the declaration of extra-financial performance (DPEF) for companies concerned by this obligation
  • Data enabling analysis of the comparative situation of men and women with regard to exposure to risk factors, accidents at work and occupational illnesses.

Establishments with authorized ICPE

Like the CHSCT, the CSE is involved in the environmental authorization procedure:

  • The documents attached to the application for authorization to operate an Installations Classée pour la Protection de l'Environnement(ICPE) must be brought to the attention of the CSE before they are sent to the Prefect,
  • The application for authorization is sent to the CSE within 15 days of the launch of the public inquiry. The CSE has 15 days from receipt by the employer of the public inquiry report to issue a reasoned opinion on the file. The Chairman of the CSE forwards this opinion to the Prefect within 3 days of receipt of the committee's opinion.

The CSE must issue an opinion on the internal operations plan (POI) when it is required.

Documents and information

As before for the CHSCT :

  • Certificates, instructions, results and reports relating to health and safety checks and inspections for which the employer is responsible must be presented to the CSE at the meeting following receipt by the employer. Any member of the CSE may request these documents at any time,
  • the Chairman must inform the CSE of the observations made by the workplace inspector, the workplace medical inspector and agents from the prevention departments of social security organizations (CARSAT, CRAMIF) at the meeting following their intervention.

Health, safety and working conditions training

All members of the CSE staff delegation receive training in health, safety and working conditions. This training is similar to that received by CHSCT and DP members.

The aim is to develop their ability to detect and measure occupational hazards, and their capacity to analyze working conditions. It should also introduce them to the methods and procedures to be implemented to prevent occupational hazards and improve working conditions.

The training must be provided as soon as the members are first appointed, in accordance with a pre-established theoretical and practical program that takes into account the characteristics of the company's professional sector, the specific features of the company and the role of the CSE representative. The training must be provided either by an organization on a list drawn up by the Minister for Labor, or by an organization approved by the regional prefect. At the end of the course, the training organization issues a certificate of attendance, which the participant hands over to his or her employer when he or she returns to work.

CSE - replacement of CE, CSHCT and DP functions

The prerogatives hitherto vested in the Works Council, the Works Representatives or the CHSCT are transferred to the CSE. It is now the CSE that must be consulted, for example:

  • on the conditions for making PPE available and using it, before drawing up PPE instructions,
  • on the operating instructions for ventilation systems,
  • on the choice of an independent or inter-company occupational health service,
  • on the list of high-risk jobs requiring enhanced individual health monitoring,
  • ...

For example, it is now up to the CSE to communicate:

  • the results of the chemical risk assessment,
  • reports and results of studies provided by the occupational physician as part of his work in the workplace,
  • ...

Conclusion

In terms of health and safety at work, the CSE's remit differs little from that of the CHSCT and DP. For companies with between 11 and 50 employees, a register of serious and imminent dangers and a register of alerts concerning public health and the environment within the company must now be set up.

As a reminder, you must set up your CSE in line with the expiry date of your DP, CHSCT or CE mandates, and no later than December 31, 2019.

For mandates expiring between January1, 2019 and December 31, 2019, the Ratification Act introduces the possibility of reducing their duration by a maximum of one year, either by collective agreement or by decision of the employer after consultation with the employee representative bodies.

[1] Decree no. 2017-1819 of December 29, 2017 on the social and economic committee [JORF of December 30, 2017].

[2] Act no. 2018-217 of March 29, 2018 ratifying various ordinances issued on the basis of Act no. 2017-1340 of September 15, 2017 empowering the government to take measures to strengthen social dialogue by ordinance [JORF of March 31, 2018].

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