Right to Raise the Alarm and Right to Withdraw in the Event of Serious and Imminent Danger: What Do the Regulations Say?

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When workers are faced with a serious and imminent danger while carrying out their work, they can exercise their right to raise the alarm and their right to withdraw. These mechanisms, strictly governed by the Labour Code, protect employees' physical integrity. In this article, find out in which situations to use the right to raise the alarm, how to exercise it, and the employer's obligations! Need help with your HSE regulatory monitoring ? Turn to Tennaxia!

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What is the right to raise the alarm in the event of serious and imminent danger?

The right to raise the alarm in the event of serious and imminent danger allows a worker to alert the employer as soon as they identify, in accordance with the provisions of the Labour Code (Article L4131-1 of the Labour Code):

• either a serious and imminent danger to their life or health ;
• or a defect in protection systems.

Exercising this right to raise the alarm must be justified by a particularly serious or unusual danger that poses an immediate threat to the worker.

Examples of situations presenting a serious and imminent danger:

• malfunction of a ventilation system while using hazardous chemical products;
• absence of guardrails on a roof;
• abnormally low temperature in work premises;
• poorly maintained or damaged work equipment;
• flagrant non-compliance with the company's safety standards;
• ...

What is the right to withdraw?

The right to withdraw allows a worker to stop working or leave their position when they identify a serious and imminent danger to their life or health, or a defect in protection systems (Article L4131-1 of the Labour Code).

⚠️ Please note: Workers exercising their right to withdraw must remove themselves from the dangerous situation without creating a new situation of serious and imminent danger for others  (Article L4132-1 of the Labour Code).

The employer may not require a worker who has exercised their right to withdraw to resume work as long as the danger persists , particularly if it involves a defective protection system.

🔍 Focus : The right to withdraw is logically linked to the right to raise the alarm in the event of serious and imminent danger. However, it is not mandatory to alert the employer first in order to exercise the right to withdraw, as this prerogative stems directly from the obligations associated with the employment contract.

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Right to withdraw and extreme heat: can you refuse to work during a heatwave?

During periods of extreme heat or a heatwave, working conditions can quickly deteriorate and pose a genuine risk to employees' health (heatstroke, dehydration, feeling unwell). Exercising the right to withdraw in the event of excessive heat is entirely possible, but remains strictly governed by the Labour Code.

Is there a legal temperature threshold for exercising the right to withdraw due to heat?

In France, the Labour Code does not set a maximum temperature beyond which work is automatically prohibited. However, the French National Research and Safety Institute (INRS) and the CNAM consider that temperatures above 30°C for office-based work and 28°C for physical work pose a risk to health.

For the use of the right to withdraw due to heat to be considered legitimate, the employee must have a reasonable reason to believe that the situation poses a serious and imminent danger to their life or health (for example: no drinking water available, intense physical work in direct sunlight without a break, unventilated enclosed spaces exceeding 34°C).

⚠️ Employer obligations during a Heatwave Plan

In accordance with Article R. 4121-1 of the Labour Code, the employer must adapt the organisation of work during a heatwave: providing cool drinking water (at least 3 litres per day per employee on construction sites), adjusting working hours (working during the coolest hours), increasing the frequency of breaks, and installing ventilation/cooling equipment.

When is the right to withdraw due to extreme heat considered an abuse?

If the employer has implemented all the necessary prevention measures (air-conditioned or well-ventilated premises, regular distribution of water, adjusted working hours), the mere fact that it is hot is not enough to justify exercising the right to withdraw. An unjustified withdrawal in this context can expose the employee to a deduction from their pay or to disciplinary sanction.

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How do you exercise the right to report a danger and the right to withdraw?

To provide the most appropriate solutions, exercising the right to report a danger and the right to withdraw requires both the employer and the employee to follow a strict procedure.

What situations justify exercising the right to report a danger and the right to withdraw?

As soon as an employee identifies a situation that they have reasonable grounds to believe presents a serious and imminent danger, exercising the right to report a danger and the right to withdraw is, in principle, justified.

This is why no sanctions or salary deductions may be applied to an employee(or a group of employees) who has withdrawn from a work situation that they had reasonable grounds to believe presented a serious and imminent danger to their life or the lives of others (Article L4131-3 of the Labour Code).

Examples of situations justifying the exercise of the right to withdraw:

• absence of collective fall-protection equipment during roofing work (Cass. soc., 9 May 2000, No. 97-44.234);
• a temperature of 2°C in a workshop (Paris Court of Appeal, 22nd chamber, section C, 7 June 1988);
• malfunction of a safety button on a piece of work machinery for which periodic checks had not been carried out (Cass. soc., 11 December 1985, No. 83-45.566).

Conversely, when a worker exercises their right to withdraw without a reasonable basis, they may be subject to disciplinary action, specifically pay deductions for the improper use of the right to withdraw (Cass. soc. 11 July 1989, No. 86-43.497).

Therefore, the legitimacy of the right to withdraw is determined by the reasons that led the worker to remove themselves from the presumed dangerous situation.

Bad faith on the part of a worker, a complete absence of danger, or the presence of a danger inherent to the activity for which preventive measures are already in place do not justify exercising the right to withdraw.

Examples of unjustified withdrawal:

• An assault on a worker does not justify exercising the right to withdraw after the fact, as there is no reason to believe the event will recur (Paris Court of Appeal, 21st chamber, 26 April 2001);
• An epidemic in a hospital or a technical issue at a nuclear power plant does not justify the use of the right to withdraw, as these risks are inherent to those activities (Versailles Administrative Court, 2 June 1994, No. 872364 and Versailles Court of Appeal, 26 February 1996);
• Working conditions worsened by weather forecasts that have no impact on worker safety do not provide reasonable grounds to believe that a situation presents a serious and imminent danger (Cass. soc., January 20, 1993, No. 91-42.028).

What procedure applies to the right to raise the alarm and the right to withdraw?

Step 1: The worker exercises their right to withdraw

A worker who identifies a situation they consider dangerous can stop working by leaving their position.

⚠️ Please note : By withdrawing from the dangerous situation, the worker must not create an additional danger for other workers.

Step 2: The worker exercises their right to raise the alarm in the event of serious and imminent danger

Once the worker has withdrawn from the situation deemed dangerous, they must formally trigger their right to raise the alarm in order to notify the employer of the serious and imminent danger they were faced with.

🔍 Focus : Workers can first notify a staff representative sitting on the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) so that the representative can themselves alert the employer to the serious and imminent danger (Article L4131-2 of the Labour Code).

Step 3: The employer implements safety measures and instructions

📌 Important : As soon as the employer becomes aware of a serious and imminent danger, the Labour Code requires them to issue instructions and take the necessary measures to allow workers to stop their activity and reach safety , in particular by immediately leaving their workplace (Article L4132-5 of the Labour Code).

The employer must adapt these measures and instructions to the specific danger encountered. This may include evacuating the entire company or shutting down work equipment if the situation warrants it.

Step 4: The employer records the alert in a dedicated register

When an alert is raised by an elected member of the Social and Economic Committee, the employer must record it in the register for serious and imminent dangers as required by the Labour Code (Article L4132-2 of the Labour Code).

The entry must be dated and signed, and must specifically state (Article D4132-1 of the Labour Code):

• the positions affected by the danger identified;
• the nature and cause of the danger;
• the names of the exposed workers.

ℹ Note : The pages of the register of serious and imminent dangers must be numbered and authenticated with the CSE's stamp.

Step 5: The employer conducts an investigation and puts in place measures to resolve the danger

Where the alert is raised by a CSE member, the employer and the CSE member who raised the alert investigate the danger together (Article L4132-2 of the Labour Code).

The employer must also take all necessary steps to put an end to the dangerous situation.

Step 6: Agreement between the employer and the CSE to resolve the danger

Following the investigation, if there is disagreement over the reality of the danger or how to end it, the CSE must be convened urgently within a maximum of 24 hours (Article L4132-3 of the Labour Code).

🔍 Focus : The labour inspector and the officer from the regional health insurance fund's prevention department must be immediately informed by the employer and may attend this exceptional meeting.

Finally, in the event of disagreement between the employer and the majority of the CSE on the measures to be taken, the labour inspectorate must be referred to immediately by the employer (Article L4132-4 of the Labour Code).

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What are the risks for the employer in the event of serious and imminent danger?

📌 Important : When a worker is the victim of a workplace accident caused by a serious and imminent danger that had been reported to the employer, the employer's inexcusable misconduct is automatically recognised (Article L4131-4 of the Labour Code). The Labour Code reiterates that the employer has a duty to achieve a specific result in terms of safety towards their staff.

In practice, this means the employer will automatically have to pay additional compensation to the victim of such an accident.

Furthermore, when the labour inspectorate identifies a serious and imminent danger to workers' physical integrity, it is authorised to immediately draw up an official report without prior formal notice (Article L4721-5 of the Labour Code).

🔍 Focus : In certain specific cases (lack of protection against falls from height, absence of devices against the risk of being buried, etc.), the labour inspectorate can order the temporary suspension of the work or activity concerned (Article L. 4731-1 of the Labour Code).

🔎 Key takeaways

• Exercising the right to raise the alarm and the right to withdraw must be preceded by heightened vigilance on the part of the employee regarding their environment;
• Workers who use their right to raise the alarm and their right to withdraw must have reasonable grounds to believe the situation is dangerous;
• In the presence of a serious and imminent danger, the employer must immediately give instructions to get employees to safety;
• The labour inspectorate can draw up an official report without prior formal notice when it identifies a serious and imminent danger.

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Illustration credit: 290446149 @VectorMin