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Law no. 2021-1018 of August 2, 2021, known as the Occupational Health Law, aims to strengthen occupational health prevention, modernize prevention and occupational health services and decompartmentalize public health and occupational health.
In particular, it has reviewed: the procedures for drawing up and updating occupational risk assessments (single risk assessment document and chemical risk assessment) and has supplemented and adapted medical monitoring for certain categories of worker.
Two implementing decrees specifying these changes were published in March 2022. Here's what's in store.
Occupational risk assessment
Decree no. 2022-395 of March 18, 2022 specifies the following elements:
| Before March 31, 2022 | From March 31, 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency and methods of updating the single document |
Annual update for all companies. Also updated:
|
Annual update for all companies with more than 11 employees. Also updated:
|
| Documents resulting from the single document |
For companies with more than 50 employees: Annual program to prevent occupational hazards and improve working conditions, based on the DUER:
Pour les entreprises < 50 salariés : Use the single document to define risk prevention and employee protection measures |
For companies with ≥ 50 employees : Annual prevention program based on the DUER assessment of occupational risks, to be completed with :
Pour les entreprises < 50 salariés : Use the single document to define risk prevention and employee protection measures
|
| Availability of the single document |
The DUERP must be made available to :
|
Electronic filing on a digital portal :
The DUERP and its previous versions must be kept available for at least 40 years:
|
| Chemical risk assessment | Employers are required to assess the health and safety risks for workers exposed to chemical hazards. | Employers are required to assess the health and safety risks to workers exposed to chemical hazards, taking into account the combined effects of all these agents in the event of successive or simultaneous exposure to several chemical agents. |
Medical monitoring of workers who receive or have received reinforced medical monitoring
Decree no. 2022-372 of March 16, 2022 specifies the following elements:
| Before March 31, 2022 | From March 31, 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Post-exposure and post-professional medical follow-up |
Pre-retirement medical check-up A medical examination must be organized for workers who benefit or have benefited from enhanced individual health monitoring, or for workers who have benefited from specific medical monitoring due to their exposure to one or more of the following risks prior to the implementation of the enhanced individual monitoring system:
Þ The occupational physician provides the worker with an assessment of the situation and recommends post-professional monitoring. Note: If an employee considers that he or she needs to undergo a medical check-up, but has not been informed of this by his or her employer, he or she may, during the month preceding his or her departure, request to undergo the check-up directly with his or her occupational health service. In this case, they must inform their employer. |
Pre-retirement and post-exposure medical check-ups A medical examination must be organized for workers who are receiving or have received a CRS for their state of health, or for workers who have been exposed to one or more of the following risks prior to the implementation of the reinforced individual monitoring system:
=> The occupational physician provides the worker with an inventory of the situation and post-professional or post-exposure monitoring, if necessary Note: If a worker considers that he qualifies for this medical check-up and has not been notified of this information by his employer, he may, during the month preceding the cessation of exposure or his departure, and up to six months after the cessation of exposure, request this check-up directly from his occupational health service. |
| Pre-resumption visit | A pre-resumption visit may be organized for workers who have been off work for more than 3 months, at the initiative of the attending physician, the medical officer of the social security organization or the worker. |
A pre-reinstatement visit can now be organized for workers who are off work for more than 30 days. It need no longer be systematic for all work stoppages lasting more than three months, and need no longer be initiated by the attending physician, the medical officer of the social security organization or the employee. |
| Re-examination |
The employee is examined by the occupational physician before returning to work:
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The employee is examined by the occupational physician before returning to work:
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(*): the provisions relating to the pre-resumption visit and the resumption examination have not been modified for employees covered by the agricultural scheme.
For a complete overview of all the changes brought about by the Occupational Health Act, we invite you to refer to the previous article published in November 2021.
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