Electrical risk prevention in the workplace: what do the regulations say?

Electrical hazards are present in every company. Proper design, maintenance and authorization are essential to protect employees.

Clara Godin
Environmental & occupational health & safety lawyer
Update : 
12.09.2025
Publication: 
10.02.2023
Contents
Example H2
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All companies are concerned by the prevention of electrical risks, which can be caused by direct or indirect contact with installations, or by overcurrents (short-circuit or overload).

Electrical risk: ensuring compliance and maintenance of electrical installations

An electrical installation designed and built in compliance with standards, and maintained in good condition, is the basis for preventing electrical risks in the workplace.

The French Labor Code lays down obligations for project owners and employers alike.

The project owner must ensure that electrical installations are designed and built in compliance with the provisions set out in articles R4215-3 to R4215-17 of the French Labor Code. He must also provide the employer with a technical file containing a description and characteristics of the electrical installations installed(article R4215-2 C. trav.).

Note: Electrical systems installed in accordance with approved installation standards (e.g. NF C 13-100, NF C 13-200, etc.) are presumed to comply with the French Labor Code. (Cf. article R4215-15 C. trav.).

Note: the list of approved installation standards is set by the order of April 19, 2012.

💡 In France, the NF C 15-100 standard sets out the main safety provisions applicable to the design, construction, verification and maintenance of low-voltage electrical installations.

The employer must set up monitoring and regular maintenance of the installations by a competent person, who may be internal or external to the company(article R4226-7 C. trav.).

To ensure that electrical installations comply with applicable health and safety regulations, employers must have them inspected.(articles R4226-14 and R4226-16 C. trav.).

These checks include :

  • an initial verification, carried out by an accredited body, when the electrical installations are commissioned and after any structural modification;
  • a periodic verification carried out either by an accredited organization or by a qualified person belonging to the company. It should be noted that the period between two periodic inspections may be extended to two years if the report contains no observations, or if non-conformities have been rectified. In this case, the head of the facility must first inform the Labour Inspector by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.

The employer must be alert to any difficulties encountered by the inspector, which are reported in the inspection report. The verification may be incomplete, for example, if a room was inaccessible, or if it was impossible to de-energize an installation. In such cases, the employer must make arrangements to complete the verification.

The results of inspections and, where applicable, any work or modifications carried out to remedy any defects found, must be recorded in a register which may be computerized (articles R4226-19 and R4226-20 C. trav.).

Please note: temporary temporary electrical installations are subject to a specific verification process, the terms of which are specified in Appendix IV of thedecree of December 26, 2011 relating to the verification of electrical installations and the content of the corresponding reports.

Electrical hazards: preventing risks during operations on or near installations

In order to eliminate or, failing that, reduce as far as possible the electrical risk when working on electrical installations or in their vicinity, regulations require the implementation of preventive measures.

💡 The following are considered operations on electrical installations:

  • High- and low-voltage work: live and dead work (e.g. creation or modification of an electrical installation, replacement of an electrical cabinet, etc.), switching operations, tests, measurements and checks;
  • In the low-voltage field: interventions (e.g. replacing a fuse or switch, resetting a circuit breaker, replacing a terminal block, troubleshooting, etc.).

💡 Operations carried out in the vicinity of electrical installations include: electrical and non-electrical operations carried out in a defined area around live bare parts, the dimensions of which vary according to the voltage range.

Note: the concepts of "live working" and "intervention" are defined in theorder of April 7, 2021.

For all these operations, the employer must ensure that(article R4544-4 C. trav.) :

  • the work is carried out de-energized, unless de-energization has been assessed as dangerous or technically impossible;
  • operations carried out in the vicinity of bare live parts are limited to cases where it is not possible to isolate the installation or ensure protection by removal, obstruction or insulation;
  • non-electrical operations carried out in the vicinity of bare live parts are limited to those involved in the operation and maintenance of electrical installations.

Only authorized workers may carry out work on or near electrical installations. The authorization is issued by the employer and specifies the nature of the electrical operation to be carried out. The period of validity of the authorization is defined by the employer.

💡 : The employer must issue, maintain or renew the clearance in accordance with the procedures set out in NF C18-510 standards (or NF C 18-550 when operations are carried out on combustion, electric or hybrid-powered vehicles and machines with an on-board electric power source).

Please note: before a worker can be certified, he or she must have received theoretical and practical training enabling them to acquire knowledge of electrical risks and the measures to be taken to carry out the operation in complete safety. This training can be carried out in-house or by an external organization (with the exception of training prior to authorization for live working, which must be carried out by an approved organization).

Off-line work

Off-line work is the only form of work that offers total safety in terms of electrical risk. To guarantee this, however, they must comply with the following provisions(article R4544-5 C. trav.):

  • the part of the installation on which they are carried out must be identified and locked out beforehand so that no voltage remains, appears or reappears in this part of the installation;
  • voltage should only be restored after the system has been disconnected, and only if restoring voltage presents no risk.

Live working

Because of their hazardous nature, live working must remain the exception and is only authorized where technically impossible, or where de-energizing would represent a hazard in view of operating conditions. Such work may only be undertaken on the basis of a written order from the head of the establishment, justifying the need for live working(article R4544-7 C. trav.).

In addition, the employer must(article R4544-8 C. trav.) :

  • define appropriate operating procedures for their realization ;
  • choose work equipment appropriate to the conditions and characteristics of the work to be carried out, as well as PPE and work clothing suited to the job.

💡 These preventive measures must comply with the various approved standards, in particular NF C18-505-1. (Cf. Order of April 7, 2021)

It should be noted that workers carrying out live-line work must hold a specific authorization which the employer issues after obtaining a document issued by an approved training organization. The authorization certificate is valid for one year.

Working near live parts

For work carried out in the vicinity of live, bare, active parts in the high-voltage range (voltage > 1000 V AC or > 1500 V DC), regulations require thatan authorized person, designated for this purpose, constantly supervises the work and the application of safety measures (article R4544-6 C. trav.).

In addition, access to premises or locations where there is a particular risk of electric shock must be reserved for persons holding the appropriate clearance (article R4544-6 C. trav.). However, for non-electrical operations, other persons may be authorized access, provided they have been informed of the safety instructions to be followed, and are placed under the constant supervision of an authorized person designated for this purpose.

💡 These are mainly premises or locations reserved for the production, conversion or distribution of electricity where protection against direct contact is provided by obstacle or by distance or, in low voltage, where protection against direct contact is not mandatory.

Protecting workers from electrical hazards

Employers must take electrical risk into account as part of their general safety obligation. In particular, they must ensure compliance with certain basic principles designed to protect workers against direct contact, indirect contact and overcurrents.

Protective measures against direct contact

Direct contact refers to any contact between a part of the human body and an active part (normally energized part) of an electrical installation.

All necessary protective measures must be taken at the design stage of electrical installations to protect workers from direct contact with the equipment:

  • insulation of active parts: theinsulation must be removable only by destruction (voluntary or involuntary). Although electrical components and wires or cables complying with current standards automatically meet this constraint, the insulation can be destroyed during installation or use.
  • distance from active parts: the distance depends on the environment(e.g. premises reserved for electrical installations, enclosed construction sites, etc.) and the voltage value;
  • installation of barriers with a minimum degree of protection(e.g. cabinets, screens, enclosures, etc.). They can only be opened with a key or tool;
  • give preference to extra-low voltage , such as safety extra-low voltage (SELV) or protective extra-low voltage (PELV).

Protective measures against indirect contact

Indirect contact refers to contact between a part of the human body and a conductive mass accidentally energized.

There are a number of ways to protect employees from indirect contact, including :

  • conductive grounding with automatic power cut-off ;
  • double insulation or reinforced insulation;
  • give priority to extra-low voltage, as for protection against direct contact.

Overcurrent protection measures

Overcurrent refers to a dangerous increase in the electric current flowing through a conductor or absorbed by a receiver. A distinction is made between :

  • overloads;
  • short circuits resulting from an accidental connection, through a very low resistance or impedance, between two or more points of an electrical circuit which are usually at different voltages.

To limit overcurrents, circuit breakers or fuses must be integrated into the electrical circuit.

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Photo credit: 362039886 @Anselm