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The rules of the Labor Code relating to underage young workers have been amended by two decrees dated October 11, 2013. This concerns:
I- Revision of the exemption procedure for assigning young people aged between 15 and 18 to prohibited work;
II- Updating the list of prohibited and regulated work for young people aged between 15 and 18 (and clarifying the conditions of employment for 14-16 year olds during the school vacations).
These two points are detailed below:
I- Revision of the derogation procedure for assigning minors aged between 15 and 18 to prohibited work
Young people in vocational training
Regulations provide for exemptions allowing an apprentice or a minor student to carry out certain prohibited work. To do so, a derogation request must be made by name, using a defined procedure(*). Exemption authorizations granted by the labor inspector are renewable each year for students. For apprentices, in the absence of any modification to work equipment, safety conditions or the working environment, authorizations are valid for the entire duration of the contract, subject to the submission of a new favorable opinion from the occupational physician to the labor inspector each year.
(*): Exemption authorizations are issued after a favorable opinion from the occupational physician or physician responsible for student supervision, and the authorization of the teacher or workshop instructor.
As the current waiver application procedure is deemed inefficient due to its complexity and cumbersomeness, Decree no. 2013-914 of October 11, 2013 aims to simplify it.
The evolution points are as follows:
- derogation authorizations are now issued for 3 years;
- it is no longer specific to each young person undergoing training, but concerns the host company, provided certain conditions are met:
- have carried out a risk assessment and implemented the necessary preventive measures;
- comply with occupational health and safety obligations;
- ensure that the young person is supervised by a competent person.
- Before assigning an apprentice or a minor student to prohibited work that may be exempted, the employer must ensure that the latter is medically fit;
- within 8 days of assigning a minor apprentice or pupil to work for which the employer is authorized to derogate, the employer must provide the labor inspector with information on the identity of the minor, the vocational training followed, the medical opinion of suitability, the safety information and training provided, and the identity of the person supervising the young person.
- the application for renewal of the derogation authorization must be submitted 3 months before the expiry date of the current derogation decision.
Young workers under the age of 18
For young workers, decree n°2013-914 of October 11, 2013 makes it possible to specify that:
- young workers with a diploma or professional qualification corresponding to the activity in which they are engaged may be assigned to work for which a derogation applies if they are medically fit;
- when they have been given electrical clearance, young workers can carry out electrical operations within the limits set by the clearance.
- For example, a young worker under the age of 18 can drive a handling machine if he or she has received appropriate training (e.g. CACES training) and has a driving license;
- to be authorized to carry loads exceeding 20% of their body weight, young workers must hold specific medical authorization.
II- Updating the list of prohibited and regulated work for minors aged between 15 and 18.
Clarification of employment conditions for 14-16 year olds during school vacations
At the same time as revising the exemption procedure for assigning young minors to prohibited work, Decree no. 2013-915 of October 11, 2013 updates the list of prohibited and regulated work for young people aged between 15 and 18.
This update enables...
a) the addition of bans on the assignment of young people aged between 15 and 18
- work involving the preparation, use, handling or exposure to dangerous chemical agents(*) or carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic agents, unless exempted;
- work involving exposure to vibration levels in excess of 2.5 m/s² for vibrations transmitted to the hands and arms, or 0.5 m/s² for vibrations transmitted to the whole body;
- work likely to expose them to artificial optical radiation for which there is a risk of exceeding exposure limit values. However, it is possible to derogate from this prohibition;
- temporary work at height when the risk of falling from a height cannot be prevented by collective protection measures;
- work involving exposure to group 3 or 4 biological agents;
- work exposing them to extreme temperatures likely to damage their health;
- work on trees. This ban previously applied to young people under the age of 16 in agricultural establishments and farms;
- casting of molten metal without requesting an exemption. Previously, the ban only applied to young people under 17.
(*): with the exception of oxidizing and/or environmentally hazardous substances or mixtures.
b) the addition of exceptions to the assignment of young people aged between 15 and 18
- erecting and dismantling scaffolding;
- work involving the handling, monitoring, control and intervention on pressure equipment;
- carrying out operations (e.g. cleaning, maintenance, etc.) in a confined environment such as tanks, reservoirs, sewers, etc. ;
- driving self-propelled mobile work equipment and lifting equipment;
- operations likely to generate exposure to level 1 or 2 asbestos fiber dust.
c) the deletion of certain points such as
- weight limitations by age and gender for load handling ;
- prohibitions on young workers under the age of 18 being employed in outdoor displays in retail outlets;
- the possibility for final-year apprentices to be assigned to animal slaughtering work;
- the possibility of derogating from the ban on assigning apprentices or students to work in contact with animals (slaughtering, rendering, ferocious animals).
Decree no. 2013-915 of October 11, 2013 also specifies the conditions for employing young people aged 14 - 16 during school vacations.
It is now stated that young workers aged between 14 and 16 may only be assigned to light work that is not likely to be harmful to their safety, health or development.
In addition, minors aged between 14 and 16 can now only be employed if they have a continuous rest period of at least half their vacation days.
These amendments of October 11, 2013 came into force on October 14, 2013. Individual authorizations granted under the previous provisions are valid until their expiry date.