Employee awareness of cardiac arrest prevention and life-saving actions

The law requires employers to train certain employees in life-saving techniques to combat cardiac arrest and strengthen workplace prevention.

Marie Faucon
Consultante HSE
Publication : 
14.03.2023
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Please note: This article concerns French legislation. The requirements described may not apply in other countries.

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Cardiac arrests are responsible for approximately 40,000 to 50,000 adult deaths per year in France. One-third of victims are under 55 years old, and nearly 800 cases of sudden death occur during sports activities.

The regulations stipulate a training in combating cardiac arrest and learning life-saving techniques in several situations, particularly in the workplace for certain employees, to increase the number of trained individuals.

Which employees are affected by this training?

The employer must offer it to employees before they retire.

What are the objectives?

This training enables employees to acquire the necessary skills to:

  • ensure their own safety, that of the victim or any other person, and transmit the necessary information to emergency services for their intervention;
  • react to external bleeding and place the victim in an appropriate waiting position;
  • react to a cardiac arrest victim and use an automated external defibrillator.

How will it be conducted?

The time spent on this training is considered working time.

It must take place during normal working hours.

Who can provide it?

Are adaptations possible?

An adaptation of the training is possible for employees holding certain certificates or attestations. For example, certificates such as:

  • of workplace first aider (SST) ;
  • Civic Prevention and First Aid Level 1 (PSC1) ;
  • Team First Aid Level 1 (PSE1) ;
  • Team First Aid Level 2 (PSE2).

All relevant certificates and attestations are listed in Article 2 of the decree of September 7, 2022.

The certificate or attestation must then be valid, if applicable, or be less than 10 years old.

This adaptation is provided through any means (e.g., paper, email) on the importance of keeping their skills up to date.

Conclusion

We encourage you to consult with your training department to offer this awareness training to employees before their retirement.

  • Labor Code Article L. 1237-9-1 / Created by Law No. 2020-840 of July 3, 2020 [Official Journal of July 4, 2020]
  • Labor Code Articles D. 1237-2-2 to D. 1237-2-3 / Created by Decree No. 2021-469 of April 19, 2021 [Official Journal of April 20, 2021]
  • Decree of September 7, 2022, on awareness of cardiac arrest prevention and life-saving actions [Official Journal of September 7, 2022]

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