What is a commute accident?
Verified 01 April 2022 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
A commuting accident is an event sudden and unexpected which caused bodily harm to you and which occurred between the following points:
- Your residence and workplace
- Your place of work and the place of catering where you go during the meal break
Between residence and workplace
Your residence may be your principal residence.
It can also be a usual secondary house, that is to say where you are subject to frequent and regular stays.
It can also be any other place where you usually go for family or pleasure reasons.
The journey from home to work should be as direct as possible.
Exceptionally, some detours can be accepted (for example, if the detour is made as part of a regular carpooling).
A journey accident may also be recognized in the following circumstances:
- The interruption or detour is justified by the essential necessities of everyday life (e.g. stop to go shopping, detour to accompany children to school or to their place of care)
- The interruption of the journey or detour is linked to work (e.g. picking up a package, traveling to an outside business appointment).
The journey must be made during a time slot in relation to your working hours, taking into account the length of the journey and the means of transport used.
Thus, a journey accident is not permitted if the journey was made several hours after or before working hours, save in exceptional cases connected with work. Example: Pot organized in the company, with the agreement of the employer, after working hours.
Warning
it's to you demonstrate that the conditions are met for the accident to be considered as a journey accident.
The accident en route must be reported within 24 hours to your employer if you are an employee:
Recognition of an accident at work entitles Social security allowances and supplementary allowances paid by employers (if you are entitled).
You are protected against the dismissal for sickness.
FYI
if the accident occurs between the workplace and the place where you are taking training, it is a accident at work.
Between the workplace and the restaurant
The place of restoration refers to the restaurant, canteen or place where you usually eat your meals.
A journey accident is recognized if the following 3 conditions are met:
- The accident occurred between the workplace and the restaurant
- You must visit the restaurant regularly (at a frequency that the courts will decide, depending on the case), but not necessarily every day
- Meals are served during working hours (e.g. lunch break)
Warning
it's to you demonstrate that the conditions are met for the accident to be considered as a journey accident.
The accident en route must be reported within 24 hours to your employer if you are an employee:
Recognition of an accident at work entitles Social security allowances and supplementary allowances paid by employers (if you are entitled).
You are protected against the dismissal for sickness.
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
Telephone administrative information - Allo Public Service
The informants who answer you belong to the ministry responsible for labor.
Cost: free service
Attention: the service does not respond questions relating to unemployment compensation and representations to Pôle emploi, civil servants or public service contractors, the amount or payment of social, wage or employer contributions.
The service is available at the following times:
- Monday: 8.30am to 5.30pm
- Tuesday: 8:30 to 12:15
- Wednesday: 8:30 to 12:15
- Thursday: 8.30am to 5.30pm
- Friday: 1 p.m. to 4:15 p.m
- Lundi : de 08h30 à 17h30
- Mardi : de 08h30 à 12h15
- Mercredi : de 08h30 à 12h15
- Jeudi : de 08h30 à 17h30
- Vendredi : de 13h00 à 16h15
- Primary health insurance fund (CPAM)
If you are dependent on the farm plan
Mutual Social Agricultural Organization (MSA)
Definition of a journey accident: Article L411-2