Incapacity to work of an employee after sickness

Prior procedure

Your incapacity must be established by the company medical officer, and not by your treating doctor.

The occupational doctor will study your health (physical and/or mental) to determine whether you can resume your job completely or partially. If this is not the case, he can declare you unfit.

Before issuing an opinion of unfitness, the occupational physician must observe the following steps:

1. Do a medical examination and possibly tests
2. Conduct a job study (i.e., make sure your working conditions are in line with your health)
3. To carry out a study of working conditions in the establishment (with an indication of the date on which company card has been updated)
4. Discuss with the employer his observations and proposals on a possible change of position

The occupational physician may request additional examinations and carry out a second medical examination, at the latest 15 days after the first.

After these steps, the occupational doctor may declare you unfit for your position if he finds that no adjustment, adaptation or transformation of the work station occupied is possible and that your health justifies a change of position.

Notice of Incapacity

If the occupational doctor declares you unfit for duty, he must draw up a notice of unfitness and send you a copy.

The notice of incompetence shall contain written conclusions and indications concerning your reclassification.

The occupational physician may mention in the notice of incompetence one of the following points:

• Retention in employment would be seriously detrimental to your health
• Your health makes it impossible to reclassify into a job

The employer must take into account the opinion and the instructions or proposals of the occupational doctor.

If he refuses, he will write to you the reasons for his opposition. He shall also send them to the occupational doctor.

Appeals

You (or your employer) may appeal the decision of the occupational physician before the Labor Board within 15 days of the notification of the opinion of unfitness.

The labor board may consult the labor inspector.

Obligation to reclassify

When the occupational doctor has declared you unfit to return to your original job, your employer must offer you another job that matches your abilities.

However, your employer is exempted from looking for a position to reclassify you if the notice of unfitness mentions any of the following:

• Your continued employment would be seriously detrimental to your health
• Your state of health makes you unfit for any professional activity

Characteristics of the proposed use

Your employer's proposal must take into account, after consulting the Social and Economic Committee (ESC), the following elements:

• Written conclusions of the occupational doctor
• Information he has given on your capacity to perform any of the tasks in the company

The occupational doctor also decides whether you can take training to take a suitable job.

The proposed job must be as close as possible to the job you held before your work stoppage.

If necessary, your employer implements measures such as the fitting-out, adaptation or conversion of existing positions or the fitting-out of working time.

Reclassification must be sought among the jobs available in the company (all establishments and all sectors).

If the company belongs to a group, reclassification must also be sought among companies located in France whose activities, organization or place of operation make it possible to exchange all or part of the staff.

If your employer is unable to offer you another job, he or she must inform you in writing of the reasons for the reclassification.

You are free to refuse the proposed employment.

Deadline

No delay minimum or legal maximum is not imposed on your employer to fulfill its obligation.