What is the Single Occupational Risk Assessment Document (DUERP)?

Verified 31 March 2022 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

The Single Occupational Risk Assessment Document (DUERP) is mandatory in all companies from the time of hiring on 1er employee.

The employer shall record in this document the outcome of the assessment of the health and safety risks to which employees may be exposed.

The assessment of occupational risks is the responsibility of the employer and falls within the framework of its general obligation to ensure the safety and health of employees.

This assessment shall respect the general principles of prevention.

General principles of prevention

The 9 general principles governing the organization of prevention are as follows:

  • Avoiding risks, that is, eliminating the hazard or exposure to the hazard
  • Assessing risk, i.e. assessing exposure to danger and the importance of risk to prioritize preventive actions
  • Combat risks at source, i.e. incorporate prevention as early as possible, in particular when designing workplaces, equipment or operating procedures
  • Adapting work to man, taking into account individual differences, with the aim of reducing the effects of work on health
  • Take account of technical developments, i.e. adapt prevention to technical and organizational developments
  • Replace a hazardous product or process with a less hazardous one, where the same result can be achieved with a less hazardous solution
  • Planning prevention by integrating technology, organization and working conditions, social relations and the environment
  • Prioritize collective protection measures and use personal protective equipment as a complement to collective protections if they prove insufficient
  • Give appropriate instructions to employees, i.e. train and inform them so that they are aware of the risks and preventive measures
Approach to Occupational Risk Assessment

The evaluation approach is structured and includes the following steps:

  1. Preparing for the risk assessment
  2. Identifying risks
  3. Risk ranking
  4. Proposal for preventive actions

Risk assessment is defined as the identification of hazards and risks to the health and safety of workers, in all aspects related to work.

It shall include an inventory of the hazards and an analysis of the risks identified in each work unit of the company or establishment, including those relating to thermal environments.

Example :

The staircase and theelectricity represent a danger in the company.

L'electrocution by changing a bulb or the fall in a staircase are risks.

However, this approach has its particularities depending on the size of the company.

Company of less than 50 employees

The employer identifies the risks and then classifies them according to company-specific criteria (e.g. frequency of exposure and severity).

The following stakeholders also contribute to this risk assessment:

  • Employee involved in the protection and prevention of occupational risks in the company, when appointed by the employer
  • Preventive and occupational health services to which the employer subscribes

The identification, analysis and classification of risks make it possible to define and prioritize preventive actions covering the technical, human and organizational dimensions.

The employer shall assess the risks of his activity in particular in the following areas:

  • Choice of manufacturing processes
  • Choice of work equipment
  • Choice of chemical substances or preparations
  • Development or reorganization of workplaces or facilities
  • Organization of work
  • Defining Workstations

This assessment shall take into account the gender-differentiated impact of risk exposure.

The results of this evaluation are reflected in the definition of risk prevention and protection actions employees.

The employer shall submit a list of such shares to the ESC: titleContent, if it exists.

This list shall be included in the DUERP: titleContentand its updates.

The DUERP: titleContentshall contain the following elements:

  • Hazard Inventory and outcome of the risk assessment identified in the company
  • List of prevention actions risks and employee protection

The results of the risk assessment shall be recorded in the DUERP: titleContent to meet 3 requirements:

  • Consistency: by combining data from the analysis of the risks to which workers are exposed in a single medium
  • Convenience: to bring together the results of the different risk analyzes carried out on the same document, thus facilitating the follow-up of the risk prevention approach in company
  • Traceability: a systematic postponement of the results of the risk assessment must be carried out in order to ensure that all the elements analyzed are on paper or computer media

There is no model imposed by the labor code. However, some professional branches (e.g. cleanliness and building) offer tools to assist in the preparation of the document.

The employer has the choice of the medium that seems best suited to his needs (paper or digital document).

The employer shall append to the DUERP: titleContent collective data relevant to the traceability of employees' exposures to occupational risk factors.

This exposure may be related to a high physical stress, an aggressive physical environment or a particular work rate.

The employer must also indicate the proportion of employees exposed to these factors beyond the thresholds defined by the Labor Code.

Example :

Employee exposed to mechanical vibration, extreme temperature, or repetitive motion activity

This information allows the employer to report the employee's exposures to his prevention business account (C2P).

The DUERP: titleContent shall be made available to the following:

  • Worker, former worker and any person or body which can demonstrate an interest in having access to it
  • Members of the staff delegation of ESC: titleContent
  • Occupational health and prevention service
  • Labor Inspection System Officers
  • Prevention Services Officers Carsat: titleContent
  • Agents of professional health, safety and working conditions bodies
  • Radiation protection inspectors for workers exposed to ionizing radiation, for the installations and activities for which they are responsible

The employer must display the rules for consulting this document in a suitable and easily accessible place in the workplace.

In company rules and regulations rules and regulations or establishments with a

Updating the DUERP: titleContent has features depending on the size of the company:

Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement

Company of less than 11 employees

The DUERP: titleContent is updated in the following situations:

  • At any time adjustment decision amending working conditions or affecting the health or safety of employees (e.g. use of a new hazardous chemical)
  • When a additional information relevant to the assessment of a risk in a work unit is collected (e.g. outbreak of occupational diseases, COVID-19 pandemic)

Company of 11 or more employees

The DUERP: titleContent is updated in the following situations:

  • At any time adjustment decision amending working conditions or affecting the health or safety of employees (e.g. use of a new hazardous chemical)
  • When a additional information relevant to the assessment of a risk in a work unit is collected (e.g. outbreak of occupational diseases, COVID-19 pandemic)
  • At least once a year

The DUERP: titleContent shall be forwarded by the employer at each update to the occupational health and prevention service to which he is a member.

The DUERP: titleContent, in its successive versions, shall be retained by the employer for a period of 40 years from the time it is drawn up.

The employer, if he does not enter the occupational risks of the company in the DUERP: titleContentor its updating, is liable to the fine provided for contraventions of 5e class:

  • For a natural person, until €1,500 , (up to €3,000 in case of recurrence)
  • For a legal person, until €7,500 (up to €15,000  in case of recurrence)

The employer who does not put the DUERP: titleContentavailable to the ESC: titleContent commits a obstruction offense. The penalty may be up to 1 year imprisonment and €3,750 of fine.

Company of 50 or more employees

The employer identifies the risks and then classifies them according to company-specific criteria (e.g. frequency of exposure and severity).

Stakeholders also contribute to this risk assessment depending on the size of the company:

Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement

Company of less than 300 employees

  • ESC: titleContent
  • Employee involved in the protection and prevention of occupational risks in the company, when appointed by the employer
  • Preventive and occupational health services to which the employer subscribes

Company of 300 or more employees

  • ESC: titleContent
  • Commission on Health, Safety and Working Conditions in the framework of social dialog in the company
  • Employee involved in the protection and prevention of occupational risks in the company, when appointed by the employer
  • Preventive and occupational health services to which the employer subscribes

The identification, analysis and classification of risks make it possible to define and prioritize preventive actions covering the technical, human and organizational dimensions.

The employer shall assess the risks of his activity in particular in the following areas:

  • Choice of manufacturing processes
  • Choice of work equipment
  • Choice of chemical substances or preparations
  • Development or reorganization of workplaces or facilities
  • Organization of work
  • Defining Workstations

This assessment shall take into account the gender-differentiated impact of risk exposure.

The results of this evaluation are reflected in the development of the annual programme for the prevention of occupational risks and the improvement of working conditions.

This program contains the following information:

  • Detailed list of preventive measures taken with result indicators and estimated costs
  • Identify company assets that can be mobilized
  • Timetable for implementation of the measures

The DUERP: titleContentmust include thehazard inventory and the risk analysis result identified in the company.

The ESC: titleContent is consulted on the content of the DUERP: titleContent.

The results of the risk assessment shall be recorded in the DUERP: titleContent to meet 3 requirements:

  • Consistency: by combining data from the analysis of the risks to which workers are exposed in a single medium
  • Convenience: to bring together the results of the different risk analyzes carried out on the same document, thus facilitating the follow-up of the risk prevention approach in company
  • Traceability: a systematic postponement of the results of the risk assessment must be carried out in order to ensure that all the elements analyzed are on paper or computer media

There is no model imposed by the labor code. However, some professional branches (e.g. cleanliness and building) offer tools to assist in the preparation of the document.

The employer has the choice of the medium that seems best suited to his needs (paper or digital document).

The employer shall append to the DUERP: titleContent collective data relevant to the traceability of employees' exposures to occupational risk factors.

This exposure may be related to a high physical stress, an aggressive physical environment or a particular work rate.

The employer must also indicate the proportion of employees exposed to these factors beyond the thresholds defined by the Labor Code.

Example :

Employee exposed to mechanical vibration, extreme temperature, or repetitive motion activity

This information allows the employer to report the employee's exposures to his prevention business account (C2P).

The DUERP: titleContent shall be made available to the following:

  • Worker, former worker and any person or body which can demonstrate an interest in having access to it
  • Members of the staff delegation of ESC: titleContent
  • Occupational health and prevention service
  • Labor Inspection System Officers
  • Prevention Services Officers Carsat: titleContent
  • Agents of professional health, safety and working conditions bodies
  • Radiation protection inspectors for workers exposed to ionizing radiation, for the installations and activities for which they are responsible

The employer must display the rules for consulting this document in a suitable and easily accessible place in the workplace.

In company rules and regulations rules and regulations or establishments with a

The DUERP: titleContent is updated in the following situations:

  • At any time adjustment decision amending working conditions or affecting the health or safety of employees (e.g. use of a new hazardous chemical)
  • When a additional information relevant to the assessment of a risk in a work unit is collected (e.g. outbreak of occupational diseases, COVID-19 pandemic)
  • At least 1 time per year

The ESC: titleContent shall be consulted on the occasion of updates to the DUERP: titleContent.

The DUERP: titleContent shall be forwarded by the employer at each update to the occupational health and prevention service to which he is a member.

The DUERP: titleContent, in its successive versions, shall be retained by the employer for a period of 40 years from the time it is drawn up.

The employer, if he does not enter the occupational risks of the company in the DUERP: titleContentor its updating, is liable to the fine provided for contraventions of 5e class:

  • For a natural person, until €1,500 , (up to €3,000 in case of recurrence)
  • For a legal person, until €7,500 (up to €15,000  in case of recurrence)

The employer who does not put the DUERP: titleContentavailable to the ESC: titleContent commits a obstruction offense. The penalty may be up to 1 year imprisonment and €3,750 of fine.

Who can help me?

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  • For information on labor law (e.g. employer's obligations)

    Telephone administrative information - Allo Public Service

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  • For information about preventing occupational risks

    Pension Insurance and Occupational Health Fund (Carsat)

  • For information on the prevention of accidents at work and occupational diseases

    National Research and Security Institute (INRS)

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