Véronique Fuxis
Communication Officer
Cofrac

Introduced in France by Act no. 2021-1018 of August 2, 2021, the goal of certification of occupational health and prevention services is to ensure the quality of the service provided by the autonomous centres responsible for them.

What Are “Occupational Health and Prevention Services”?

The services in charge of occupational health and prevention are responsible for safeguarding workers’ health at work and supporting employers, workers and their representatives in preventing occupational risks. To meet the health and safety obligations set out in the Labour Code, all employers (with 500 employees or more) are required to set up an independent service for occupational health and prevention to be shared with other companies (referred to as an “inter-company service”) or to join one already settled (companies with fewer than 500 employees). Organised around multidisciplinary teams including doctors, nurses, occupational risk prevention specialists and occupational health assistants, the services in charge of occupational health and prevention are tasked with:

• Protecting workers’ physical and mental health and helping to assess and prevent occupational hazards.
• Monitoring workers’ health through medical check-ups.
• Preventing people from losing their jobs and keeping specialists in work.
• Advising employers, workers and their representatives on occupational hazards, and improving quality of life and working conditions.
• Participating in monitoring and contributing to the traceability of occupational exposure and health monitoring.
• Participating in actions to promote health in the workplace.

Context and Development of the Certification System

The development of a certification scheme stems from the will of the social partners (employees and employers) to strengthen occupational health prevention. The objective of this certification is to ensure that the services provided are carried out in an effective and consistent manner, and that they are implementing a dynamic of progress, quality and proactivity.

The baseline of services drawn up by the National Committee of Prevention and occupational health, approved by decree no. 2022-653 of April 25, 2022, sets out the list of services that must be offered by the inter-company occupational health and prevention services to their member companies and their employees. In accordance with the law, the National Committee also proposed, in its deliberations of June 10, 2022, a framework for the reference system and the principles guiding the drafting of certification specifications. The Ministry of Labour, which is responsible for the scheme, asked Cofrac to support the drafting of an assessment method for certification, taking into account the accreditation requirements contained in ISO/IEC 17065, published in a ministerial order on July 27, 2023. The certification scheme (requirements,  assessment methods, and FAQ) is publicly available on the Ministry website.

What Are the Different Levels of Certification?

A special feature of the scheme is that three levels of certification were designed, in order to take into account the different levels of practise of the services:

• Level 1 ‘Commitment’: phase of initiation of procedures by the inter-company occupational health and prevention services.
• Level 2 ‘Mastery’: in addition to the resources provided in level 1, the inter-company occupational health and prevention services must demonstrate its mastery of procedures and assessment tools, and set up monitoring indicators to track the results of the resources implemented.
• Level 3 ‘Compliance’: the inter-company occupational health and prevention services must demonstrate that they have implemented all the measures required to certify that they provide all the services specified in the core offer.

The certification according to the above levels is valid for two, three and five years respectively, with no possibility to renew certification for level 1 and 2, to oblige the services to reach level 3 in a defined time frame.  

They have until May 1, 2025, to obtain their certification (at least the first level). From 2030, they will only be able to apply for the third level.

The Accreditation System in Short

On October 2023, Cofrac launched the accreditation for certification bodies in accordance with ISO/IEC 17065 and specific requirements established in document CERT CPS REF 53 (available on www.cofrac.fr). Certification bodies have applied to the scheme, and their accreditation is in progress.