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Occupational Risk Prevention Training: Obligation and Necessities.

Training employees in occupational risk prevention is a legal obligation for employers. They are required to inform and ensure safety at every workstation. The Labor Code regarding health and safety defines it with the aim of improving working conditions. This regulatory perspective leads to other duties towards staff. All necessary measures must be taken into account by prevention actors. Training to acquire safety knowledge is part of the process of a company that respects rules and its employees.

 

What is “occupational risk prevention”?

Occupational risk prevention refers to all measures and actions implemented to prevent or reduce workplace accidents and occupational diseases. Occupational risk prevention involves measures aimed at combating danger at its source.

These implementations are part of improving employees' working conditions with:

  • support in managing internal risks;
  • drafting an action plan to prevent risks;
  • training in health and safety for employees.

This policy must be integrated into the company's overall organization and regularly evaluated and updated based on professional context changes. This task falls to the staff representatives on the CHST (Committee for Hygiene, Safety, and Working Conditions).

The CHSCT (Committee for Hygiene, Safety, and Working Conditions) is a staff representative body in companies with more than 50 employees in France. Its main mission is to contribute to the protection of physical and mental health and the safety of company workers. For this, it is tasked with conducting surveys on occupational risks and work accidents, proposing prevention and protection actions, and participating in improving working conditions.

The CHSCT consists of staff representatives elected for 4 years, and a chairperson chosen from members representing the employer. The committee has financial, material, and human resources to carry out its missions. CHSCT members are entitled to specific training to help them fulfill their mission. However, in France, the 2017 law on social dialogue and employment merged the CHSCT with other staff representative bodies (Staff Delegates and Works Council) to form the CSE (Social and Economic Committee).

 

What is the CSE?

The CSE (Social and Economic Committee) is a staff representative body established in companies with more than 11 employees in France. It was created in 2017 to replace the previous staff representative bodies: the Works Council (CE), Staff Delegates (DP), and the Committee for Hygiene, Safety, and Working Conditions (CHSCT). The CSE's mission is to represent employees to the employer, ensure their health protection, safety, and well-being at work, and help improve their working conditions. It is also consulted on the company's strategic decisions and has an operating budget for its missions. CSE members are elected by company employees and comprise staff representatives, permanent members, and substitutes. Their number varies based on the company's workforce.

 

Employer Obligations Regarding Safety

Employers are obliged to guarantee the safety and health of their workers in accordance with current regulations. Some of their main obligations regarding safety include:

  • conducting a risk assessment: employers must identify hazards and risks to workers' health and safety in their workplace. This evaluation must be regularly reviewed and updated;
  • preventing potential risks related to fatigue, falls, etc., through technical, organizational, and human measures;
  • implementing training to inform about occupational risks faced by employees. Preventing psychosocial risks and limiting serious occupational diseases are among them;
  • informing staff about prevention measures and emergency procedures (fire, accident, etc.)

In short, the employer is on the lookout for risks, as they have significant responsibility regarding workplace safety and must take all necessary measures to guarantee their workers' health and safety.

 

Why Train in Health and Safety at Work?

Training in health and safety at work is crucial for understanding and adhering to risk prevention challenges, as defined in the Labor Code. It allows workers to develop awareness of posture and the importance of maintaining well-being at work, as well as to be more familiar with tailored health prevention measures for their professional sector. The program must therefore introduce staff to different prevention measures, good practices, and emergency procedures. Training must be designed according to the specifics of each professional sector, addressing the needs and challenges of each activity sector.

 

In Which Areas Can This Training Assist Workers?

Training in health and safety at work can help workers acquire useful skills for their professional careers, such as:

  • managing emergency situations;
  • accident prevention;
  • mental health protection, etc.

It can also help improve the company's image and performance by reducing costs associated with accidents and occupational diseases and promoting employee well-being and motivation.

 

Who Is This Training For?

Employers must offer their employees workplace safety training. Some, like fire safety or first aid at work, are mandatory. Others pertain to the use of specific equipment or machinery. To ensure complete safety, different company stakeholders are targeted by prevention programs, as well as interns and temporary workers. The same applies to employees in case of a job change or new hiring for a work safety day.

 

How to Choose a Training Organization?

To become a major prevention actor in your company and commit to this scheme over the long term, you need to determine the right training. With the flood of training options on the market, it's hard to choose. Quality criteria, however, need to be considered. The cost, of course, but beyond that, training needs to be dynamic, original, accessible, and fun. It's well-known that we learn better when having fun!

 

We Offer Risk Prevention Training in Virtual Reality for Companies

In this digital age, Immersive Factory offers a unique experience. Occupational risk prevention training must be tailored to each activity sector, which is why we specialize in:

  • construction;
  • road safety to reduce injury and death risks on roads;
  • petrochemistry, a key sector of modern industry;
  • pharmacy;
  • logistics referring to the overall management process;
  • manufacturing;
  • food industry;
  • academic sector;
  • health, covering all care structures (hospitals, clinics, etc.).

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