#2026-503France Eases Return-to-Work Medical Visit Rules After Recent Pre-Return Exams
AI-generated summary for informational purposes only. Not legal advice. See the original source for the authoritative text.
The decree removes the need for a separate return-to-work medical visit in some cases where an employee has already had a pre-return visit shortly before coming back to work. Employers, occupational health services, and workers are affected. If the pre-return visit took place within 30 days before the actual return and the occupational doctor found that no job adjustments or working-time changes were needed, the return visit can be skipped unless the doctor, employer, or worker asks for it.
AI-generated summary. May contain errors. Refer to official sources for legal decisions.
Key Changes
- Allows the return-to-work medical visit to be skipped when a qualifying pre-return visit took place within 30 days before the employee came back
- Requires that the occupational doctor must have found no need for job, workplace, or working-time adjustments
- Keeps the right for the occupational doctor, employer, or worker to request a return-to-work visit anyway
Obligations
What this law requires
Do not require a separate return-to-work medical visit when the worker had a pre-return visit within 30 days before the effective return to work and the occupational doctor concluded that no job adjustment, adaptation, transformation, or working-time adjustment was needed, unless the occupational doctor, employer, or worker requests the return visit.
Organize the return-to-work medical visit if the occupational doctor, employer, or worker requests it, even where a qualifying pre-return visit occurred within the previous 30 days.
For agricultural workers covered by the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code, apply the same exception: the return-to-work visit is not required if a pre-return visit occurred within 30 days before the effective return and the occupational doctor found no workplace or working-time adjustments necessary, unless the doctor, employer, or worker requests the visit.
Inform the employer about the organization of the relevant medical examination under the amended Labour Code and Rural and Maritime Fishing Code provisions.