Workplace health prevention in France rests on a legal obligation: protecting employees’ health, assessing risks (the single risk assessment document) and ensuring their medical monitoring through an occupational health and prevention service. It can go further, toward primary prevention of chronic diseases and mental health problems, without exposing any individual data.
What does the law say: what are the employer’s health prevention obligations?
The employer has a general safety obligation, set by Articles L4121-1 to L4121-5 of the French Labor Code: they must take the measures necessary to ensure workers’ safety and protect their physical and mental health. In practice, this means assessing risks (DUERP), applying the nine general principles of prevention, training employees and joining an occupational health and prevention service.
The nine general principles of prevention
Article L4121-2 of the French Labor Code lists nine principles, which the INRS (the French National Research and Safety Institute for occupational risks) describes as “applicable to all work situations”: avoid risks; assess risks that cannot be avoided; tackle risks at the source; adapt work to the individual; take technical progress into account; replace what is dangerous with what is less dangerous; plan prevention; give priority to collective protection measures; give employees appropriate instructions. When a search asks “what are the 5 prevention measures,” it generally refers to the hierarchy contained in these principles: avoid, assess and tackle at the source, substitute, protect collectively, protect individually and inform.
The single occupational risk assessment document (DUERP)
The DUERP (document unique d’évaluation des risques professionnels) is mandatory “from the hiring of the first employee.” It contains the inventory of hazards, the results of the risk assessment and the list of prevention and protection actions. It is updated whenever there is a significant change and, from 11 employees, at least once a year. From 50 employees, it comes with an annual prevention program specifying measures, cost and timetable; below that, a list of actions is enough. The social and economic committee (CSE, the French employee representative body), if there is one, is consulted. Since the law of August 2, 2021, the document must be kept for at least forty years. Failing to have a DUERP is punishable by a fine of €1,500 to €7,500 depending on the organization, €8,000 for a repeat offense.
A point of vocabulary, because the question comes up often: the PPSP (plan particulier de sécurité et de protection de la santé, specific health and safety protection plan) is not a “health prevention plan.” It is a document specific to building and public works sites subject to health and safety coordination. It does not concern a prevention program for the employees of a service company.
Occupational health and prevention services
Law No. 2021-1018 of August 2, 2021 “to strengthen prevention in occupational health” renamed occupational health services as occupational health and prevention services (SPST, services de prévention et de santé au travail), either in-house or shared between companies, and created the mid-career medical visit, organized in the year the employee turns 45, as well as the prevention passport. The SPST provides individual monitoring: information and prevention visit at hiring, enhanced monitoring for high-risk jobs, mid-career visit, return-to-work visit after sick leave. Two rules to remember: “the occupational physician does not provide treatment,” and employees can contact the service directly, without the employer’s authorization.
The framework has also broadened to quality of life and working conditions (QVCT, qualité de vie et des conditions de travail), which replaced “quality of life at work” following the national interprofessional agreement of December 9, 2020, enacted into law by the law of August 2, 2021. The 2026-2030 Occupational Health Plan (Plan santé au travail) sets national priorities for the period.
Why does primary prevention for employees go beyond occupational health?
Because occupational health deals with the link between the job and health, whereas the diseases that weigh most heavily on employees’ lives (cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancers, anxiety and depressive disorders) mostly arise outside work: lifestyle, family history, age, social context. The occupational physician does not treat or monitor these risks; the regular doctor (médecin traitant) monitors them, but often sees patients too rarely between the ages of 40 and 60.
In our consultations, we see that the 45-50 age group is when risk factors crystallize (high blood pressure, cholesterol, excess weight, smoking, poor sleep, mental load) and when organized cancer screening programs begin. This is precisely one of the four key ages of Mon bilan prévention, France’s national prevention check-up program, and the age of the mid-career visit: the two appointments complement each other without overlapping. We cover this stage of life in our article on the prevention check-up at ages 45-50.
Santé publique France (the French public health agency) explicitly encourages employers to play this relay role. Its “Employers for Health” (Les employeurs pour la santé) platform supports “public, private and nonprofit organizations in a prevention approach” on five topics: vaccination, tobacco, alcohol, nutrition and physical activity, Lyme disease. The workplace is somewhere apparently healthy adults pass through every day: that is what makes it a lever for primary prevention, provided the boundary between the employer and each person’s health is strictly respected.
What health check-up formats exist for employees?
Four main families coexist: appointments covered by French National Health Insurance (Assurance Maladie) (Mon bilan prévention at key ages, the preventive health examination), paid private check-ups, digital programs and group awareness initiatives. They are not mutually exclusive; the right program combines them according to the population and the budget.
Mon bilan prévention: the covered program at key ages
Mon bilan prévention is a 30- to 45-minute consultation with a doctor, midwife, nurse or pharmacist, offered once per person at ages 18-25, 45-50, 60-65 and 70-75, fully covered (100%) by French National Health Insurance with no upfront payment (decree of May 28, 2024). It is based on a self-assessment questionnaire filled in beforehand and results in a Personalized Prevention Plan sent to the regular doctor unless the patient objects. For a company, it is the simplest format to promote: it costs nothing to the employee or the employer, fits into the regular care pathway and concerns a significant share of the workforce.
The preventive health examination (EPS)
The EPS (examen de prévention en santé), formerly the “free health check,” is carried out in about a hundred French National Health Insurance health examination centers (CES). It lasts about two hours, fasting, and includes, depending on the profile, a blood draw, urine test, hearing and cardiorespiratory tests and a medical consultation. It is “primarily intended” for people with poor access to the health system; it remains open to employees but is not designed as a workplace tool. See French National Health Insurance’s free health check.
Private check-ups
Check-up clinics and “preventive health” startups offer paid check-ups, often with a broad panel of biomarkers. Prices checked on September 14, 2026 range from €490 per year (two-check-up plan at Lucis) to €990 for a 90-minute check-up and up to €3,590, €4,990 or €18,000 for the most comprehensive plans at Zoī; other players, such as Kor, do not publish their prices. These offers are not reimbursed. They provide in-depth laboratory testing and long medical consultations; their limitation is the cost per employee, which in practice restricts them to executives and managers. Our comparison private check-up or covered check-up details prices and content.
Digital programs
They rely on an online questionnaire, sometimes an at-home sample collection kit, an individual dashboard and remote support. Their advantage is coverage: all employees, including those working remotely or on scattered sites. Their quality depends on two things to check: whether a doctor validates the action plan, and whether it is sent to the regular doctor.
| Format | Cost to the company | Coverage | Medical involvement | Data produced | For whom |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon bilan prévention | None (communication time) | 100% French National Health Insurance, no upfront payment | Authorized health professional; PPP sent to the regular doctor | No data for the employer | Employees aged 18-25, 45-50, 60-65, 70-75 |
| Preventive health examination (CES) | None | 100% French National Health Insurance | Medical consultation at the center, lab tests | No data for the employer | Priority to employees with poor access to care |
| Private check-up | From €490 to several thousand euros per person (prices checked September 2026) | Not reimbursed | Doctor, extended examinations and lab tests | Individual report to the employee; aggregated feedback depending on the provider | Executives, managers, targeted populations |
| Digital program | Subscription or flat fee per employee | Variable; may include the covered check-up | Depends on the provider: to be checked | Aggregated, anonymized dashboard | All employees, multi-site, remote work |
| Group initiatives (workshops, events) | Facilitation cost | Not applicable | Various speakers | Participation | Awareness, complement to other formats |
How do you build a health prevention program for your employees?
A solid program follows five steps: an anonymized assessment, choosing one or two formats, coordination with the regular doctor, a written confidentiality framework before launch, then aggregated indicators. The order matters: the confidentiality framework is decided before choosing a provider, not after.
1. Start from an anonymized assessment
Cross-reference what you already know without touching anyone’s health: age pyramid (how many employees enter a key age group each year), geographic distribution and remote work, aggregated DUERP results on psychosocial risks, QVCT survey if there is one, annual report from your occupational health and prevention service. Ask employees, through an anonymous questionnaire, about their expectations (sleep, stress, physical activity, diet, smoking) rather than about their health.
2. Choose the format and the timetable
For most companies, the most rational foundation is to promote Mon bilan prévention to eligible employees, with time off to attend, and to add a broader format (digital or in person) for employees outside the age groups or to go further. Reserve private check-ups for targeted situations, knowing their cost. Schedule in waves, outside peak workload periods.
3. Coordinate with the regular doctor
This is the criterion that distinguishes a prevention initiative from a communication exercise. The action plan must end up with the employee’s regular doctor, with their consent, so that a screening, treatment or follow-up is actually started. Require the provider to supply a referral letter and a process for employees without a regular doctor. Our article on the Personalized Prevention Plan explains what this document should contain.
4. Write the confidentiality and GDPR framework
Health data is sensitive data under the GDPR and falls under medical secrecy. The rule is simple and non-negotiable: the employer never sees any individual data, no result, no answer, no named participation. It only receives aggregated, anonymized indicators, with a minimum group size per indicator to prevent any re-identification in small teams. Check that the provider stores data with an HDS-certified health data host (a French certification provided for in Article L1111-8 of the French Public Health Code), that it has appointed a data protection officer, that participation is voluntary and that employees can exercise their rights of access, rectification, objection and erasure. Inform the social and economic committee.
5. Define the aggregated indicators
Choose them before launch: participation rate by site and by age group (never below the anonymity threshold), share of pathways completed, share of plans sent to a regular doctor, dominant risk categories as percentages, referrals made (screening, vaccination, psychologist, physical activity), satisfaction. These indicators are used to adjust the program and report on it to the CSE, not to evaluate individuals.
How do you measure impact without promising the impossible?
By measuring what the program actually produces (participation, action plans, referrals to care) and not what it is supposed to prevent. Absenteeism is a context indicator to track, not a result to claim credit for: its causes are many and no reduction figure can be attributed to a prevention program without a dedicated comparative study.
We recommend rejecting any numerical promise such as “X% fewer sick days” that is not backed by an accessible publication. The effects of primary prevention are measured over years, at the population level, and individual benefits (diabetes detected early, high blood pressure treated, a depressive episode managed) do not show up in a company dashboard, by design.
What you can track honestly:
- Coverage: share of eligible employees who have completed Mon bilan prévention or the pathway offered.
- Completion: share of pathways carried through to the action plan.
- Coordination: share of plans sent to the regular doctor, share of employees without a regular doctor who were guided toward registering with one.
- Referrals: number of referrals to an organized screening program, a vaccination, a professional (psychologist, dietitian, addiction specialist), in aggregated volume.
- Perception: participant satisfaction and the feeling of being supported by the employer, measured through an anonymous survey.
- Context: absenteeism, turnover and QVCT indicators, tracked in parallel but interpreted with caution.
What common mistakes should you avoid?
Disappointing programs often share the same pitfalls: confusing prevention with the occupational health visit, promising a numerical return on investment, reserving the check-up for managers, forgetting the regular doctor or leaving doubts about confidentiality.
- Confusing the prevention check-up with the occupational health visit. The latter is mandatory and checks fitness for the job; the former is voluntary and covers overall health. Remedy: say so explicitly in internal communications.
- Promising a numerical reduction in absenteeism. Remedy: indicators of what the program produces, with absenteeism as context.
- Reserving the check-up for executives. This widens the gap and undermines buy-in. Remedy: a foundation for everyone, with targeted and justified extras.
- Leaving doubts about confidentiality. A single ambiguity (“will HR see my answers?”) is enough to make participation drop. Remedy: a written document, presented to the CSE, describing who sees what.
- Forgetting the regular doctor. The employee leaves with a PDF and nothing changes. Remedy: a systematic referral letter, unless the employee objects.
- Not freeing up time. A 30- to 45-minute check-up squeezed into the lunch break does not happen. Remedy: authorized absence or on-site slots.
- Running a one-off operation. Remedy: a multi-year program, aligned with the Mon bilan prévention age groups and the mid-career visit.
- Choosing based on the length of the biomarker list. A broad panel with no doctor to interpret it and no action plan prevents nothing. Remedy: first assess medical involvement, the personalized plan and transmission to the regular doctor.
Key takeaways
- The legal obligation (Articles L4121-1 to L4121-5 of the French Labor Code, DUERP from the first employee, occupational health and prevention service) is the foundation; primary prevention for employees is a choice that goes beyond it.
- Mon bilan prévention, fully covered (100%) by French National Health Insurance at the four key ages, is the simplest format to promote in the workplace; private check-ups cost from €490 to several thousand euros per person.
- The action plan must end up with the regular doctor, with the employee’s consent: that is what distinguishes prevention from communication.
- The employer never sees any individual data; it receives aggregated, anonymized indicators, stored with an HDS-certified health data host.
- No reduction in absenteeism can be promised or attributed without a dedicated study: measure coverage, completion, referrals and satisfaction.
How to organize this pathway with Sokrate
Sokrate offers companies and institutions two rollout models. Full Digital: a fully remote pathway (adaptive health questionnaire, at-home sample collection kit, assessment of physical and psychological risk factors, Personalized Prevention Plan signed by a doctor, follow-up by a coordinating nurse, letter to the regular doctor unless the employee objects). Hybrid Care: the same foundation, supplemented by check-ups at partner centers, on-site prevention days and in-person consultations. In both cases, the company only receives aggregated, anonymized indicators; data is stored with an HDS-certified health data host in France, as described on our security and data page. Learn more on our page for companies and institutions; to discuss your situation, contact us.