Mandatory workplace training in France: legal duties by sector

Which training duties apply to every employer?

Adapt employees and maintain their employability. Article L6321-1 requires the employer to ensure that employees adapt to their job and to make sure they remain able to hold a job, in light of changes in jobs, technologies and organisations. This duty applies from the first employee. The Court of Cassation holds that it is the employer's responsibility to take the initiative: an employee's failure to ask for training does not release the employer (Cass. soc., 18 June 2014, No. 13-14.916).

Provide safety training. Article L4141-2 requires the employer to organise practical, appropriate safety training for new hires, employees who change job or technique, temporary agency workers and, at the occupational physician's request, employees returning after a stoppage of at least 21 days. This training is repeated periodically. Fixed-term and agency workers assigned to posts with particular risks must receive reinforced safety training (Article L4154-2).

Hold the career review interview. Since Law No. 2025-989 of 24 October 2025, it takes place within the first year after hiring and then every four years (see Career review interview: obligations and risks).

Pay for training time. Training that is a condition for carrying out an activity or role, under an international convention or statutory and regulatory provisions, counts as actual working time and pay is maintained (Article L6321-2).

Which regulatory training applies to which activity?

Training	Who is concerned	Reference text	Frequency where set
Electrical authorisation (habilitation électrique)	Workers carrying out operations on or near electrical installations	Labour Code, Art. R4544-9 et seq.; standard NF C 18-510	Refresher advised every 3 years by INRS
Operating self-propelled mobile and lifting equipment (forklifts, aerial work platforms, cranes)	Operators; operating authorisation issued by the employer for some equipment	Art. R4323-55 (training) and R4323-56 (operating authorisation)	No statutory period; the CACES certificate, based on French health insurance recommendations, is valid 5 years (10 years for construction machinery)
Workplace first-aider (SST)	One staff member in every workshop where hazardous work is done, and on sites with at least 20 workers for more than 15 days with hazardous work	Art. R4224-15	Certificate valid 24 months, 7-hour refresher (INRS)
Asbestos risk prevention	Workers likely to work on materials containing asbestos, before the first intervention	Art. L4141-2; order of 23 February 2012 as amended	Periodic renewal set by the order
Food hygiene in commercial catering	At least one person on the staff of each table-service restaurant, cafeteria or fast-food outlet	Rural Code, Art. L233-4; Decree No. 2011-731; order of 5 October 2011	14-hour course
FIMO and FCO (road drivers)	Drivers of goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes or passenger vehicles with more than 8 seats	Transport Code, Art. L3314-1 et seq.; Decree No. 2007-1340	140-hour FIMO, then 35-hour FCO every 5 years

Electrical authorisation. Only authorised workers may carry out operations on or near electrical installations (Article R4544-9). According to INRS, the French national research and safety institute, the employer grants the authorisation after theoretical and practical training and a medical fitness opinion.

Operating equipment. Operating self-propelled mobile work equipment and lifting equipment is reserved for workers who have received adequate training (Article R4323-55). For some equipment (cranes, ride-on forklifts, mobile elevating work platforms), the employer must issue an operating authorisation. The CACES is not a regulatory obligation in itself: it is the most common way to show the knowledge and skills required for that authorisation.

Food hygiene: what is the scope? The duty under Article L233-4 of the Rural Code covers commercial catering establishments only, including secondary activities and mobile outlets; institutional catering falls outside it. Separately, Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 requires all food business operators to ensure that food handlers are supervised or trained in hygiene, and that those in charge of the HACCP procedure are trained in its principles, according to the instruction of the French food directorate (DGAL).

Road haulage. Initial minimum mandatory training (FIMO) lasts 140 hours; mandatory continuing training (FCO) lasts 35 hours and is renewed every five years, according to the French transport ministry.

Healthcare. PROPIAS (the national programme of actions to prevent healthcare-associated infections) is an action programme of the French health ministry, not a regulatory training course leading to a certificate.

What about artificial intelligence?

Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 on AI applies to providers and deployers, meaning any company that uses an AI system in a professional context. Since Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, known as the "Digital Omnibus on AI", entered into force on 27 July 2026, it requires them to take measures to support the development of their staff's AI literacy, taking into account each person's knowledge and the context of use, without requiring them to guarantee a specific level for each individual. Implementation is covered in AI Act Article 4: what your company needs to put in place.

What does the employer risk in case of breach?

Criminal penalty. Article L4741-1 provides a €10,000 fine for an employer who, through personal fault, breaches the health and safety rules of the Labour Code, including those on worker training. The fine applies as many times as there are employees concerned.

Inexcusable fault. After a workplace accident or occupational disease, a lack of training can amount to the employer's "inexcusable fault". This is a social security regime, not a criminal penalty: the victim receives an increased pension and compensation for additional losses (Articles L452-1 et seq. of the Social Security Code), which the health insurance fund then recovers from the employer. For a fixed-term or agency worker assigned to a risky post without reinforced training, inexcusable fault is presumed (Article L4154-3).

Employment tribunal claims. A breach of the duty to adapt employees can give rise to damages for the employee.

CPF top-up. In companies with at least 50 employees, missing interviews and no non-mandatory training over eight years trigger a €3,000 top-up to the employee's personal training account (CPF).