Workplace medical visits 2026: information visits, monitoring and employer obligations

Quick answer. Every employee must receive an information and prevention visit (IPV) within 3 months (2 months for apprentices) of starting work, renewed at most every 5 years. Employees in hazardous positions receive enhanced monitoring (medical exam every 4 years plus intermediate visit at 2 years). A return-to-work visit is mandatory after absence for non-occupational illness or accident lasting 60 days or more. These visits are conducted by Occupational Health and Safety Services (Services de Prévention et de Santé au Travail, or SPST).

Since Law No. 2021-1018 of August 2, 2021 (occupational medicine reform), which came into force on March 31, 2022, the landscape of workplace medical visits has stabilised. Occupational Health and Safety Services (SPST) have replaced the old occupational medicine services, and the timelines and conditions for visits are now clear and consistent.

For every employer, understanding these obligations is essential: a missed visit or poorly scheduled appointment can trigger URSSAF adjustment for undeclared work or litigation with employees. It is also a real prevention mechanism: a well-conducted visit detects health problems before they become long-term absences.

The IPV is the first mandatory medical visit that every employee receives upon joining the company (Article R4624-10 of the French Labor Code). It is not a medical examination in the classical sense: it is an information and assessment visit conducted by a health professional (occupational nurse, occupational physician, or other approved professional).

Objectives of the IPV#

1. Assess the general health of the employee at the start.
2. Inform about the risks of the job position and applicable prevention measures.
3. Raise awareness of rights and obligations in health and safety.
4. Identify the need for in-depth medical examination (by the occupational physician).
5. Explain the modalities of future medical monitoring and the right to access an occupational physician visit at any time.

Mandatory timelines for IPV#

Important: the timeline runs from the date of actual start of work, not from contract signature. If an employee starts on June 1st, the IPV must take place by September 1st at the latest.

Once the IPV has been completed, the employee must receive a renewal of the initial visit with a frequency not exceeding 5 years (Article R4624-16). This timeline may be reduced depending on working conditions, age and health status of the employee.

Cases of reduced frequency#

Certain employees benefit from closer monitoring:

• Young workers (minors): visit every 2 years
• Night workers: visit every 2 years
• Disabled workers or those with invalidity pensions: visit every 3 years
• Pregnant women, nursing mothers, recently postpartum women: right to occupational physician visit immediately (on request)

Our reading: these categories are not optional. An SME that omits the two-yearly visit of a minor apprentice accumulates URSSAF risk. Monitoring must be scheduled on the anniversary date, not approximately.

For employees assigned to positions presenting particular hazards (Article R4624-22 et seq.), the Labor Code provides for enhanced monitoring combining fitness examination and intermediate visits.

Framework of EIM#

EIM applies to positions subject to special constraints:

• Work exposing to dangerous chemical agents (carcinogenic, mutagenic, toxic).
• Work exposing to ionising radiation.
• Work in high-production areas or hazard zones (special PPE).
• Positions declared as requiring monitoring by sectoral agreement or company agreement.
• Positions in HCR sectors (hospitality, hotels, bars) by sectoral agreement or local management decision.

Stages of EIM#

1. Medical fitness examination by occupational physician before assignment to hazard position (or before start of work if already assigned).
2. Renewal by the occupational physician with maximum periodicity of 4 years (Article R4624-28).
3. Intermediate visit by a health professional (nurse) at most 2 years after the previous medical visit.

Caution: the initial fitness examination of EIM does not replace the IPV. These two visits are complementary: the IPV informs, the EIM checks medical fitness for the position.

Pre-return visit (information visit before return to work)#

When an employee has been absent for more than 30 days (consecutive or not) due to non-occupational illness, accident, or parental leave, they may benefit from a pre-return visit (Article R4624-29).

Purpose: prepare return to work by identifying any adaptations or restrictions.

Conducted by: a health professional (occupational nurse, occupational physician).

Timeline for organisation: from the notification to the employer of the expected return date.

Mandatory return-to-work visit#

A mandatory return-to-work visit is required after (Article R4624-31, amended by Decree No. 2022-372):

Critical point: the threshold of 60 days applies since Decree No. 2022-372 (came into force March 31, 2022), which replaced the former 30-day threshold. All employers must check this change in their internal procedures.

Maximum timeline: the visit must take place as soon as possible, typically within 8 days of actual return to work.

Conducted by: the occupational physician (unlike the pre-return visit which can be conducted by a nurse).

Content: medical examination of fitness to resume the position, assessment of any restrictions, recommendations for workplace adaptation.

Remote work and medical visits#

An employee working remotely remains subject to the same IPV and monitoring obligations as others. The visit may be conducted remotely (by video if possible) or at the company premises during regular attendance days.

Case example: an SME that shifted several employees to full-time remote work had omitted to schedule pre-return visits after parental leave. The SPST had alerted, but without immediate sanction. Best practice: ask the SPST to include remote employees in the visit calendar.

HCR sector (hospitality, hotels, bars): sectoral agreement#

The HCR sector benefits from specific sectoral agreements that may adjust IPV timelines and EIM procedures. We recommend checking your applicable agreement — a recent agreement may have changed practices.

Maternity leave and other protected leave#

An employee returning from maternity leave must receive a mandatory return-to-work visit (Article R4624-31-a), regardless of duration. The timeline does not depend on 60 days: it is a systematic visit.

Minor apprentices#

A minor apprentice combines two obligations:

1. IPV within 2 months.
2. Medical fitness examination before first assignment to work (if hazard positions).

Coordinate these two visits carefully to avoid duplication.

Recently, an SME in the food sector contacted us to validate its visit schedule. Three employees were returning from maternity leave or occupational accident leave, and two apprentices had been hired in April. The risk we identified: the apprentices had not received their IPV (deadline end of June, we were in May). After alerting the HR manager, appointments were scheduled with the SPST. In parallel, we established a master visit calendar for the year, alerting to forthcoming return-to-work visits and expiry dates for EIM for employees in hazard positions.

This example shows that tracking medical visits is not merely a legal obligation: it is a lever for active prevention. A visit scheduled in time, with prior medical records transmitted to the SPST, produces much better alerts than a visit conducted "cold" after the deadline.

Hayot Expertise advice. Create a single occupational medical visit register in your HR management system (spreadsheet or payroll software). For each employee, record: date of initial IPV, date of next renewal, special categories (night worker, disabled, minor), positions requiring EIM, dates of absence and return-to-work visit needs. Request visits from the SPST at least 6 weeks in advance. This simple organisation reduces oversights and demonstrates your good faith in case of URSSAF audit.