›› Workplace accidents and occupational diseases

What You Need to Know About: Workplace Accidents and Occupational Diseases

If you are a salaried worker or treated as such, regardless of the sector of activity you belong to, you are entitled to compensation for workplace accidents and occupational diseases you may suffer from.

A workplace accident is considered as:

• An accident that causes bodily harm, occurring during working hours and at the workplace.
• An accident occurring on the way (round trip) between your residence and your workplace or an equivalent location (e.g., where you usually take your meals).
• An accident occurring during a work mission.

The workplace accident must be reported:

• Within 24 hours, to your employer by yourself or one of your representatives.
• Within 48 hours, to the social security organization by your employer.

Note that in case of employer negligence, you have up to 4 years to report your accident to the social security organization.

The required documents include:

• A workplace accident report (Download the document).
• An initial medical certificate (Download the document).
• A police or gendarmerie report (for commuting accidents).

The law on workplace accidents and occupational diseases entitles you to:

• Benefits in kind: reimbursed at 100% of the regulated rates (care, medication, equipment, etc.).
• Daily allowances: to compensate for wage loss, paid at 100% of the reference salary. The allowance starts the day after the work stoppage. The day of the accident remains the employer’s responsibility.
• A monthly pension paid in arrears when the disability rate is equal to or greater than 10%.
• A lump sum compensation if the disability rate is below 10%.

The disability rate is revised according to any changes in the insured person’s condition.

In the event of a fatal workplace accident, the victim’s beneficiaries are entitled to:

• A death benefit
• Beneficiary pensions

Occupational Disease

You are suffering from a disease:

• Contracted in the workplace
• Listed in one of the occupational disease tables set by regulation.

To report your occupational disease, you have a period of:

• At least 15 days
• At most 3 months from the date of medical diagnosis of the disease.

The required documents include:

• An occupational disease report (Download the document).
• An initial medical certificate (Download the document).
• A statement from the current and/or past employers describing the actual positions held by the victim.

You are suffering from a disease:

The “occupational disease” file is reviewed and processed under the same rules that apply to workplace accidents.

The benefits you may be entitled to are the same as those provided for workplace accidents.