The apprentice health check: deadlines and obligations

It is the formality everyone forgets — and one of the few whose absence can cost the employer dearly. Here is what to know about the health check at the start of a contract, as we summarise it for apprentices on SuperAlternant.

A mandatory visit, paid for by the employer

Every apprentice must receive an information and prevention visit from the occupational health service. It is mandatory, arranged and paid in full by the employer, during working hours: the time spent is paid and travel costs are covered.

The standard deadline is two months after the start of the contract.

When the visit must happen before you start work

That deadline disappears where the role or the profile justifies it. The visit must then precede taking up the post:

• for night workers;
• for under-18s, which covers a great many apprentices;
• for roles with specific risks, which fall under reinforced individual monitoring and an examination by the occupational physician.

What comes out of it

Afterwards you receive a certificate of monitoring, with a copy going to the employer. The health professional may propose adjustments to the post, the hours or the rhythm, particularly if you have a disability.

Where there is doubt about your fitness, you are referred to the occupational physician, the only person able to declare someone unfit — which does not terminate the contract but triggers an obligation to look for redeployment.

If the visit is never arranged

Chase your employer in writing first, then your training centre, which has every interest in the contract being compliant. A missing visit is the employer's failing, never the apprentice's: it cannot be held against you.