A researcher coming to work in France usually practices his/her professional activity within the confines of a laboratory. Within the context of this mission, he/she may be considered a subordinate of the laboratory director and must obey  the French regulations regarding labour law.

When an employment contract was signed, the simple act of signing this document bestows compliance with the provisions of the Social Security Code relating to employment injuries.  Matters are more problematic when there is no employment contract, for instance when a researcher is subsidized by a European or French grant, or a grant from his/her home country, a grant paid by a public institution, a Ministry, an administration or a private foundation. In those cases, it is difficult  to identify the category of the French social law code the researcher belongs to.

Employment injuries are defined by the Social Security Code. Article L 311-2 states that  "any injury, whatever the cause, resulting from work or caused by work of a salaried person or any person working independent of his/her status and independent of the number of employers, is considered an occupational injury ".

A  - Salaried workers

Contrary to health insurance, the employment injuries and occupational disease cover (accident du travail et maladie professionnelle, ATMP) is entirely covered via the social contributions paid on the salary (charges salariales and charges patronales). All workers are protected, with no minimal wage requirement. The law has a broad definition for employment injuries. For instance, it includes car accidents from and to the work place. However, the law is more strict in its definition of occupational illnesses, which are individually listed in a decree.

B - Non-salaried workers

In matters of employment-related injuries, a distinction must be made between workers who are automatically entitled to the full rights of the Social Security Code, and those who have a right to request to be registered.

a)  The Social Security Code : who is automatically registered ?

Are non-salaried workers (grant-holders, the self-financed) covered for employment injuries ?

In principle, any person may benefit from the provision regarding risks related to professional activities or other work-related activities, including sometimes even social volunteer work that is unrelated to work. Article L 412-8 of the Social Security Code lists all the categories of persons who are covered by the employment injuries and occupational disease provision of the ATMP. The coverage in fact applies to numerous categories of persons who participate on a voluntary basis to the operation of institutions that have a social purpose, as well as to students who are covered for injuries that have occurred during laboratory classes.

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By extending benefits to other categories than just salaried employees, this provision has upset the traditional concept of work-related injuries since it does not refer to an agreement nor a remuneration. Jurisprudence has confirmed this extension of the law in many instances. Until now, the Cour de Cassation (Court of Appeal) has not yet ruled on the case of non-salaried researchers working in a host laboratory. Hence, we do not yet know whether this provision of the law applies. 

There is only one condition : in order to obtain compensation for a work-related injury, the person concerned must be registered with the Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie (R 431-2, CSS), but in this case residency requirements do not apply (Article 1 of Convention 19 of the OIT).

b)  « Voluntary insurance »

If the person concerned is not registered with a CPAM through his/her health insurance scheme (this registration is automatic for salaried workers), article L 743-1 of the Social Security Code prescribes a "voluntary insurance" for workers who do not have work injury cover. The voluntary insurance is managed by the CPAM, and contributions are made by the worker. Hence, researchers who are not registered with a CPAM under the general health insurance system should go to the local CPAM office of their place of residence and request a voluntary work injury and occupational disease form (Formulaire pour l’assurance volontaire ATMP). This voluntary insurance is a right, do not hesitate to encourage researchers to request it in spite of the reluctance of certain CPAM offices to hand out the forms.

How does the voluntary insurance work :

To benefit from this voluntary insurance, a researcher should go to the nearest CPAM office of his/her place of residence and request a form, fill it out and return it to the CPAM office 48 hours before starting his/her work in the laboratory. Note that one of the headings must include the Taux de cotisation accident du travail de l'employeur ("Employer's contribution to the work injury insurance"), the employer being the research group, the university etc. To make formalities easier for the researcher, the host institution can request the forms from the CPAM and collect information on the rates.

In practice, if the laboratory declares the researcher as a "bénévole" (voluntary worker), the researcher's contribution could be limited to 15 euros per month. A researcher working in  a laboratory who works without a work contract can be considered a volunteer. The stipend he/she receives (a grant for example) can legally be considered as appertaining to resources necessary for covering expenses of daily life without being considered a proper salary. This assessment remains the decision of the local CPAM office of the place of residence. Until now, there have been no rules on the matter.

c)  Bilateral agreements

As in the case of health cover, a case by case study is necessary to understand the contents of each bilateral agreement and examine the specific provisions in matters of work-related injuries. Consult
http://www.cleiss.fr/docs/textes/index.html

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