L'inaptitude au travail

Inability to work

• Auteur / Autrice : Michel Caudevelle
• Direction : Francis Kessler
• Type : Thèse de doctorat
• Discipline(s) : Droit privé
• Date : Soutenance le 27/11/2020
• Etablissement(s) : Paris 1
• Ecole(s) doctorale(s) : École doctorale de droit de la Sorbonne (Paris ; 2015-....)
• Partenaire(s) de recherche : Equipe de recherche : Institut de recherche juridique de la Sorbonne (Paris ; 2001-....)
• Jury : Président / Présidente : Christine Neau-Leduc
• Jury : Examinateurs / Examinatrices : Francis Kessler, Jean-Philippe Arnold
• Jury : Rapporteurs / Rapporteuses : Thierry Tauran, Franck Petit

Mots clés

Mots clés contrôlés

Droit du travail

France

Inaptitude au travail -- Droit

Mots clés libres

Inaptitude

Travail

Salariés

Prévention

Inability

Work

Employees

Prevention

Résumé

Les événements de la vie personnelle ou professionnelle d'un salarié peuvent conduire à une situation d'inaptitude au travail. Au-delà de ce risque initial, l'intensification des contraintes dans certains secteurs d'activités et la pression exercée à cause d'une mauvaise utilisation des nouvelles technologies contribuent parfois à accentuer les difficultés rencontrées par les salariés et à les rendre inaptes au travail. L'allongement progressif de la durée d'activité les maintient dans cet environnement et les expose davantage au risque d'usure. Historiquement, les procédures pour constater l'inaptitude ont été mises en place dans le but d'assurer une protection des salariés déjà affaiblis par une réduction de leurs capacités ou la survenance d'un aléa au niveau de leur santé. La formalisation des règles permettant d'aboutir au constat d'inaptitude a progressivement été complétée par la jurisprudence qui a imposé des règles plus favorables en matière de reclassement. Le dispositif était cependant devenu progressivement inadapté. Le rôle des différents intervenants a été critiqué à cause de son ambiguïté et de son inadaptation par rapport aux problèmes rencontrés. Les mécanismes à leur disposition pour traiter les situations d'inaptitude étaient, pour certains, devenus anachroniques. Les réformes entreprises à la suite de plusieurs rapports publics ont permis d'améliorer progressivement certains points du dispositif. Faute de traitement global, le sujet demeure toutefois perfectible. En l'état, le dispositif est générateur de risques pour les salariés et les entreprises. La thèse propose un état des lieux du dispositif de l'inaptitude au travail en France et fait le bilan des récentes mesures législatives adoptées. Elle évoque également différentes pistes pouvant encore être exploitées pour améliorer le dispositif et lui donner davantage de cohérence. Elles ne portent pas seulement sur la procédure en elle-même, mais aussi sur la prévention, levier indispensable pour limiter les risques, ainsi que sur l'accompagnement des situations d'inaptitude.

Events in an employee's personal or professional life may lead to a situation of unfit for work. Beyond this initial risk, the increasing constraints in some lines of business and the pressure due to the misuse of new technologies can add difficulties in the daily work. In fact, working hours are gradually extending and keep employees in this environment, exposing them to a higher risk of wear and tear. Historically, procedures to determine inability have been set up in order to protect employees who are already weakened by a reduce of their skills or the occurrence of health problems. The formalisation of rules for determining incapacity has gradually been supplemented by jurisprudence, which has imposed more favourable rules on redeployment. However, the system had gradually become unsuitable. The role of the various parties involved was criticised because of its ambiguity and its inadequacy in relation to the problems encountered. The mechanisms at their disposal to deal with situations of incapacity had, for some, become anachronistic. Reforms undertaken following several public reports have led to gradual improvements in some areas of the framework. However, in default of an overall approach, there is still room for improvement. The system generates risks for employees and companies as it stands. The thesis provides a situational analysis of the current state of the inability to work in France and mentions the recent legislative measures adopted. It also discusses various avenues that can still be exploited to improve the system and make it more coherent. They relate not only to the procedure itself, but also to prevention - an essential lever for limiting risks - as well as to support situations of inability to work. Events in an employee's personal or professional life may lead to a situation of unfit for work. Beyond this initial risk, the increasing constraints in some lines of business and the pressure due to the misuse of new technologies can add difficulties in the daily work. In fact, working hours are gradually extending and keep employees in this environment, exposing them to a higher risk of wear and tear. Historically, procedures to determine inability have been set up in order to protect employees who are already weakened by a reduce of their skills or the occurrence of health problems. The formalisation of rules for determining incapacity has gradually been supplemented by jurisprudence, which has imposed more favourable rules on redeployment. However, the system had gradually become unsuitable. The role of the various parties involved was criticised because of its ambiguity and its inadequacy in relation to the problems encountered. The mechanisms at their disposal to deal with situations of incapacity had, for some, become anachronistic. Reforms undertaken following several public reports have led to gradual improvements in some areas of the framework. However, in default of an overall approach, there is still room for improvement. The system generates risks for employees and companies as it stands. The thesis provides a situational analysis of the current state of the inability to work in France and mentions the recent legislative measures adopted. It also discusses various avenues that can still be exploited to improve the system and make it more coherent. They relate not only to the procedure itself, but also to prevention - an essential lever for limiting risks - as well as to support situations of inability to work.