On 5 June 2026, France’s Minister of Labour and Solidarity Jean-Pierre Farandou presented the Workplace Health Plan (PST) 2026-2030 to social partners at the National Council for Working Conditions (CNOCT). The result of a co-construction process led by the State in association with social and institutional partners, this document constitutes the new strategic and operational roadmap for improving workers’ health and preventing occupational risks.
The PST 2026-2030 is the fifth plan in twenty years. It does more than set objectives. It merges with the plan for preventing serious and fatal workplace accidents, previously separate. The aim is greater consistency in actions targeting the most exposed groups.
One plan, 5 priorities, 50 actions
The fifth workplace health plan 2026-2030 sets an ambitious roadmap built around five major priorities: serious and fatal workplace accidents, women’s health, climate change, absenteeism and mental health. These priorities translate into 50 actions targeting in particular young workers, temporary workers and exposed groups.
Priority #1 — Preventing serious and fatal accidents
The PST 5 specifically targets fatal health episodes, which account for a significant proportion of workplace deaths. It includes tools to better anticipate them: improved work organisation, break management, combating sedentary behaviour and training workplace first aiders. Preventing falls from height remains a priority. Preventing addictive behaviour also falls within scope, with an updated reference framework for companies.
The new plan highlights several priority orientations: preventing serious and fatal workplace accidents, particularly among young workers and temporary workers, through training and improved workplace induction.
Priority #2 — Better protecting women
The plan aims to strengthen prevention actions for the most exposed groups, notably: developing risk assessments that account for differences between women and men, better adapting personal protective equipment, and strengthening the prevention of gender-based and sexual violence at work.
A key figure: workplace accidents among women have increased by 26% in 20 years. The plan aims to reverse this trend with structural measures, not just declarations of intent.
Priority #3 — Addressing climate risk
Taking into account emerging workplace health challenges, in particular by equipping employers and occupational health and prevention services to deal with risks associated with climate change and addictive behaviour.
The rise of artificial intelligence, the effects of climate change and demographic change are identified as factors requiring adaptation of prevention policies.
Extreme heat is no longer a seasonal risk. It is a structural risk that every employer will need to integrate into their risk assessment documentation.
Priority #4 — Reducing absenteeism
The PST 2026-2030 includes 50 main actions, targeting in particular the prevention of psychosocial risks, the reduction of absenteeism and maintaining employment in the face of professional wear and tear.
Rather than managing absences after the fact, the plan aims to tackle root causes: poor working conditions, stress, physical wear. An important paradigm shift.
Priority #5 — Mental health: National Priority
The promotion of mental health — France’s Grande Cause nationale 2025-2026 — and the prevention of psychosocial risks, by offering a clear and coordinated range of support to companies, strengthening mental health first aid training in professional settings and rolling out the commitment charter launched in 2025.
Burnout, stress, anxiety. These are no longer “personal problems”. They are occupational risks that every company must identify, assess and manage — just like physical risks.
How the plan is implemented
The PST is rolled out locally by the DREETS through regional workplace health plans (PRST), closely aligned with the socio-economic realities of each territory. To ensure the PST adapts to changes in the world of work, a review clause involving social partners and prevention stakeholders will be built in.
It does not create new obligations in itself. However, it steers future tools, support and inspections towards its priorities. Some actions may later translate into regulatory changes.
What this means concretely for companies
The PST 2026-2030 is not a normative document. It is a compass. But companies that anticipate its priorities have a clear competitive advantage: fewer accidents, less absenteeism, fewer future regulatory risks.
Five concrete actions every company can start today:
— Update the risk assessment document integrating heat risk and psychosocial risks
— Train managers in mental health first aid
— Adapt personal protective equipment for female workers
— Strengthen induction and training for young and temporary workers
— Measure and monitor absenteeism to identify its root causes
Conclusion
The PST 2026-2030 builds on the fourth Workplace Health Plan and the law of 2 August 2021. Prevention remains a priority, with strengthened support for quality of working life and monitoring of career paths.
But the underlying message is clear and leaves no room for ambiguity: prevention is not an option.
Sources: Ministère du Travail et des Solidarités, Plan Santé au Travail 2026-2030 (June 2026) — DREETS Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, PST 2026-2030 priorities — Presanse, PST 2026-2030: official publication — PIC Magazine, PST 2026-2030 priorities — Code du travail numérique, Workplace Health Plans — SSTRN, Launch of the PST 2026-2030.