[Multiple sclerosis, work and job retention]. / Sclérose en plaques, travail et maintien en emploi.

Becoming unfit for work or losing one's job because of multiple sclerosis is not inevitable. Many tools are available and occupational health professionals are now specifically mandated to support workers, whether or not they are employees, in maintaining their jobs, thanks in particular to the prevention of professional displacement unit, the recommendations of the French National Authority for Health and better coordination.

[New liaison meeting with the employer during sick leave stopage]. / Maintien en emploi : nouveau rendez-vous de liaison avec l'employeur pendant un arrêt de travail.

THE NEW LIAISON MEETING WITH THE EMPLOYER DURING SICK LEAVE. Prolonged work stoppages can be accompanied by a risk of job loss. In the overall job retention strategy, the importance of a concerted return-to-work plan between the worker, the occupational physician, the employer and the attending physician was highlighted in the recommendations of the high health authority on job retention. In the arsenal of tools that can be used to prevent professional withdrawal, the legislator has added the possibility of a « liaison meeting ¼, a non-medical appointment, between the employer and the employee in order, on the one hand, to inform early the latter tools for job retention, and on the other hand, to keep a link with his company.

NOUVEAU RENDEZ-VOUS DE LIAISON AVEC L'EMPLOYEUR PENDANT UN ARRÊT DE TRAVAIL. Les arrêts de travail prolongés peuvent s'accompagner d'un risque de perte d'emploi. Dans la stratégie globale de maintien en emploi, l'importance d'un plan de retour au travail concerté entre le travailleur, le médecin du travail, l'employeur et le médecin traitant a été soulignée dans les recommandations de la Haute Autorité de santé sur le maintien en emploi. Dans l'arsenal des outils mobilisables pour prévenir la désinsertion professionnelle, le législateur a ajouté la possibilité d'un rendez-vous de liaison, rendez-vous non médical, entouré de garanties pour éviter tout abus, entre l'employeur et le salarié, afin, d'une part, d'informer précocement ce dernier des outils de maintien en emploi et, d'autre part, de garder un lien avec son entreprise.

[Job retention and health issues: an example of personalized assistance in northern France]. / Maintien au travail et maladie : un exemple d'accompagnement individualisé en région Nord.

"Santé Emploi Info Service" (Health and Employment Information Service) is a regional information service aimed at providing support and assistance to people who are struggling to perform their job effectively or to return to work as a result of a health problem. Through personalized assistance and follow-up, the service aims to help individuals to avoid professional exclusion, to provide accessible information, and to encourage networking between healthcare professionals and services specializing in job retention and vocational rehabilitation. In total, 1,392 calls have been received since the service opened in 2006, with most calls dealing with employment, income and legal matters and a range of psychological counseling issues. More than half of the proposed solutions have proved successful. The regional service (a unique initiative in France) is supported by Lille Regional Hospital and helps individuals suffering from health problems to overcome obstacles to job retention and vocational rehabilitation. The service also provides specifically-tailored information about legal procedures relating to professional integration and vocational rehabilitation.

Illicit drugs, testing, prevention and work in France: ethical and legal issues.

The use of illicit drugs in the workplace raises issues pertaining to prevention and safety and the responsibility of the various members of staff. It also brings into question the interface between work and private life. If employees are in theory responsible for their own safety and risk heavy penalties in the event of the consumption of illicit drugs in the workplace, such behaviour has to be proved. In reality, the worker can only be partially and marginally held liable, given the fact that the employer is prohibited from infringing on their rights and liberties (restrictions on the searching of their personal belongings and lockers as well as on the carrying out of breath testing and saliva testing under restrictive conditions). Employers have for their part a broader range of responsibilities and, above all, an absolute obligation to achieve specific goals in terms of health and safety resulting in the need to take action. In accordance with the International Labour Organization recommendations, European and national legislation, the employer has to implement a suitable preventive policy. However, where is the balance between prevention and repression? Very few studies have raised these issues and our aim is to precisely situate the place of drug testing in the employer's repressive arsenal in France and to try to answer the legal and ethical issues raised. Thus, for example, repression can only be acceptable when it deals with moderate and non-addicted users, or it could be tantamount to discrimination.

[Return to work for cancer patients]. / Maintien en emploi des patients atteints de cancer.

Return to work is a public health priority which led the French Health Authority to publish recommendations about "return to work and health: prevention of exclusion from work". The aim of this article is to present a literature review of return to work after cancer. Studies about medium-term and long-term effects of cancer are sparse. They suggest worker durable effects. Factors associated with return to work are linked to the patient characteristics, to characteristics of the illness and the treatment, to the workplace and to the help provided to the patient during the return to work process. A specific plan for returning to work in 3 phases (situation comprehension, identification of negative and positive factors for returning to work, implementation of measures concerning the patient, the workplace and the coordination between return to work actors) should be built for each patient, involving the worker, the occupational practitioner, the general and specialist practitioners.

[Acute cardiovascular disease and job retention]. / Risque cardiovasculaire et maintien en emploi.

Since it allows a better quality of life, return to work must be considered ever since the early stages of the health care pathway following a cardiovascular disease. Seeing the occupational physician beforehand, so as to anticipate the return to work, is crucial. Dialogue between cardiologists, general practitioners and occupational physician, still observing medical confidentiality, must allow a better quality of return to work. Being recognized as a handicapped worker is a key element in the prevention of socio-professional exclusion. Even when dealing with long sick leave, permanent functional injuries or job loss, guiding the patients towards the appropriate person can improve return to work and job retention in the long term.

Impact of multiple sclerosis on employment and use of job-retention strategies: The situation in France in 2015.

OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this survey of persons with multiple sclerosis was to describe their employment situation. Secondary objectives were to ascertain when and how multiple sclerosis symptoms first impact employment per se and what strategies persons with multiple sclerosis use to cope with their employment problems. METHODS: A retrospective survey was conducted to collect data from persons with multiple sclerosis aged 18 years and over, using a computer-assisted web tool. RESULTS: A total of 941 respondents were working at the time of multiple sclerosis diagnosis or had worked subsequently. Median time since diagnosis was 10 years. Multiple sclerosis had an impact on employment for 74.3% of respondents. The overall employment rate at the time of the survey was 68.1%; 27.2% had discontinued their occupational activity for a multiple sclerosis-related reason. Median time from diagnosis to multiple sclerosis-related cessation of occupational activity was 24.0 years (95% confidence interval (CI) 21.7-26.3 years). Respondents were poorly aware of available tools designed to assist them in retaining employment. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the importance of early intervention by the occupational medicine physician in order to favour job retention and use of available tools by all workers with MS and not only those with a recognized status as a disabled worker.

[Claim, recognition and compensation of occupational dermatitis]. / Déclaration, reconnaissance et réparation des dermatoses professionnelles.

Occupational dermatitis are very frequent with important social and economic implications. Detection of an occupational factor must be systematic because it may require prevention and a compensation may be due to the patient. The general practitioner will be assisted either by the occupational physician or by specialised services to help the patient to take the necessary administrative steps.