The French National Assembly has approved an amendment to the draft law on social dialogue, which would ensure psychological illnesses could be recognised as an occupational disease. This would mean that employee burnout could be recognised as an occupational disease in the same way as other work-related illnesses.
Despite this amendment, psychological illnesses are not to be included in the list of occupational diseases used by doctors to recognise work-related diseases. Instead, psychological illnesses will be addressed through a complementary system of recognition of occupational diseases. In this way, such illnesses would be subject to special treatment by the primary sickness insurance fund and the regional committees for recognition of occupational diseases. The exact way these illnesses will be dealt with will be specified in a decree.
The draft law on social dialogue is currently making its way through the legislative process.