Posted By KMB My Partner and I am looking at moving to France, however I am concerned that all the hard work I have put into my health and safety career will have been in vain and no use in France - does anyone know what I would have to do to carry on my health and safety career in France? Would I need to be fluent in french? Is there much health and safety work in France?

Posted By Merv Newman K, I've worked in French H&S for the last 25 years. First things first : yes, you must speak French. Managers in very large companies or those with English or American influence will normally be able to speak English. Employees and supervisors will not. They don't mind if you have a horrible accent or make grammatical errors (like wot I do to this very day) But they will strongly appreciate it if you make the effort and can join in a conversation. And they will make an effort to help you. (I had a day this week in a place where they have a strong regional accent. I had some trouble understanding when two locals were talking together but understood every word they addressed to me) Now, H&S. A lot of the recent stuff is based, sure enough, on European legislation but there are BIG differences in interpretation between UK and France. Take the anti-smoking stuff. UK requires a smoking shelter to be "substantially unenclosed" France requires a "totally enclosed and ventilated" room. The Code du Travail regulates everything touching the working life : overtime, apprenticeships, medical services, H&S ..... The Inspecteur du Travail ensures that the employer complies with the code. H&S is just a part of his job. And he is out to get you. On any of it. There is no such thing as the HSE Depending on accident rates the employer pays a tax. Effectively the employer pays the total costs of an accident. including medical care and long term disability pension (if necessary) The tax is paid to a national/regional insurance quango who do have safety engineers who will give you advice on accident prevention. By French tradition H&S is heavily weighted towards union reps who must be consulted on "significant" changes to work arrangements or conditions and who are required to conduct an inquiry into any "fatal, serious or repeated injury" Now a strong positive : all industrial employees must submit to an employment and a two yearly medical. The doctors should also pass about one-third of their time in the plant. OK, enough of the problems. Now the good stuff. The UK H&S market is supersaturated with consultants. Give it a good stir and they all drop out of the trees. Here, there are not enough of them. Houses are way lower than in the UK. Ours, three beds, on top of a hill with a great view, 1000 square metres of land, in a small village but 5 miles from a biggish town is valued at about £100 000 (you need a car or two) Forget the NHS. My wife had some problems a couple of years back. Saw three specialist consultants within the week. Was operated on the next week. need some pills ? call your doctor. He'll answer the phone and see you tomorrow. The wine is cheaper, the food is good, the weather is warmer and the neighbors are friendly. My wife nearly got voted mayor at the last council elections. and she wasn't even a candidate. A bien tôt Merv