What the decree actually changes
Published in the Journal officiel on June 1, 2025 and applicable since July 1, 2025, decree no. 2025-482 of May 27, 2025 on protecting workers from heat-related risks creates a dedicated chapter in the French labor code (articles R. 4463-1 to R. 4463-8) and hardens several existing obligations. This is no longer a seasonal recommendation: it is a binding framework, enforceable by the labor inspectorate.
The most structural point is the trigger threshold: obligations do not start with a heatwave. They start at Météo-France's yellow alert level. In the southern half of France, that means several weeks per year — not a few summer days.
Two long-standing articles amended
R. 4223-13 (indoor workplaces): indoor temperature must now be "adapted" all year round, taking into account workers' activity and the characteristics of the premises — including thermal radiation from industrial processes. The obligation is no longer limited to winter heating.
R. 4225-1 (outdoor workstations): the wording "insofar as possible" disappears. The employer must protect workers against the effects of atmospheric conditions — a firm obligation, no longer a best-efforts standard.
The 7-level prevention hierarchy (R. 4463-3)
The new chapter imposes an ordered approach. The employer must implement, in this order:
1. Modifying work processes to eliminate or reduce heat exposure.
2. Modifying the layout and arrangement of workplaces.
3. Adapting work organization, notably schedules.
4. Technical means reducing solar radiation or heat accumulation.
5. Providing sufficient fresh drinking water.
6. Choosing equipment that maintains a stable core body temperature.
7. Supplying adapted personal protective equipment.
For the first time, the French labor code explicitly names, at level 6, the category of core-body-temperature maintenance equipment — distinct from the PPE of level 7.
The chapter's other obligations
The decree also requires: a formalized heat-risk assessment for every workstation, indoor and outdoor, integrated into the single risk-assessment document (R. 4463-2); measures adapted to vulnerable workers (R. 4463-5); written protocols for reporting physiological warning signs and organizing first response (R. 4463-6); and tiered action plans matching the yellow, orange or red alert level (R. 4463-7).
Where Tempesta fits — and where it does not
Let us be precise, because the text demands it: no equipment makes you compliant. Compliance results from the complete approach — assessment, organization, technical means, water, equipment — not from a purchase.
Tempesta answers level 6 of the hierarchy to the letter: an active, body-worn thermal management system that heats and cools to maintain a stable core body temperature. It intervenes exactly where the text intends: when the higher levels — process, building, organization — are implemented but not sufficient. A furnace cannot be cooled down. A summer worksite cannot be air-conditioned. That is what level 6 exists for.
Tempesta complements your PPE: worn under or with your current protective equipment, it lets your PPE fully play its role and fits into your documented prevention approach as core-body-temperature maintenance equipment (level 6 of the hierarchy).
Where to start
If your single risk-assessment document does not yet cover heat risk workstation by workstation, that is the first project. Our team can then study with you the workstations where organizational and technical measures reach their limits — and where core-body-temperature maintenance equipment belongs in your action plan. Request a study of your context — assessment within 24–48h.
Official text: decree no. 2025-482 of May 27, 2025, Légifrance (French). This article is an informational summary and does not constitute legal advice.
