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Increased occupational risks for cleaning staff
28th of May 2026 Article by Christian Bouzols
The working conditions for cleaning staff in France remain difficult, as they are still exposed to significant health risks. Christian Bouzols reports for ECJ.
Despite efforts in prevention, training and improving working conditions through better-adapted tools and more bio-based products, the working conditions of cleaning staff remain difficult.
A recent report by the French National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) shows workers in the cleaning sector are exposed to a combination of significant health risks. Furthermore, the study indicates that the growth of subcontracting has led to work intensification, increasing the frequency of accidents.
Cleaning workers are exposed to a range of risks stemming from the very nature of their work, but also largely from how it is organised- particularly subcontracting - warns ANSES. The agency conducted a multidisciplinary study of this sector, which employs between 1.2 and 1.4 million people. The report focuses exclusively on staff working in professional environments.
The staff, 73 per cent of whom are female, are “exposed to a combination of occupational risks that weigh heavily on their health, linked to the very nature of the work they perform - physical exertion, exposure to chemical products and biological agents - but also to work organisation, including irregular hours, working alone and high work intensity,” summarises Henri Bastos, scientific director for health and work at ANSES.
Precarious employment
More often of foreign origin than employees in other French sectors, these workers are frequently in precarious employment and are rarely unionised. The sector stands out for the high frequency of workplace accidents, a rate of officially recognised occupational diseases twice the average and dismissals due to unfitness for work nearly twice as common as for permanent contracts overall, the study notes.
According to the French Health Insurance system, professionals in the cleaning sector are on average off work for 93 days due to workplace accidents, compared to 88 days for all employees. However, this gap is not very large.
“But the severity index in the cleaning sector is 23.5 and the severity rate is 3.1, compared to 12.3 and 1.5 respectively for all employees,” notes the national health and safety agency.
Among the most common illnesses are musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) as well as respiratory and skin conditions. In addition, workers often have staggered and fragmented schedules, resulting in extended working days involving numerous trips between job sites.
Around 35 per cent of them work for subcontracting companies - a share that has increased significantly in recent years. This trend has led to a reduction in the number of hours allocated to cleaning and to an intensification of work, which in turn increases the risk of MSDs and workplace accidents, the authors of the report point out.
In its conclusions, the report recommends further studying the impact of cleaning activities on certain chronic diseases and on pregnancy. It also calls for expanded prevention training through visual materials tailored to the target population and for changes in work organisation to promote daytime work - an issue that industry representatives have been advocating for many years with contracting authorities, so far with only limited success.
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