The rules on training and qualification depend on the nationality of the climatician.

Conditions to be respected throughout the activity

If he wishes lead or manage a company, the craftsman must comply with the conditions of good repute. These conditions ensure that he has not been convicted.

It is impossible to lead or manage a company when the professional is in one of the following cases:

• Prohibition to direct, administer or control, directly or indirectly, a commercial, craft, agricultural or legal company
• Conviction to one additional penalty the prohibition of the pursuit of a professional or social activity for a crime or offense.

Control by the CMA

The Chamber of Trades and Crafts (CMA) can check whether the conditions of good repute are respected.

To carry out this check, it can access the national file of the prohibitions to manage.

The choice of a legal form (or legal status) of the company is a decisive step.

It determines how the company operates, but it also has implications for the tax system and social protection.

There are two main legal forms:

• - (EI) : allows to carry out its activity alone and in its own name. The Head of company and the one and the same person. Micro-company (or self-company) is one with a simplified tax and social regime.
• Business : allows to carry out an activity in a legal entity distinct from the Head of company. It has the legal personality, i.e. it has its own legal existence (share capital, company name, registered office, etc.).

These two modes of exercise each have their own specific rules:

To make the right choice, it is therefore essential to take into account many factors:

• the exercise of the activity alone or together with partners (in business)
• the tax system for the taxation of profits
• the social protection scheme in accordance with the envisaged legal form.

To help you choose the legal form that best suits your situation, Urssaf offers the following simulator:

Finding the right legal status (form) and comparing the cost of social contributions

Declare activity

The trader must register the company. This procedure must be carried out online on the website of the companies' Formalities Office:

Window of company formalities

The trader must apply for registration within one month of the declared start date of the activity and no later than 15 days after the start date of the activity. The effect of this formality is to give the company legal status.

This declaration makes it possible to inform all the organizations concerned by the launch of the activity (INSEE, social organizations, Urssaf, public finance center…).

As soon as the application for registration is accepted, INSEE allocates:

• A number Siren : it is a unique identification number of the 9-digit company 
• A number Siret : it's thegeographical identifier of each institution from the company, it is therefore possible to have several. This number consists of the Siren and a NIC (Internal Ranking Number).

When registering the company, INSEE also assigns the professional its code EPA: titleContent.

When the professional's spouse decides to work in the company, he must provide a sworn certificate specifying his status in the company:

Declaration of non-conviction

When registering his activity, the trader must provide a declaration on honor of non-conviction.

By this declaration, he attests that he has not been the subject of any criminal, civil or administrative sanction prohibiting him from setting up and managing a company.

One template declaration of non-conviction and parentage is available:

Declaration of non-conviction and filiation for registration in the Trade and Companies Register (RCS) and the National Register of companies (RNE)

Contributions called by theUrssaf: titleContent depend on the structure of the business and the legal status of the manager.

To know all the rules concerning the social system of the manager, it is possible to consult the sheet relating to the Social protection of the business manager.

The trader who carries out his activity in his own name ({circumflex over (X)}) or as majority manager of a business (such as a EURL or a SARL), is affiliated to the Social security for self-employed persons (SSI), the compulsory scheme for self-employed persons.

The professional must pay social contributions to the Urssaf from the beginning of his activity.

However, in practice, no contributions or social contributions are required during the first 90 days which follow the launch of its activity.

Since the income is not yet known at the start of the activity, the contributions are first calculated on a flat-rate basis for the first 2 years (at the same rates as those applicable during the course of business). They are then adjusted and regularized according to the actual revenues of the fiscal year.

Contributions must be paid online in one of the following ways:

• Either every month : payment is made on the 5th or 20th of each month, by direct debit.
• Either every quarter : payment is made by direct debit, telepayment or credit card on 5 February, 5 May, 5 August and 5 November.

When he carries out his activity within the framework of a business and holds management functions that give him the status of employee assimilated (president or paid CEO of SAS for example), the professional reports to the general social security system.

His social security contributions are identical to those of an executive employee, and he enjoys equivalent social protection, with the exception of unemployment insurance (optional unemployment insurance is however possible).

The climatician has the obligation to subscribe to a ten-year liability insurance (ten-year guarantee) when he intervenes on a construction site major work . This is the case during theinstallation of inseparable elements of a building, such as water heaters, heat pumps, air conditioning systems, etc. on a construction or renovation site.

This insurance guarantees the repair of damage occurring within 10 years following receipt of work.

It covers damage caused to the installations and defects that were not detectable when the work was received (malfunction of an installation or water damage for example).

Damage covered

It covers damage and defects that cannot be detected when receiving work. It must be damage to the strength of the work, or rendering its cannot be used

For example, ten-year plumbing insurance can cover the following damages:

• Water infiltration caused by plumbing problems that damage walls, ceilings, floors
• Poorly settled plumbing pipes or installations that cause severe leaks and structural damage

Sanctions

Failure to subscribe to a ten-year guarantee may expose the trader to heavy risks sanctions : it may be a criminal sanction, since the craftsman incurs until €75,000 a fine and six months in prison. It also incurs a civil penalty, such as the obligation to make good the damage at its own expense, or to pay damages.

For more details on the ten-year warranty, you can consult our following page: Ten-year manufacturer's warranty.

The air conditioner who has taken out a ten-year guarantee must also take out insurance to cover his professional liability (RCP) as part of its interventions.

He must take out this insurance before the opening of 1^er worksite.

This insurance covers the following damages:

• Bodily (e.g. injuries caused by falling radiator)
• Hardware (e.g. damage to furniture)
• Immaterial (e.g. loss of turnover to the customer due to a delay in the execution of the work).

When employing construction workers, the employer has the obligation to request the ‘card’ for each of them  BTP: titleContent ” as soon as they are hired.

It is an individual and secure card that reliably identifies any employee who works on a site.

The order of the BTP card is made only by internet and requires the creation of an account:

Application or modification of a BTP card (business identification card)

At the time of the order, the employer pays a flat fee of €9.80.

Any breach by the employer of the obligation to have a BTP card is liable to a fine of €4,000 maximum per employee.

In case of recidivism within 2 years, the fine can go up to €8,000.

For more information, you can consult our factsheet on the BTP card.

The craftsman can sometimes work in an environment including electrical installations.

The possession of an electrical authorization is mandatory for employees carrying out operations in contact with electrical installations or in their vicinity.

The employer must verify that the employee has prior training that includes a theoretical part and a practical part. The employer then issues the electrical authorization to its employees. At the same time, it provides each employee with a prescription book including electrical safety standards and instructions.

It recognizes that the employee can carry out his duties safely with regard to electrical risk.

The work and interventions of the professional are subject to the obligation to establish a advance quotation.

This quote includes a list of mandatory information to be communicated to the customer.

When the trader does not give the customer a quote, he is exposed to a administrative fine up to €3,000 for a natural person (individual contractor) and €15,000 for a business.

For en learn more, it is possible to consult our following page: Mandatory Quote: Activities Involved.

The professional has the obligation to submit a note at customer for whom he performs a service.

It also has theobligation to submit an invoice in the case of a transaction with a other professional (e.g. when purchasing equipment).

For more details, you can consult our following page: All about billing.

The job of air conditioner, like other construction trades, involves risks on the site (working at height, in contact with chemicals, dust emissions) that can lead to serious or fatal accidents.

The contractor must therefore put in place special security measures (checking equipment, wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), cutting off power, etc.).

If he hires employees, the air conditioner must also guarantee their safety by implementing the following measures:

• Organize occupational risk prevention, information and training activities
• Assess the risks in the company and develop the Single Occupational Risk Assessment Document (DUERP)
• Provide them with appropriate equipment (PPE, compliant equipment)
• Establish a secure work organization.

Failure to comply with these obligations may result in administrative, civil or criminal penalties. For more information, you can visit our page: Occupational health and safety: obligations of the employer.

To go further, it is possible to consult the INRS fact sheets on the prevention in the construction sector and Ameli's tools for professionals in the construction sector.