BIAF: French historical training documentation, context and current employer obligations

In brief: The BIAF (Bordereau Individuel d'Accès à la Formation) was a document that French employers had to provide to fixed-term contract employees to inform them of their training rights. Abolished in 2019, it was replaced by new information obligations linked to transitional training accounts. For HR teams and payroll managers dealing with archives or inspections, understanding the BIAF's history prevents confusion about current obligations.

BIAF: definition

The Bordereau Individuel d'Accès à la Formation (BIAF, Individual Training Access Form) was a legal document that French employers were required to provide to employees on fixed-term contracts. Its purpose was to inform these employees of their rights in continuing professional training, including their right to access certified training programmes, skills assessments or prior learning recognition (RPL).

Introduced in the early 1990s as part of efforts to strengthen training rights for precarious workers, the BIAF addressed a simple observation: fixed-term contract workers, often less well-informed than permanent employees, were not using the training entitlements available to them. The document was meant to close this information gap.

For HR departments and training managers in companies using fixed-term contracts, issuing the BIAF was a systematic legal obligation, with potential penalties in the event of an inspection.

Historical context: 1991-2015

The BIAF was introduced by the law of 31 December 1991, as part of a vocational training reform. Its history falls into three phases:

• 1991-2004: gradual rollout. The BIAF accompanied the Individual Training Leave for fixed-term workers (CIF-CDD), a scheme allowing them to fund training after their contract. Employers paid a contribution to their funding body to build up this entitlement.
• 2004-2014: maintained in a changing landscape. The 2004 reform strengthened training rights. The Individual Training Right (DIF) coexisted with the fixed-term training leave scheme. The BIAF remained mandatory but its content had to reference these new entitlements.
• 2015: first scope reduction. The law of 5 March 2014 created the Personal Training Account and began the gradual phasing-out of the DIF. The BIAF lost some relevance but remained formally mandatory.

For payroll managers and HR administrators of that period, the BIAF represented a recurring administrative obligation at the end of each fixed-term contract, generating a significant documentary workload.

Why the BIAF was abolished

The French "Avenir professionnel" law of 5 September 2018 fundamentally transformed the vocational training landscape. It abolished the fixed-term Individual Training Leave scheme on 31 December 2018 and replaced it with a transitional personal training account. This reform made the BIAF largely obsolete in its original form.

The government officially abolished the BIAF by a decree published in the Official Journal on 27 December 2019. Several reasons justified this suppression:

• Digitisation of training rights. With the national online platform, each worker could consult their training account rights directly, with no need for a paper document from the employer.
• Administrative simplification for employers. Abolishing the BIAF reduced the documentary burden of managing fixed-term contracts, in line with labour law simplification policies.
• Funding structure changes. The fixed-term training contribution was absorbed into the broader vocational training levy, removing the financial specificity that had justified the document.

What replaced the BIAF

Abolishing the BIAF did not mean abolishing all employer information obligations on training. Current obligations are different but equally structured:

• Information on the personal training account. Employers must inform employees, including those on fixed-term contracts, of the existence and terms of the Personal Training Account. This can be provided through the employment contract or any other document.
• Professional development interview. Every employee must benefit from a professional development interview every 2 years. For fixed-term contracts lasting more than 3 months, this interview is due. It covers professional development prospects, particularly in terms of qualifications and employment.
• Access to the skills development plan. Fixed-term employees have access to the company's skills development plan on the same terms as permanent employees, proportionally to their period of employment.

For HR departments and training organisations supporting companies in their training policy, digitalising training evidence and certificates is now the foundation of compliance.

Current employer obligations in training

Beyond the specific information obligations towards fixed-term workers, employer training obligations have strengthened in recent years. Key attention points for HR teams and training managers:

• Training action traceability. Each training action must be documented: programme, duration, trainer, attendance, results. This evidence may be requested during a funding-body inspection or internal audit.
• Compliant attendance records. For funded training, the attendance sheet is an essential supporting document. Its digitisation via a solution such as Edusign's digital attendance signing guarantees its legal value.
• Training certificates. At the end of any training action, the employer or organisation must issue an attendance or achievement certificate. Electronic signature secures these documents.

Edusign and administrative training documents

While the BIAF belongs to history, managing training evidence and documents remains a central concern for HR departments, payroll managers and training organisations. Edusign digitalises and secures the entire documentary chain:

• Digital attendance signing for each training session, with timestamp, legal value and secure archiving, usable as evidence in a funding-body inspection or quality audit.
• Electronic signature for training agreements, attendance and achievement certificates, end-of-programme certificates, and all administrative documents linked to employer obligations.
• Online questionnaires to collect immediate and delayed evaluations, required by quality-certification standards and funding bodies to justify the quality of funded training actions.

For training managers and HR directors, this is the guarantee that documentary compliance no longer rests on paper or spreadsheets. Each training action leaves a digital trace, immediately usable in the event of an inspection.