Guide

Occupational medicine and health and safety for employers

Articles on duties, deadlines and procedures under German law, plus notes on amended regulations, each backed by the official sources. Every article names its legal basis and the legal status it reflects.

25 articles

A paper bag of baked goods is handed over a stainless-steel counter by a hand in a disposable glove Food-hygiene instruction (IfSG) Food-hygiene instruction under Section 43 of the Infection Protection Act Employees who carry out activities covered by Section 42 of the Infection Protection Act (IfSG) need a food-hygiene instruction (Belehrung) under § 43 IfSG. What matters: the date of the certificate, agreeing the format and process with the responsible public health office (Gesundheitsamt), and the employer documenting the refresher instruction. Read more → Two employees, one in a high-visibility vest, walk through a bright production hall Update Occupational health care Occupational physician duty from the first employee The duty to have an occupational physician starts with the first employee. Employers must organise occupational health care and occupational safety support. Form and scope of care depend on the Occupational Safety Act (ASiG) and on DGUV Regulation 2 (DGUV Vorschrift 2) as issued by the responsible accident insurance institution. Read more → Hearing test and lung function test equipment on the table of an examination room Update Occupational health check-ups Mandatory, offered and on-request check-ups under the ArbMedVV The Ordinance on Occupational Health Care (ArbMedVV) distinguishes between mandatory check-ups (Pflichtvorsorge), offered check-ups (Angebotsvorsorge) and check-ups on request (Wunschvorsorge). A mandatory check-up is a condition for doing the work. The employer must offer an offered check-up and must make a check-up on request possible when asked. This article sets out deadlines, certificate and check-up register (Vorsorgekartei). It also separates check-ups from fitness-for-duty assessments and from telemedical appointments. Read more → Eye test on a testing device, with a warehouse and forklift in the background Fitness-for-duty assessment Fitness-for-duty assessment for driving, control and monitoring activities (E FSÜ, formerly G 25) Medical fitness-for-duty assessments are only permissible on a sound, proportionate and activity-related basis. They follow different rules from occupational health check-ups, even when both are done by the occupational physician. Read more → Four employees arrange cards on a facilitation board Psychosocial stress Psychosocial risk assessment under Section 5 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act Under Section 5 (3) no. 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (ArbSchG), psychosocial stress is part of the risk assessment in every company with employees. Working conditions are assessed, not people. The choice of method, the measures and the check of their effectiveness must be traceable. Read more → Conversation about documents at a round table, only hands visible Workplace reintegration Workplace reintegration management (BEM) under § 167 of Social Code Book IX (SGB IX) Workplace reintegration management (betriebliches Eingliederungsmanagement, BEM) must be offered when an employee has been unfit for work for more than six weeks within a year. Taking part is voluntary. The procedure and the handling of health data need clear responsibilities. Read more → Open regulation text on a desk with glasses, closed laptop, glass of water and dark blue folder Update Law and deadlines Revision of DGUV Regulation 2 The revised DGUV Regulation 2 (DGUV Vorschrift 2) extends standard care (Regelbetreuung) under Annex 1 from ten to 20 employees. Up to one third of services may be delivered digitally if the company is already known. Regular reports are required. Which provisions apply depends on the version issued by the responsible accident insurance institution. Read more → Two people during a workplace inspection of a production hall, seen from behind Update Occupational health care Care Models under DGUV Regulation 2 for Small Companies Under DGUV Regulation 2 (DGUV Vorschrift 2), companies with up to 20 countable employees receive standard care (Regelbetreuung) under Annex 1. Alternative care models under Annex 3 and 4 may apply if the business owner works actively in the company and completes training. This article compares Annexes 1 to 4 of the model text and shows what information is needed to assign a company. Read more → Two people seen from behind in front of a plant layout on a meeting-room wall, a high-visibility vest over a chair Update Occupational health check-ups Deriving Check-up Triggers from the Risk Assessment Check-up triggers do not come from job titles. They come from the activities carried out and from the Annex of the Ordinance on Occupational Health Care (ArbMedVV). They decide which occupational health check-ups a company must arrange or offer. This article describes the route from the risk assessment (Gefährdungsbeurteilung) to the check-up plan. Read more → Hands in disposable gloves cutting vegetables on a stainless steel table in a large kitchen Occupational health check-ups Wet Work and Skin Strain in Kitchens, Care and Trades Wet work of regularly more than two hours per day is a trigger for an offered check-up (Angebotsvorsorge). From regularly four hours per day, it is a trigger for a mandatory check-up (Pflichtvorsorge). This article explains the term, the thresholds in the Annex of the Ordinance on Occupational Health Care (ArbMedVV) and the protective measures that come before the check-up. Read more → Ergonomic screen workstation: person seen from behind at a monitor on a swivel arm, external keyboard and mouse, window to the side Occupational health check-ups Screen Work and Occupational Health Check-ups on Offer For work at display screen equipment, the employer must make an offered check-up (Angebotsvorsorge) available. It includes an examination of the eyes and vision. This article explains the check-up, special vision aids and ergonomic measures, and how they relate to each other. Read more → Road worker seen from behind with a neck-flap cap and high-visibility vest on a summer day, water bottle in the foreground Occupational health check-ups Natural UV Radiation and Heat when Working Outdoors For intense exposure to natural UV radiation of regularly one hour or more per day, an offered check-up (Angebotsvorsorge) must be offered. For extreme heat exposure, a mandatory check-up (Pflichtvorsorge) must be arranged. UV radiation and heat are separate hazards, each with its own check-up triggers and measures. Read more → Ear defenders being handed over in a production hall, only hands and shoulder visible Occupational health check-ups Noise in production and trades: action values and check-ups For noise, the daily noise exposure level and the peak sound pressure level decide whether an offered check-up (Angebotsvorsorge) or a mandatory check-up (Pflichtvorsorge) is required. This article sets out the action values and the measures that come before a check-up. Read more → Half mask, full-face mask and two filters on a workbench, a bright hall in the background Occupational health check-ups Respiratory protection: check-ups under the ArbMedVV and a separate fitness-for-duty assessment When respiratory protective equipment is worn, the device group decides whether a mandatory or an offered check-up applies. A fitness-for-duty assessment under the DGUV recommendation E ASG (formerly G 26) must be kept separate and is permissible only on its own basis. Read more → Forklift driver seen from behind with helmet and high-visibility vest in a warehouse, high racks and yellow floor marking Fitness-for-duty assessment Industrial trucks (forklifts) and cranes: selection, competence and medical fitness Anyone who operates forklifts or cranes must be suitable and competent. This article separates the company’s selection and safety instruction from the question of when a medical fitness-for-duty assessment is permissible and necessary. Read more → Person seen from behind with fall-arrest harness, helmet and lanyard at the railing of a flat roof, city in the background Fitness-for-duty assessment Work with a risk of falling from height: protective measures and health fitness Where there is a risk of falling from height, for example in roofing, scaffolding and assembly at height, technical protective measures come first. A medical fitness-for-duty assessment under the DGUV recommendation E ABS (formerly G 41) is added only where there is a justified reason. Read more → Hands on forms at a round table Workplace reintegration Data protection and documentation in workplace reintegration management (BEM) Data protection in BEM means that health data are processed only to the extent necessary and on a legal basis. This article describes which information is necessary, on what basis it may be processed and how the records are kept separately from the personnel file (Personalakte). Read more → Two people discuss documents at a round table, only hands visible Workplace reintegration BEM and gradual return to work: differences and interaction Workplace reintegration management (BEM) and gradual return to work (stufenweise Wiedereingliederung) are two different procedures. This article explains the legal bases, participants and the step-by-step plan, and shows how the two procedures work together. Read more → Care worker seen from behind disinfecting their hands at a wall dispenser in a bright corridor Occupational health check-ups Biological agents in care and healthcare In care homes, practices and clinics, contact with patients and biological material exposes employees to biological agents. This article covers the risk assessment, protection levels, reasons for check-ups and vaccination advice. Read more → Confidential conversation between two people at a round table, seen from behind Psychosocial stress Psychosocial stress in shift work and staff shortages Shift systems and tight staffing cause psychosocial stress in care, logistics and production. This article shows how to record this stress in the risk assessment and address it with organisational measures. Read more → Examination room: dark blue folder, stethoscope and glasses on a desk, examination couch in the background Occupational health check-ups Post-exposure occupational health check-ups for carcinogenic substances Post-exposure check-ups (nachgehende Vorsorge) take account of the fact that carcinogenic hazardous substances may cause disease only decades after exposure. This article explains when a post-exposure check-up must be offered, how it is organised after employment ends and what role the accident insurance institutions play. Read more → Meeting at a table seen from behind: four people, one in a white shirt, one in a high-visibility vest, a production hall through the window Law and deadlines Occupational safety committee (ASA) under § 11 of the Occupational Safety Act (ASiG) Companies with more than 20 employees must set up an occupational safety committee. This article describes how employees are counted, the committee's composition and tasks, the contribution of the occupational physician and how to organise meetings. Read more → Video conference on a laptop in an office, person seen from behind Update Occupational health care Digital occupational health care and telemedicine check-ups Digital occupational health care is possible, but not for every service. This article separates the digital parts of care under DGUV Regulation 2 (DGUV Vorschrift 2) from telemedicine check-ups under AMR 3.4 (occupational medicine rule) and states the in-person requirements. Read more → Newly set up workshop: a person seen from behind mounts a first-aid cabinet on the wall, a fire extinguisher beside it Occupational health care Occupational health and safety when setting up a company Occupational health and safety begins with the first hire: from then on, duties apply under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (ArbSchG) and the Occupational Safety Act (ASiG). This article lists the steps in order, from the risk assessment to check-ups, without a blanket pre-employment examination. Read more → Hands leafing through a binder with index tabs, a monitor with a table next to it, behind the glass a joinery workshop with dust extraction Update Law and deadlines Keeping an exposure register for carcinogenic substances Employers whose staff carry out activities with carcinogenic, germ cell mutagenic or reprotoxic hazardous substances of category 1A or 1B must keep an exposure register (Expositionsverzeichnis) if the risk assessment shows a risk to health. This article explains who is covered, what the register contains, how long it must be kept and how the Central Exposure Database of the German Social Accident Insurance can be used. Read more →

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