Occupational health and safety: How companies must protect the health of their employees

Employers are jointly responsible for minimising the risk of occupational accidents and work-related illnesses. It is not enough to react when something happens - companies must take preventative action and implement the applicable occupational health and safety regulations.

If employees suffer an accident at work or fall ill due to inadequate occupational health and safety measures, the consequences are considerable for everyone involved: the affected employees suffer damage to their health and are often absent for a longer period of time. The company has to cope with the absence and, if necessary, find a replacement. Prevention is therefore in the best interests of every company.

General occupational health and safety obligations

Employers must ensure that the health and safety measures required by law are organised and implemented by all employees. For example, helmets are mandatory on construction sites to protect employees from falling parts - and the employer must ensure that everyone on the construction site complies with the safety regulations.

In addition, Section 12 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act requires employers to provide employees with sufficient and appropriate instruction on health and safety in the workplace. In concrete terms, this means that employers must provide employees with sufficient information about occupational health and safety measures and offer appropriate training. The aim is prevention - to reduce the risk of health and accidents.

According to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the employer is generally obliged to take the necessary measures to prevent accidents at work and work-related illnesses, to organise the planning and implementation of occupational health and safety measures and to provide the necessary resources, to check whether the occupational health and safety measures implemented are effective, to adjust the occupational health and safety measures following the inspection if necessary and to instruct employees with regard to the occupational health and safety measures.

Employees have a so-called duty to co-operate in occupational health and safety: they must take care of their own health and safety in the workplace. In concrete terms, this means: operating machines properly, following the employer's instructions with regard to occupational health and safety, using the protective clothing provided, not jeopardising the health of colleagues and reporting any potential hazards in the workplace to the employer immediately.

Please note: The employer must bear the costs of occupational health and safety measures - for example, the provision of protective clothing. It is not permitted to pass on such expenses to the employees.

Carry out a risk assessment

A central component of occupational health and safety is carrying out a risk assessment. This involves employers analysing the workplaces in the company and assessing the potential hazards that exist there. This provides information on which risk factors need to be reduced, which deficiencies need to be eliminated and which protective measures need to be implemented.

A distinction must be made between three types of health risks: work-related risks (What specific risks are there in the specific work area?), activity-related risks (What specific risks does the specific activity entail?) and personal risks (What specific risks are there for certain persons or groups of persons, for example for female employees during pregnancy?).

Important health and safety regulations

In addition to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, there are other regulations that are relevant for employers with regard to occupational health and safety. These include, in particular, the Workplace Ordinance, the Technical Rules for Workplaces (ASR), the Occupational Safety Act and the Youth Labour Protection Act.

The Workplace Ordinance concretises the regulations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and specifies requirements on the following topics: Room temperature and heat protection, noise protection, workplace design, ventilation of operating rooms, break rooms, standby rooms and sanitary facilities, construction sites, VDU workstations, non-smoker protection, escape routes and emergency exits. The Workplace Ordinance is concretised by the technical rules for workplaces (ASR).

The Occupational Safety Act regulates how company doctors, safety engineers and other occupational safety specialists must be deployed in the company. It is supplemented by the accident prevention regulation „Company doctors and occupational safety specialists“ issued by the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV).

Companies that employ workers or trainees under the age of 18 must also comply with the Youth Labour Protection Act and comply with the rules laid down therein.

Occupational health and safety when using subcontractors

Anyone working with subcontractors or seconded skilled workers from abroad must pay particular attention to health and safety obligations. The following applies on your own construction site or in your own company: The client is jointly responsible for ensuring that the subcontractor's employees also know and comply with the applicable safety regulations. Clear contractual regulations and on-site instructions are essential.

You can read more about the legally compliant drafting of contracts with subcontractors in our article Subcontractor contract - important clauses.

Frequently asked questions about occupational health and safety for employers