Occupational safety guides for Germany
Clear, practical guides to employers' occupational safety duties under German law – from risk assessments to the first-aid log. 38 guides in 6 topics.
- With checklists
- Answers to common questions
- With legal references
How to do a risk assessment in Germany: a guide in 7 steps
Who has to carry out a risk assessment, how do you go about it and what belongs in the documentation? The key steps, hazard factors and a checklist.
8 min readRead the guideAll guides
38 guides
- Safety instruction
Safety instruction at work in Germany: duties, intervals and records
Who has to be instructed, when and how often – and how do you document it correctly? Duties, intervals, content and a checklist for safety instruction.
7 minRead - Hazardous substances
Hazardous substances register in Germany: required details, template and updates
Which details belong in the hazardous substances register, how do safety data sheets relate to it and how often must it be checked? An overview with template and checklist.
7 minRead - Operating instructions
Writing operating instructions in Germany: structure, content and duties
When are operating instructions mandatory, how are they structured and what goes in them? A guide to operating instructions for hazardous substances and machines – with a checklist.
7 minRead - Inspections
Inspection intervals for work equipment in Germany: overview, duties and records
Who sets inspection intervals, who may inspect and how is it documented? With an overview of typical intervals for ladders, racking, forklifts, cranes, electrical equipment and fire extinguishers.
8 minRead - Organisation
Occupational safety committee (ASA) in Germany: duty, members and minutes
Companies with more than 20 employees must set up an occupational safety committee. Who belongs to it, how often it meets, which topics go on the agenda and what the minutes look like.
6 minRead - Buyer's guide
Choosing occupational safety software: a buyer's guide with checklist
Which features do you really need, what matters for data protection and costs, and how does the selection work? A buyer's guide with criteria, questions for vendors and a checklist.
9 minRead - Safety inspections
Conducting safety inspections: process, checklist and report
Who has to inspect workplaces, how often and with whom? The process of a safety inspection in six steps – with typical checkpoints, report content and a checklist.
7 minRead - First aid & fire safety
First aiders and fire wardens in Germany: how many does a company need?
How many first aiders and fire wardens do the rules require, how does training work and when is the refresher due? With a calculation example, first-aid kit overview and checklist.
8 minRead - Risk assessment
Psychosocial risk assessment in Germany: guide, methods and measures
Since 2013, mental workload has explicitly been part of the risk assessment in Germany. What is assessed, which methods are suitable, how to proceed in seven steps and which measures help.
9 minRead - First aid & fire safety
First-aid log (Verbandbuch) in Germany: duty, content and retention
Every first-aid treatment must be documented – even a plaster after a cut finger. Which details belong in the first-aid log, how long it is kept and what to consider regarding data protection.
6 minRead - Organisation
Safety representatives in Germany: when are they mandatory? The new rules since 2026
Since 29 May 2026, companies in Germany generally only have to appoint safety representatives from 50 employees. What has changed, what safety representatives do and how to choose them.
7 minRead - Organisation
Occupational safety specialist (Sifa) in Germany: duty, tasks and service hours
Every employer in Germany must arrange occupational safety support. When an occupational safety specialist is needed, what they do, internal or external – and how service hours are calculated.
8 minRead - Health
Occupational health checks in Germany: mandatory, offered and on request
When the employer must arrange, offer or allow occupational health checks, which intervals apply, what goes into the health care register – and why these checks are not fitness tests.
8 minRead - First aid & emergencies
Accident reports in Germany: when and how workplace accidents must be reported
If an employee is unable to work for more than three days, the employer must report the workplace accident – within three days. How the days are counted, who receives the report and what to do afterwards.
7 minRead - Buyer's guide
Building a business case for occupational safety software: how to convince management
You know software would take work off your plate – now management has to agree. How to calculate the business case, involve everyone affected and answer typical objections.
8 minRead - Testing duties
DGUV Regulation 3: testing electrical equipment – intervals, process and records
Coffee machine, extension cable, drill, control cabinet: DGUV Regulation 3 requires recurring tests of electrical equipment. An overview of intervals, testers, process and documentation.
8 minRead - Hazardous substances
Safety data sheets: structure, duties and how to use the 16 sections
The safety data sheet is the most important source of information for handling hazardous substances. Which sections matter in practice, what duties suppliers and employers have and how to keep safety data sheets up to date.
8 minRead - Protective measures
Personal protective equipment (PPE): duties, selection and instruction
Helmet, hearing protection, gloves or fall protection: personal protective equipment is the last resort in occupational safety – and yet often the first place where things go wrong. What employers must provide, instruct and inspect.
8 minRead - Basics
Employer duties in occupational safety in Germany: the overview with checklist
From the first employee, dozens of duties apply under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Occupational Safety Act and DGUV Regulation 1. What they are, from which company size they apply and how to organise them – in brief, with a checklist.
10 minRead - Risk assessment
Display screen work and working from home: requirements, risk assessment and checklist
Office work is considered harmless – yet it is the most common cause of back, neck and eye complaints. Which requirements apply to display screen workstations, what is mandatory when working from home and how to carry out the risk assessment.
9 minRead - Testing duties
UVV inspections in Germany: what must be inspected, how often and by whom
Company car, forklift, lifting platform, crane: the “UVV inspection” (UVV-Prüfung) is the recurring inspection under German accident prevention regulations. What it covers, which intervals apply and why the TÜV roadworthiness test does not replace it.
8 minRead - Testing duties
Ladder inspection in Germany: inspecting and using ladders and steps safely
Falls from ladders are among the most common serious workplace accidents. How the regular ladder inspection (Leiterprüfung) works, who may carry it out and which rules apply to using ladders.
7 minRead - Testing duties
Racking inspection under EN 15635: duties, intervals and process
A damaged upright can bring down an entire rack. How the annual racking inspection (Regalprüfung) works, what happens between inspections and how damage is rated using the traffic light system.
7 minRead - Fire safety
Fire extinguishers at work: calculating the number, inspection and mounting
How many fire extinguishers a company needs depends on floor area and fire risk. How to calculate extinguishing units under the German technical rule ASR A2.2, choose the right extinguishers and organise inspections.
8 minRead - Fire safety
Creating an escape and rescue plan: duty, contents and posting
In an emergency, everyone must know the way out immediately. When an escape and rescue plan (Flucht- und Rettungsplan) is required, what it must show and how to keep it up to date.
7 minRead - Hazardous substances
Storing hazardous substances under TRGS 510: basic rules, storage classes and mixed storage
Cleaning agents in the cleaning room, solvents in the workshop, gas cylinders in the yard: basic rules apply to all storage of hazardous substances, and special requirements above certain quantities. What the German technical rule TRGS 510 requires.
8 minRead - Risk assessment
Maternity protection risk assessment in Germany: employer duties step by step
The German Maternity Protection Act (Mutterschutzgesetz) requires an assessment of every activity – even if nobody is currently pregnant. What belongs in the general assessment and what to do once an employee reports her pregnancy.
8 minRead - Organisation
Contractor management in Germany: coordinating, briefing and documenting contractors
Maintenance company, cleaning service, tradespeople: as soon as contractors work on your premises, both sides have duties. How to select, brief and coordinate contractors (Fremdfirmen) and prove that everything was in place.
8 minRead - Health
Heat in the workplace: room temperature under ASR A3.5 and what to do above 26 °C
In summer, temperatures in offices and halls quickly rise above 30 °C. When the employer must act under German rules, which measures work and what applies to outdoor work.
7 minRead - Safety instruction
Forklift licence in Germany: training, authorisation and annual instruction for drivers
Anyone who drives a forklift needs training, written authorisation and annual instruction. What lies behind the German “Staplerschein” and which duties the employer has.
7 minRead - Health
Noise at work in Germany: exposure action values, hearing protection and employer duties
From 80 dB(A) the employer has to act, from 85 dB(A) wearing hearing protection becomes mandatory. Which values apply, how noise is assessed and which measures the German ordinance requires.
7 minRead - Risk assessment
Lone working in Germany: risk assessment, emergency calls and lone worker alarms
Night shift in the warehouse, maintenance in the plant room, a patrol across the site: anyone who works alone must get help quickly in an emergency. How employers assess and safeguard lone working.
7 minRead - Fire safety
Fire safety rules in Germany: parts A, B and C under DIN 14096
The notice at the entrance, the rules for all employees and the tasks of fire wardens: the German fire safety rules bundle how fires are prevented and what to do in an emergency.
7 minRead - Hazardous substances
GHS pictograms, H and P statements: hazard labelling explained
Flame, skull, exclamation mark: the hazard pictograms on labels and safety data sheets show at a glance where danger lies. What the nine symbols, signal words and H and P statements mean.
7 minRead - Protective measures
Safety signs under ASR A1.3: signs, colours and duties in Germany
Red circles, yellow triangles, green escape arrows: safety signs warn, prohibit and show the way. When they are mandatory, what the colours mean and what matters when choosing and fitting them.
6 minRead - Safety instruction
Protecting young workers in Germany: working hours, breaks, health checks and instruction
Anyone employing apprentices, interns or holiday workers under 18 in Germany must follow the Youth Employment Protection Act. The key rules on working hours, breaks, medical checks and instruction.
8 minRead - Basics
German Workplace Ordinance: duties and technical rules (ASR) at a glance
Room size, lighting, temperature, escape routes, break room: the German Workplace Ordinance governs how workplaces are set up and operated. What it requires and which technical rules put it into practice.
7 minRead
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