Occupational safety and health is very important in Germany - employers and employees must comply with numerous statutory provisions from the Social Security Code or the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Ultimately, it is also an employer branding topic. An overview of the most important regulations.

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On the history of job security

Before 150 years, the conditions were in many Companys and factories a disaster. With the industrialization that moved from Great Britain to the states that later became Germany, not only Society on the Head placed. Wage workers had to work under conditions that are now considered inhuman. A consequence of strenuous and tiring activities has been a massive incidence of accidents. Affected families lost a Income – and slipped further down socially. Against this background, the 19th century not only gave rise to the first social security systems.

The emergence of occupational safety and health also fell into this phase of economic upheaval. Companies have been obligated by law to protect workers - through corresponding conditions on Workplace. An “invention” that still has an impact today. To the modern Working world would be unthinkable without the layer of wage workers and occupational safety and health. Today he faces a new challenge. More and more professions are becoming Office relocated. And even in industry, digitization means that new paths need to be taken when it comes to occupational safety. Which regulations and laws apply today and what do those affected have to consider?

The legal regulations for job security

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Today, correct compliance with occupational health and safety regulations is even an employer branding issue. After all, which highly qualified specialist would want to work in a company that Health endangered.

As many accidents at work, there is even a book in Germany - on the part of the DGUV. The German Social Accident Insurance has for 2017 a decline of 0,4 percent over the previous year, Nevertheless, more than 870.000 work accidents still happened.

Compared to the last 20 years, however, their number has increased significantly clear reduced. One reason is the legal one Regulate, which apply here. The Occupational Health and Safety Act is decisive for safety at work. But this is not the only relevant factor. In practice, a distinction is made between general occupational health and safety relating to the direct working environment and social occupational safety.

Social work protection includes, among others:

Moreover, SGB VII (Social Code 7., Book) also intervenes in this area. It is responsible for the accident insurance and accordingly includes various protection regulations.

The labor protection law

Although the ArbSchG is the central law for occupational safety, it ultimately only provides the framework for occupational safety and health. A special feature is the ordinances derived from the law, which regulate individual areas in detail.

These include, among others:

Until 2016, there was a separate ordinance for VDU workstations. The various ordinances not only result in framework conditions for workplaces in production or trade. The specifications of the ordinances are also relevant with regard to office workplaces - for example when it comes to aspects such as accessibility, the optimal room temperature or ventilation. All of these aspects are important to Employees can do their job well.

The most important aspects of occupational safety

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Job security or occupational safety is not an easy topic - especially when it comes to details. At first glance, only interesting for companies, should also concern employees. Background: Employers have the task of ensuring the safety of employees and protecting their health. Companies, in which these two area come too short, can usually be recognized quite early.

What does occupational safety actually look like? In general, flat-rate answers in this context are not so easy. Essentially, the catalog of measures depends on the hazard.

Example

When it comes to occupational health and safety, a construction company faces different challenges than one Marketing-Agency. What special features can be derived from this example. For construction companies, there are dangers from:

relevant. When renovating an old building, for example, the level of dust (due to building rubble) can be very high. This also exists in parallel Risksto face challenges such as asbestos.

Occupational safety measures are dependent on the respective situation

Occupational health and safety is based here on the one hand on the personal protective equipment (PPE), which consists of safety boots / shoes and helmets, noise protection and respiratory protection. On the other hand, companies must ensure that the equipment complies with all protection regulations. When working at height, for example, work with appropriate safety equipment.

A completely different situation arises with computer workstations. Among other things, health problems result from the design of the workplace - keyword: posture damage. In the past, the topic of occupational safety was the question of how laser printers (through fine dust) cause a health burden. An idea of ​​how complex the design of computer workstations can be mediates the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety.

Occupational safety wants safety

Occupational safety threatens to be reduced by companies and employees to the pure workplace. However, this attitude does not apply in practice. Background: The legislature is more in the direction of a holistic concept. This aspect becomes particularly clear with regard to the Workplace Ordinance. This is about creating a certain work environment for employees. Because of this claim, the Workplace Ordinance also deals with aspects such as:

One aspect that is unique in the regulation is first aid. Here, among other things, the extent to which first aid kits must be kept available (number depending on the number of employees) or from which size of company premises separate premises for first aid must exist. The latter can be set up, for example, in companies with a particular risk from a workforce of 100 employees.

This range of workplace regulations makes them important in terms of safety at work. But: It is not enough just to pass laws and regulations. For occupational safety and health to be effective in practice, compliance must be monitored. And this is in addition to the accident insurance in Germany the occupational safety and trade inspectorates responsible.

These rules can cause problems

Occupational health and safety is now a matter of course for employees. In practice, the different regulations fast for Problems care for. The various regulations pose challenges, especially for smaller companies. And sometimes there are situations that are not entirely unproblematic for everyone involved.

Example sanitary facilities for female employees

Examples include the sanitary facilities. The workplace ordinance regulates which requirements these are subject to. The latter goes into great detail on the structural framework conditions. For example, a clearance height of 2,50 meters is required. And the regulation emphasizes another aspect - the separation of men and women Ms..

Companies are required to maintain their own sanitary facilities for female employees. What if this is not possible? Does it mean in the end that the company becomes a pure male domain?

Law provides scope

No, the regulation also offers certain options here. If the number of employees does not exceed nine people, joint use of the sanitary rooms can be permitted - provided that the use can be separated according to gender.

Another sensitive issue is accessibility. Not every company can produce these easily. Even workplaces in the office must meet certain security requirements. In addition, it is also about the right conditions such as the ambient temperature or break rooms.

Conclusion: Occupational health and safety over the course of time

Who for sure are the jobs in Germany? The easiest way to answer this question is to look at the accident statistics. In the early 1990s, the number was alarmingly high. The number is now well below that Brand from 1 million accidents at work per year. This development is also due to increasingly better occupational safety.

Development began in the 19th century. And even today, occupational safety is constantly faced with new challenges. A fact that becomes clear in the case of accessibility and the reforms to the VDU workplace. Even if some of the Measures seem unnecessary from the point of view of companies: every accident that can be prevented proves that the Occupational Health and Safety Act is right.


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