Nationwide occupational safety providers: strengths, costs, contracts
Nationwide large providers work from many sites of their own and mostly offer occupational safety and occupational medicine from one source. They suit companies with many sites or public tenders. For a single office they mostly bill by hourly rate, travel time and fixed service units. So check before signing what one year of support actually costs with all extras.
This page is part of the overview of occupational safety providers. The figures come from the 2026 market study of 1,037 providers; we do not name providers.
How this provider type works
Large providers almost always state their price after an assessment. Where terms are public, they follow a pattern: hourly rate per discipline, travel time extra, service in half days or with a minimum purchase, plus an annual price adjustment.
For small businesses there are sometimes entry packages in which the on-site visit is an option with its own price. Costs are driven mainly by travel time and service units, less by the hourly rate.
Digital package, half days, minimum purchase
One large provider sells small businesses with up to 20 employees a digital package for just under 500 € a year: portal, online safety briefing and a monthly online group session shared with other clients. An on-site inspection is optional and costs around 600 € per half day plus travel.
Another states in its terms and conditions just under 90 € per hour for the specialist, a little over 60 € per hour of travel time and a minimum purchase of five hours per order. A third bills in half days of four hours, may charge travel time as service time and asks for 70 per cent of the fee for short-notice cancellations.
Strengths and limits for offices
Strengths
- Specialist and physician usually come from one source.
- Many sites allow one contract for several branches.
- Large public tenders usually go to large providers.
- Terms and conditions and model contracts make the conditions verifiable.
Limits
- Prices rarely appear on the website; you can only compare after a quote.
- Half-day rates and minimum purchases fit poorly with an office that has few required hours.
- Individual terms and conditions charge 70 per cent of the fee for short-notice cancellations.
Compared with Safety Club
As with large providers, specialist and physician come from one source at Safety Club. Billing is different: instead of an hourly rate, travel time and service units there are predictable annual costs that include travel, risk assessment, safety briefings, committee, annual report and set-up. Support is tailored to office and administrative businesses.
| Point | This provider type | Safety Club |
|---|---|---|
| Offer | Specialist and physician mostly from one source, plus health checks and other services. | Occupational safety specialist on site and physician in one contract. Risk assessment, inspections, briefings, hazardous substances register, operating instructions and committee support. |
| Physician | Mostly included. On-site visits are partly commissioned separately. | Included. Same contract. |
| Price | Rarely public. Terms in the conditions, price only in the quote. | Predictable annual costs for the legal scope. Range shown upfront in the quote calculator. |
| Billing | Hourly rate per discipline, travel time separate, fixed service units or minimum purchase. | Fixed annual costs for the agreed scope. Travel, set-up and annual report are included. |
| Travel | Rarely included. Billed as travel time per hour or a fee per visit. | Included. |
| Risk assessment | Partly included. Whether in the price or per item is set by the contract. | Included. Including mental stress. |
| Safety briefings | Partly included, for example as an online basic briefing in the package. | Included. Digital, with records. |
| Way of working | Specialists from many sites. Visits in half days or minimum hours. | Inspection and risk assessment on site, everything else digital. Measures, deadlines, briefings and coordination run through the customer portal, with a report after each visit. |
| Your effort | Medium. Call off hours and visits, check invoices against the records. | Low. One initial call, one contract, one contact. Because we work very digitally, folders, paper and extra coordination meetings fall away. |
| Records | Partly in a customer portal. | All records in the customer portal. Complete, current, shareable. |
| Start | After an assessment and a quote. | At most five working days from first contact to signature. On-site support starts within ten working days. |
There are too few published prices for a separate median for large providers. Compared with the median of all providers, Safety Club is 41 per cent lower for 50 employees and 38 per cent lower for 100 employees (market study, comparison). The page on the external occupational safety specialist describes the scope.
What does support cost for your office?
Your own quote in two minutes: the quote calculator shows the range for your company size and location, including specialist, physician and travel.
What the law requires
Section 19 ASiG allows the appointment duty to be met through an external service. The employer remains responsible for the tasks actually being performed; ignoring an enforceable order of the authority can mean a fine of up to 25,000 euros (section 20 ASiG).
The new version of DGUV Regulation 2 has applied at the VBG since late 2025: 0.5 hours of basic support per employee per year for offices, at least 20 per cent per discipline, at most one third digital.
Five questions for the contract
- How many hours per year are promised for specialist and physician separately, for basic and company-specific support?
- Is travel time charged, and at what rate per hour or per visit?
- Is there a minimum purchase or fixed service units?
- Term, notice period, automatic renewal, price adjustment with or without a special right of termination?
- Do you receive a record of hours and an annual report, and is there a cancellation fee for short-notice changes?
More on providers
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Software without a specialist | Organises risk assessments, briefings and deadlines. Does not replace an appointment. |
| Freelance specialists | One fixed person in the region. Physician and cover come from third parties. |
| Regional service firms | Several specialists at one to a few sites. The largest provider type in the market. |
| Online and flat-fee providers | Monthly flat fees and packages online, plus brokerage portals. What matters are the hours included. |
| Pricing models | Hourly rate, flat fee, per-head price, packages: how each model works and what to check. |
| Market study 2026 | Prices from more than 1,000 providers, converted to the same required hours. |
Frequently asked questions
Which occupational safety providers support offices across Germany?
Nationwide large providers with their own sites, individual online providers with a network of freelance specialists, and service providers that focus on offices with several sites. What matters is whether support takes place on site at every location and whether the physician is included everywhere.
Are large providers more expensive than others?
Public prices do not allow a reliable answer, because too few large providers publish one. Costs are driven mainly by travel time, fixed service units and price adjustments, less by the hourly rate.
Why do large providers not show prices on their website?
They argue that the need is only clear after an assessment. List prices, if any, appear in the terms and conditions. For a comparison you therefore need a written quote with hours per discipline.
Is an external service legally sufficient?
Yes, section 19 ASiG expressly allows it. The employer remains responsible for ensuring that specialist and physician perform their tasks to the required extent.
How do large providers bill?
Usually by the hour per discipline, with travel time charged separately, in fixed units such as half days or with a minimum purchase per order. Extra services such as health checks follow a separate price list.
How much effort is a large provider for us?
You call off hours and visits, plan visits so that service units are used fully, and check invoices by effort against the records of hours.
How do I compare a large provider's quote with a fixed price?
Multiply hours per discipline by the rate, add travel time per visit and any minimum purchases, over the whole term including price adjustments. Compare this total with the fixed price for the same scope.
Is Safety Club cheaper than a large provider?
For large providers alone there is no reliable answer, because too few publish their prices. Compared with the median of all providers, for 50 employees, Safety Club is 41 per cent lower, for the same legal scope including physician and travel. Travel and risk assessment are included rather than billed by effort.
Sources
- Safety Club market study 2026
- Occupational Safety Act (ASiG), sections 1 to 7
- Section 19 ASiG: external services
- Section 20 ASiG: administrative offences
- DGUV: DGUV Regulation 2, model text 2024
- DGUV Regulation 2, VBG version
- VBG: the new DGUV Regulation 2 (German)
- DGUV Regulation 2, Annex 2: standard support for more than 20 employees
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