Occupational safety in a new business does not start with the first employee but with notifying the accident insurance institution: within one week of the business starting, the nature and subject matter of the business, the number of insured persons and the opening day must be reported (section 192 paragraph 1 SGB VII). The first employment contract adds the risk assessment, safety training, safety support and first aid.
For a start-up the sequence matters more than the volume. Almost every duty hangs on one of three triggers: the start of the business, the first employment contract and crossing a headcount threshold. Founders who know these three triggers can let occupational safety grow with the business instead of rebuilding it retroactively in year three.
| Trigger | What becomes due | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| start of the business | notification of the accident insurance institution within one week | section 192 paragraph 1 SGB VII |
| first employment contract | risk assessment, safety training before work starts, safety and occupational health support secured | sections 5 and 12 ArbSchG, section 2 ASiG |
| 2 to 20 employees present | one trained first aider | section 26 DGUV Regulation 1 |
| more than 20 employees | occupational safety committee, standard support under Annex 2 | section 11 ASiG, DGUV Regulation 2 |
| from 50 employees | appointment of safety officers | section 22 SGB VII |
Notifying the accident insurance institution within one week
The reporting duty under section 192 paragraph 1 SGB VII is the first occupational safety duty of a new business and applies regardless of legal form and headcount. The deadline is one week from the start of the business, and taking up preparatory work already counts as the start. Membership of the statutory accident insurance arises by operation of law, not by application.
One relief is written into the law itself: the reporting duty counts as fulfilled if a notification under trade registration law is filed within one week. In liberal professions and in foundings without a trade registration that relief does not apply.
Two documents follow from the notification and belong in the founding file. The notice of responsibility under section 136 paragraph 1 SGB VII names the competent accident insurance institution, for pure office and administrative businesses usually the administrative institution VBG. The company number (UNR.S) is the nationwide uniform 15-digit identifier of the statutory accident insurance introduced on 1 January 2023; it replaced the institution-specific membership number and is needed for social insurance filings among other things. Which institution is responsible and how the contribution is calculated is covered in What is the DGUV, and which institution covers offices?.
Solo founding without employees: what still applies
Without employees the duties of the Occupational Health and Safety Act do not yet apply, the reporting duty under section 192 paragraph 1 SGB VII does. A solo founding therefore needs neither a risk assessment nor an appointed occupational safety specialist, but must register with the accident insurance institution and settle the question of its own cover.
Personal insurance cover is the point most often lost in the founding phase. Some accident insurance institutions cover business owners by virtue of their statutes; with others the cover has to be applied for voluntarily under section 6 SGB VII. Without cover there is no claim against the statutory accident insurance after a commuting accident or an accident at the desk, and private accident policies regularly exclude occupational diseases.
The line to employment sits lower than many founding teams assume. Employees under section 2 paragraph 2 ArbSchG include staff, apprentices and persons comparable to employees. Working students, interns and mini-jobbers therefore trigger the same duties as a full-time post.
With the first employment contract: four duties before day one
The first employment contract creates four duties, and three of them have to be met before the first working day. The risk assessment under section 5 ArbSchG is the basis, the safety training under section 12 paragraph 1 ArbSchG takes place before work is taken up, support under section 2 ASiG must be secured, and first-aid supplies have to be in place.
The risk assessment is the systematic identification and evaluation of all hazards at a workstation required by section 5 ArbSchG. In an office it regularly covers six fields: screen work and ergonomics, lighting and indoor climate, traffic routes and trip hazards, electrical equipment, fire safety and escape routes, plus mental stress under section 5 paragraph 3 number 6 ArbSchG. The result must be documented in writing under section 6 ArbSchG. Structure and minimum content are set out in Risk assessment in the office.
Safety training is the briefing of employees on safety and health at their specific workstation and takes place under section 12 paragraph 1 ArbSchG on hiring, before work is taken up. Under section 4 DGUV Regulation 1 it is repeated at least once a year, and every six months for young people. The record needs a date, the topics and a signature; the procedure and content are covered in Safety training in the office.
For first aid the number of people present at the same time decides. First-aid supplies under ASR A4.3 must be kept from the first employee onwards, in an office business with up to 50 employees one small first-aid kit to DIN 13157. A trained first aider is required under section 26 DGUV Regulation 1 from two insured persons present, and with more than 20 present in administrative and commercial businesses at least 5 percent. The first-aider calculator works out the number for your own business, the first-aid kit calculator the material required.
One duty is almost always missed in an office: for work at display screen equipment, Annex part 4 of the Ordinance on Occupational Health Care requires an appropriate examination of the eyes and eyesight to be offered. The offer has to be demonstrable, participation stays voluntary.
Choosing a support model: up to 20, up to 50, from 51 employees
Safety and occupational health support must be secured from the first employee onwards (section 2 ASiG), and the model follows the headcount. Two tiers matter for a start-up: up to 50 employees the Unternehmermodell under Annex 3 of DGUV Regulation 2, and standard support under Annex 2 above 50. The Unternehmermodell has no lower limit.
| Employees | Support model | Additional duty |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 20 | Unternehmermodell under Annex 3 or standard support | none |
| more than 20 up to 50 | Unternehmermodell under Annex 3 or standard support | occupational safety committee under section 11 ASiG |
| more than 50 | standard support under Annex 2, specialist formally appointed | occupational safety committee, safety officers under section 22 SGB VII |
A start-up can therefore run occupational safety in the Unternehmermodell for a long time without formally appointing a specialist. Only above 50 employees does standard support with a fixed hourly budget apply. How the model works in detail is covered in The Unternehmermodell under DGUV Regulation 2; which model is legally permissible at all is set out in Does an office need an occupational safety specialist?.
Under standard support in Annex 2, office and administrative businesses fall into support group III with 0.5 hours of basic support per employee per year for the occupational safety specialist and the occupational physician together, with at least 20 percent falling to each role. A business with 25 employees therefore reaches 12.5 hours of basic support a year, of which at least 2.5 hours go to the occupational safety specialist. The support-hours calculator works out your own figure.
Three founding scenarios calculated
The differences between a solo founding, a small team and the first growth stage are large enough to be worth three concrete cases. All three are pure office businesses at a single site, without warehouse, workshop or field work with particular hazards.
| Starting point | Support | First aid | Further duties |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 founder, no employees | no duty to appoint | material under ASR A4.3 advisable | notification under section 192 SGB VII, settle own insurance |
| 6 employees, all in the office | Unternehmermodell or standard support | 1 first aider, 1 small first-aid kit | risk assessment, safety training, eyesight screening offer |
| 25 employees, 5 of them remote | standard support, 12.5 hours a year | 1 first aider with 20 present | occupational safety committee, remote work in the risk assessment |
Two points stand out in the third row. The first aid calculation tips exactly at the threshold: with 20 people present at the same time one first aider is enough, with 21 it is 5 percent and therefore two. The occupational safety committee under section 11 ASiG already applies above 20 employees and meets at least once per calendar quarter, while safety officers in a classic office business are only appointed from 50 employees.
Workstations in employees' homes belong in the risk assessment even though the employer cannot enter the home. The distinction between mobile work and teleworking is covered in Remote work and telework, and the duties quick-check shows which duties apply at your own headcount.
Occupational safety in a new business in six steps
For a start-up with up to 20 employees, building this up takes four to eight weeks from the trade registration. The biggest time drain is finding dates for the walkthrough and the first training session.
- Notify the accident insurance institution. Within one week of the business starting, report the nature and subject matter of the business, the number of insured persons and the opening day to the competent accident insurance institution (section 192 paragraph 1 SGB VII).
- File the notice of responsibility and the company number. Keep the notice under section 136 paragraph 1 SGB VII and the 15-digit company number with the founding documents, because both are needed for filings and correspondence.
- Settle your own insurance cover. Check whether founders are covered by the institution's own statutes and, if not, decide on voluntary insurance under section 6 SGB VII.
- Secure safety support. Before the first working day, secure safety and occupational health support (sections 2 and 5 ASiG) and choose the model that matches the headcount: up to 50 employees the Unternehmermodell under Annex 3, and standard support with a permanently appointed occupational safety specialist above 50.
- Draw up the risk assessment. Identify the hazards for each type of workstation under section 5 ArbSchG, set measures with owners and deadlines, and document the result in writing under section 6 ArbSchG.
- Train staff and provide first aid before work starts. Train every new hire under section 12 paragraph 1 ArbSchG before they take up work, file the record with date and signature, provide first-aid supplies under ASR A4.3 and have a first aider trained once two employees are present.
Businesses that already have employees and are catching up work through the same sequence but start at step 4. The full build-up with a 90-day plan is described in Occupational safety in the office: the first 5 steps.
For office and administrative businesses, Safety Club organises this build-up as a package: an occupational safety specialist on site plus digital, audit-proof documentation that belongs to the business. How the process works is set out under Process; open questions about your own founding we clarify in an initial conversation.
This article is general guidance and does not replace legal advice on your individual case. What governs is the current version of the SGB VII, ArbSchG, ASiG, ArbMedVV and DGUV Regulations 1 and 2, together with how the accident insurance institution that covers you interprets it. Only the notice of responsibility is binding for which institution covers you.
