An office business has five routes to an occupational safety specialist: a nationwide large provider, a regional independent consultant, a provider specialised in offices and administration, the employer model with its own effort, and an employed specialist. Which model fits depends on headcount, locations, in-house expertise and the time management can invest itself.
Transparency note: Safety Club is itself a provider of one of the five models, namely model 3. That is why this article compares models rather than companies, rates all five with the same structure and names the limits of our own model too. The weighting is ours, the criteria are disclosed.
A safety support model is the organisational form in which a business fulfils its duty to safety support under the Act on Occupational Physicians and Safety Specialists (ASiG). Whether the law requires a formal appointment at all is covered in Does an office business need an occupational safety specialist?.
| Model | Legal form of support | Permitted business size | Effort for the business |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Nationwide large provider | external service under section 19 ASiG | unlimited | low to medium |
| 2. Regional independent consultant | freelance specialist, appointment under section 5 ASiG | unlimited | medium |
| 3. Office and administration specialist | external service under section 19 ASiG | unlimited, professionally group III | low |
| 4. Employer model | annex 3 DGUV Regulation 2 | up to 50 employees | high |
| 5. Employed specialist | employee with expertise under section 7 ASiG | unlimited | high in setup and management |
Model 1: Nationwide large provider with a branch network
A nationwide large provider supports businesses of all sectors through a network of locations and employed or freelance specialists. It suits businesses with many sites and companies that want cover, reporting and purchasing from a single source. The weakness is rarely expertise, it is usually the fit with the individual office.
- How it works: a framework contract, with support provided by a specialist from the nearest branch.
- Business size: mainly medium and large businesses, especially with several sites in different regions.
- Strengths: organised cover, occupational physician often in the same contract, uniform processes.
- Limits: templates are built for all sectors, and screen work and psychological strain do not always get the weight they have in an office. In small offices the contact person changes more often because the support hours are low.
- Effort for the business: low to medium, depending on how much input the templates require.
Model 2: Regional independent consultant or freelance specialist
A regional independent consultant is a self-employed occupational safety specialist who personally supports a manageable number of businesses in their area. The model offers the highest continuity of people. It reaches its limit where cover, several sites or digital documentation are needed.
- How it works: the business appoints the person in writing under section 5 ASiG, usually billed by the hour.
- Business size: small and medium businesses at one site near the consultant.
- Strengths: the same person for years, short distances.
- Limits: a cover arrangement is often missing. Documentation frequently sits in Word files with the consultant, so handover after the contract ends becomes a matter of negotiation. Hourly billing makes annual costs hard to plan.
- Effort for the business: medium, filing and records often stay with the business.
Model 3: Sector-focused provider for offices and administration
A sector-focused provider supports only office and administrative businesses in support group III and combines an occupational safety specialist on site with digital documentation. It suits pure office sites without in-house expertise. For businesses with a workshop, warehouse or laboratory it is the wrong fit. This is the model Safety Club offers.
- How it works: a fixed scope of services, on-site inspections by a named, appointed specialist, openly derived support hours, documents in a portal.
- Business size: from small offices to mid-sized administrations, including several office sites.
- Strengths: templates and inspection routine are built around screen work, psychological strain and working from home. The documentation belongs to the business and moves with it on a switch.
- Limits: no fit for production, construction, laboratories or high-risk businesses. Once a business has its own safety department, the in-house solution usually pays off better. As a young model, it lacks the branch density of a large provider.
- Effort for the business: low, essentially appointments, approvals and implementing the measures.
Why we chose this cut is explained in detail in Sector focus, not a catch-all.
Model 4: Employer model with own effort
The employer model is the alternative needs-based support under annex 3 of DGUV Regulation 2 for businesses with up to 50 employees. Management qualifies itself through training by the accident insurance institution and only brings in expertise for a specific occasion. This saves running costs and shifts the work to the managing directors.
- How it works: training by the accident insurance institution plus expertise for occasions such as a move, new workstations or an accident.
- Business size: up to and including 50 employees, with no lower limit.
- Strengths: low direct spending, strong expertise within management.
- Limits: risk assessment, safety briefings and documentation stay with management, which must recognise occasions itself. The model ends when the business grows beyond 50 employees.
- Effort for the business: high, above all in management time.
Details on training, occasions and records are in The employer model under DGUV Regulation 2.
Model 5: Employed specialist in your own business
An employed occupational safety specialist is an employee of the business with expertise under section 7 ASiG who is appointed in writing under section 5 ASiG. The model offers the deepest integration into the business. In office and administrative businesses, however, the hours required under DGUV Regulation 2 only fill a position at several hundred employees.
- How it works: hiring your own person, often as a side task, for example in facility management.
- Business size: large administrations with their own safety organisation.
- Strengths: everyday presence, short decision paths.
- Limits: the business carries training, regular further training and cover. As a side task, the topic easily falls behind the main job. Freedom from instructions under section 8 ASiG must also apply towards the specialist's own line manager.
- Effort for the business: high in setup and management, low afterwards.
Special case up to 20 employees: the competence centre model
Since the new version of DGUV Regulation 2 took effect on 1 January 2026, businesses with up to 20 employees can also use the competence centre model under annex 4; the threshold used to be 10. The VBG provides the KPZ portal with a free hotline for this. On-site inspections and documentation owned by the business are not part of it, implementation stays with management.
The five models against the twelve criteria
"Contract-dependent" means the point can be settled in the offer and should be stated there in writing. The criteria themselves are explained in Choosing an occupational safety specialist: 7 criteria.
| Criterion | Large provider | Independent consultant | Office specialist | Employer model | Employed specialist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expertise under section 7 ASiG | strong | strong | strong | only on occasion | strong |
| Office sector experience | medium | contract-dependent | strong | weak | medium |
| On-site presence | medium | strong | strong | weak | strong |
| Transparent support hours | contract-dependent | contract-dependent | strong | not applicable | not applicable |
| Reachability in an emergency | strong | medium | strong | weak | strong |
| Cover arrangement | strong | weak | medium | weak | weak |
| Documentation with the business | contract-dependent | weak | strong | strong | strong |
| Price transparency | contract-dependent | medium | strong | medium | strong |
| Term and notice | contract-dependent | strong | contract-dependent | not applicable | not applicable |
| Cooperation with physician and safety committee | strong | medium | medium | weak | strong |
| Data protection and processing agreement | contract-dependent | contract-dependent | strong | strong | strong |
| Growing beyond 20 and 50 | strong | medium | medium | weak | strong |
Effort for 12, 35 and 80 employees
Support hours are the annual number of hours that the occupational safety specialist and the occupational physician provide together. In support group III they amount to 0.5 hours per employee per year, at least 20 percent of which fall to the specialist. We do not quote euro amounts; the cost logic is explained in What does an occupational safety specialist cost?.
| Employees | Basic support per year | of which at least specialist | Permitted models |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 6.0 hours (annex 1) | 1.2 hours | all five, plus competence centre model |
| 35 | 17.5 hours (annex 2) | 3.5 hours | all five |
| 80 | 40.0 hours (annex 2) | 8.0 hours | 1, 2, 3 and 5, no employer model |
Anyone choosing the employer model at 35 employees should estimate honestly whether management can handle its own share in less than these 17.5 hours, including training and getting to grips with the regulations. Your own figures, including part-time weighting, come from the support hours calculator.
Decision aid by starting point
Two questions narrow the choice most: how many employees the business has and whether someone in-house has the time and expertise. Which further duties apply at your size is shown by the duties quick check.
| Starting point | No expertise or no time in-house | Expertise and time in-house |
|---|---|---|
| up to 20 employees, one site | model 3 or 2 | model 4 or competence centre model |
| 21 to 50 employees | model 3 or 2 | model 4, switch early if growing |
| more than 50 employees, pure office | model 3 | model 3 or 5 |
| several sites nationwide | model 1 or 3 | model 5 plus external input |
| office plus workshop, warehouse or laboratory | model 1 or 2 with matching experience | model 5 |
Choosing the right support model in five steps
You need the notice from your accident insurance institution and a list of employees with their weekly hours.
- Weight the headcount. Count part-time staff at 0.5, 0.75 or 1.0 under section 2 (5) DGUV Regulation 2 and check the annual average against the thresholds of 20 and 50.
- Determine the support group. Look up the industry code from your accident insurance institution's notice in annex 2 of DGUV Regulation 2. Pure office and administrative businesses are usually in group III.
- Assess your own time honestly. Decide who in the business would carry the risk assessment, safety briefings and documentation, and how many hours a year that person actually has free.
- Narrow down the models. Use the decision aid to pick two models that match size, locations and in-house expertise, and discard the rest.
- Check offers against the criteria. Get one offer for each of the two models and have on-site presence, the derivation of support hours, cover arrangements and the handover of documentation confirmed in writing.
If your business fits model 3, we provide an occupational safety specialist on site plus digital, audit-proof documentation. Whether that is the right choice for your starting point or another model fits better, we discuss openly in an initial consultation via the contact form.
This article is general guidance and does not replace legal advice on your individual case. The rating of the models describes typical profiles, not individual providers. What governs is the current version of the ASiG and DGUV Regulation 2, together with how the accident insurance institution that covers you interprets it.
