An escape and rescue plan is mandatory in an office where the location, size and type of use of the workplace require one. That is the wording of annex point 2.3 paragraph 2 of the German Workplace Ordinance. Typical triggers in an office are unclear escape routes, several storeys, visitor traffic and areas with increased fire risk.
| Situation in the business | Assessment | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| One storey, one stairwell, clear routes, no visitor traffic | as a rule not required | ArbStättV annex point 2.3 paragraph 2 |
| Several storeys with branching corridors | as a rule required | ASR A2.3, point 9 |
| Visitor traffic with people unfamiliar with the building | required | ASR A2.3, point 9 |
| Areas with increased fire risk, e.g. archive or plant room | required | ASR A2.3, point 9 |
| Several tenants sharing escape routes | required, with coordination between employers | section 8 ArbSchG |
When an escape and rescue plan is mandatory in an office
An escape and rescue plan is a graphical plan of the floor layout showing the escape and rescue routes, the emergency exits, the locations of fire protection and first aid equipment and the assembly point. It is required under annex point 2.3 paragraph 2 ArbStättV where the location, size and type of use of the workplace demand it.
Those three criteria are the test, not employer discretion. ASR A2.3 names in point 9 when a plan is regularly required: where escape and rescue routes are unclear, in areas with increased risk, and wherever people unfamiliar with the building are present. The classic office case combines several storeys, visitor traffic at reception and a repeatedly refurbished building.
ASR A2.3 is not a legal norm but carries a presumption of conformity under section 3a paragraph 1 ArbStättV: anyone who complies meets the ordinance's requirements. Independently of any plan, section 10 ArbSchG requires measures for first aid, firefighting and evacuation in every office business from the first employee.
When an office business can do without a plan
A small, clearly laid out office site often needs no escape and rescue plan: one storey, one stairwell, short routes in plain sight, only staff who know the building. What can be omitted is the plan, not the assessment: the decision belongs in the risk assessment under section 5 ArbSchG, with reasons.
Two duties remain in every case. Escape routes and emergency exits have to be kept permanently clear under annex point 2.3 ArbStättV and signed to ASR A1.3. And employees have to be trained on how to behave in a fire, on alerting and on the assembly point, plan or no plan.
The most common failing is not the missing plan but the missing justification: telling an inspector "we do not need one" without documenting it leaves a gap in the risk assessment.
What has to appear on the escape and rescue plan
The plan is not a floor layout with a few arrows but a standardised document: its design follows DIN ISO 23601 and its safety signs follow ASR A1.3. A plan in a symbolism of its own fails its purpose, because in an emergency it is read by exactly the people who do not know the routes.
Every plan carries these items:
- Floor layout in its current version, oriented to the viewer's line of sight.
- Position of the viewer, marked as a you-are-here symbol.
- Escape and rescue routes to the exit into the open air or a secured area, plus emergency exits.
- Fire protection equipment: extinguishers, wall hydrants, manual call points.
- First aid equipment: first-aid kits, first aid room, defibrillator where present.
- Outdoor assembly point, named unambiguously.
- Rules of behaviour for fire and accidents, short and numbered.
- Legend of the safety signs, plus version and date.
DIN ISO 23601 provides for at least A3 format for posted plans and A4 for plans inside individual rooms. A photoluminescent version keeps the plan readable if the lighting fails. Which first-aid equipment is needed is set out in First aid in the office; the first-aid notice generator produces the notice itself.
Where the plan has to be posted
Under annex point 2.3 paragraph 2 of the Workplace Ordinance the plan has to be displayed or posted at suitable places. A suitable place is one people pass anyway in an emergency and where they need to orient themselves. A plan in the managing director's office does not qualify.
These posting locations have proven themselves in office buildings:
- Entrances to the stairwells, on every storey.
- Lift lobbies, where people stop when an alarm sounds.
- Junctions and branches of the escape routes.
- Reception and waiting area, for unfamiliar visitors.
- Meeting rooms with external participants.
Correct orientation matters: the layout has to be turned so that "right" on the plan means "right" in the corridor. A plan hung the wrong way round sends people the wrong way. In mixed-use buildings the landlord is involved too, because stairwell, signage and assembly point usually sit outside the leased area. Who owes what is set out in fire safety in the office.
Escape and rescue plan vs. fire service plan vs. fire safety regulations
Four documents get confused in practice, and that confusion regularly leads a business to believe the landlord's plan settles everything. The escape and rescue plan addresses employees and visitors, the fire service plan the emergency services. Fire safety regulations are a text document, not a plan.
| Document | Purpose and audience | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Escape and rescue plan | Floor layout with escape routes, exits and assembly point, posted for employees and visitors | ArbStättV annex point 2.3, ASR A2.3, DIN ISO 23601 |
| Fire service plan | Plan set for the emergency services, agreed with the fire authority, not for posting | DIN 14095 |
| Fire safety regulations | Rules of behaviour as text: part A as a notice, part B for all employees, part C for special duties | DIN 14096 |
| Alerting plan | Reporting and alerting channels with phone numbers, responsibilities and order of notification | DGUV Information 205-033 |
For a pure office business of medium size, an escape and rescue plan plus lean fire safety regulations is the normal case. A fire service plan to DIN 14095 is required where the building authority or the fire prevention office asks for one.
How to produce an escape and rescue plan in six steps
For an office site with two storeys the work typically takes two to three weeks, and most of that time is spent obtaining the floor plans and coordinating with the landlord. The sequence is the same whatever the size of the site.
- Establish whether a plan is required. Record in the risk assessment under section 5 ArbSchG whether location, size and use require a plan, and give reasons.
- Obtain a current floor plan. Get an up to date plan per storey, from building management for leased space, and compare it with reality after the last refurbishment.
- Define routes and the assembly point. Determine escape routes, emergency exits, the locations of extinguishers and first aid equipment and the outdoor assembly point.
- Have the plan drawn to DIN ISO 23601. Safety signs to ASR A1.3, rules of behaviour, legend and date, posted plans at least A3.
- Post the plans and orient them correctly. Mount them at stairwell entrances, lift lobbies, route junctions and reception, aligned with the viewer's line of sight.
- Train, drill and keep it current. Cover the plan in the annual safety training, drill evacuation at appropriate intervals and update it on any change.
Step 6 is the one that gets dropped. A plan never discussed is decoration. The content belongs in the safety training, with date, content and signatures.
Evacuation drills and keeping the plan current
Annex point 2.3 paragraph 2 of the Workplace Ordinance requires drills at appropriate intervals in line with the escape and rescue plan. No fixed national interval is prescribed. In practice offices drill annually or every two years, and the drill is documented with date, sequence, evacuation time and findings.
An office drill rarely takes longer than twenty minutes and almost always produces three findings: one door is blocked, one person did not hear the alarm, and the assembly point is too small or sits in the fire service's approach route. Checking that everyone is out assumes somebody knows who is in the building, the real problem with flexitime and mobile work.
Whenever routes, the layout or the use of the building change, the plan has to be updated without delay. DIN ISO 23601 additionally provides for a currency check at intervals of no more than two years. The typical trigger in an office is not refurbishment but densification: new workstations in a former meeting room change occupancy and routes without anyone thinking of the plan.
Three office sites, three answers
The question "do we need a plan" is settled by the actual situation, not by the headcount. Three typical office sites show how the criteria of location, size and type of use interact, and how many posted plans follow from them in practice.
| Site | Situation | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 12 employees, 1 storey, 180 square metres, one stairwell, no visitors | clear routes, only staff who know the building | no plan as a rule, decision justified in the risk assessment |
| 35 employees, 2 storeys, 700 square metres, reception with visitors | people unfamiliar with the building on site | plan required, one per storey plus reception, 3 to 4 in total |
| 80 employees, 4 storeys, 1,600 square metres, two stairwells, basement archive | unclear routes, increased fire risk in the archive | plan per storey plus basement, postings at every stairwell entrance and lift lobby, 8 to 12 in total |
The number of postings is a planning figure: what matters is a current plan wherever somebody has to orient themselves. Whether escape routes, signage and plans hold up in your building can be checked with the office safety checklist.
An inspection assesses the paperwork, not good intentions: the risk assessment chapter on evacuation, the current plan with version and date, the training records and the last drill report. Keeping that current takes an occupational safety specialist on site plus digital, audit-proof documentation. Common questions are answered in our FAQ, your case in an initial consultation.
This article is general guidance and does not replace legal advice on your individual case. What governs is the current version of the ArbStättV and ArbSchG, the current Technical Rules for Workplaces and the building regulations of your federal state, together with how the authority and the accident insurance institution responsible for your site interpret them.
