You may have your risk assessment done externally: section 13 paragraph 2 ArbSchG allows the task to be delegated in writing to a competent person, typically the occupational safety specialist. The cost follows from hours under DGUV Regulation 2 times the hourly rate. Responsibility for the result and its implementation stays with management.
The risk assessment (Gefährdungsbeurteilung) is the systematic identification and evaluation of all hazards at a company's workstations required by section 5 ArbSchG, together with the measures decided and the review of their effectiveness. What belongs in it is covered in risk assessment for the office. This article answers the question before that: who produces it, how does it run and what does it cost?
May you have the risk assessment done externally?
Yes. Under section 13 paragraph 2 ArbSchG, the employer may delegate in writing to reliable and competent persons the task of carrying out duties incumbent on the employer on their own responsibility. Section 3 paragraph 2 ArbStättV even requires expressly that the risk assessment be carried out competently and that an employer without the knowledge obtain expert advice.
Delegating does not mean handing over. Three things stay with management:
- Selection: The delegate must be reliable and competent. Whoever picks the cheapest provider without checking is liable for that choice.
- Decision: Which measures are implemented, and with what budget, is the employer's call. The occupational safety specialist advises and does not issue orders.
- Monitoring: The company must track whether measures are implemented and effective.
The timing is also fixed: under section 3 paragraph 3 ArbStättV, the risk assessment must be documented before work begins. New offices commission it before moving in.
Who can produce it?
For office businesses there are three practical routes: the occupational safety specialist already appointed, a one-off order to an external provider, or doing it yourself under the entrepreneur model. What matters is not which is cheapest, but whether the assessment will be kept up to date afterwards.
The appointed occupational safety specialist is expressly responsible under section 6 sentence 2 number 1 letter e ASiG for advising the employer on assessing working conditions.
| Route | Legal framework | Strength | Weakness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appointed occupational safety specialist | Section 6 ASiG, basic care under DGUV Regulation 2 | Updates, instruction and walk-throughs from one source | Only as good as the agreed scope of service |
| One-off order to an external provider | Section 13 paragraph 2 ArbSchG, section 3 paragraph 2 ArbStättV | Quick start, clear deliverable | Updates unresolved, duty to appoint under ASiG remains open |
| Do it yourself under the entrepreneur model | Annex 3 DGUV Regulation 2, up to 50 employees | Low direct spending | High own time effort, mandatory training for management |
One-off order vs. service contract is the real trade-off. A one-off order delivers a document as at a given date. A service contract delivers a document that grows with relocations, new workstations or an accident. Note that a purchased one-off order does not replace the duty to appoint an occupational safety specialist and a company doctor. How the models fit together overall is shown in care models compared.
How it runs: six steps
An externally produced office risk assessment usually follows six steps: gathering documents, agreeing scope, walk-through, assessing mental stress, agreeing measures and updating.
- Gather the documents. Prepare the floor plan, a list of workstation types and activities, headcount per site, inspection records, accident reports and any older assessment.
- Agree the scope in a briefing. Explicitly include sites, home office, mental stress and special groups such as pregnant or young workers in the assignment.
- On-site walk-through. The occupational safety specialist inspects every workstation type, traffic routes, escape routes, kitchen, storage and technical rooms and talks to employees.
- Assess mental stress. Using a recognised method such as a survey, observation interview or moderated workshop, evaluated so that no conclusions about individuals are possible.
- Agree and approve the measures. Every hazard gets a measure, a responsible person and a deadline. Management decides and approves the documentation.
- Implement, review, update. Check effectiveness once deadlines pass, document the result and update the assessment whenever something in the business changes.
Step four is the one most often left out, although section 5 paragraph 3 number 6 ArbSchG expressly names mental stress as a hazard factor. How the assessment works in an office is covered in mental stress in the risk assessment. Where a works council exists, it must be involved in designing the risk assessment under section 87 paragraph 1 number 7 BetrVG; that belongs in the schedule, not at the end.
What does it cost to have a risk assessment done?
The cost of a risk assessment is hours times hourly rate. DGUV Regulation 2 sets the hours: with more than 20 employees, support with the risk assessment is part of basic care under Annex 2, which in an office amounts to 0.5 hours per employee per year for the occupational safety specialist and company doctor combined.
We give no euro amounts, because rates vary widely between providers; offers become comparable once the hours are visible. The following applies to office and administrative businesses in care group III:
| Business | Annex | Basic care per year, specialist and doctor | Minimum share specialist (20 percent) | Role of the risk assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agency, 12 employees | Annex 1 | no fixed hours | no fixed share | Support with the risk assessment, in group III at least every five years, plus occasions |
| Law firm, 40 employees | Annex 2 | 20 hours | 4 hours | Task area of basic care, updated continuously |
| Administration, 120 employees | Annex 2 | 60 hours | 12 hours | Task area of basic care, updated continuously |
The 20 percent is only the floor under Annex 2 of DGUV Regulation 2. In offices the focus is usually on the occupational safety specialist; with a 60 to 40 split, the law firm with 40 employees would have 12 specialist hours a year and the administration with 120 employees 36 hours. The exact values for your headcount and part-time ratio are calculated by the service hours calculator.
The first year is special: the initial risk assessment, the walk-through of all workstations and setting up the documentation take more effort than updates in later years. A relocation or new workstations count as company-specific care under Annex 2 section III and come on top of basic care. How this adds up to an annual budget is explained in what does an occupational safety specialist cost?
What drives the effort
The effort for a risk assessment does not grow with headcount alone but with the number of distinct work situations.
- Workstation types, not heads. Section 6 paragraph 1 ArbSchG allows summarised information for similar hazards. Forty identically equipped screen workstations are one type, not forty.
- Sites and floors. Every site needs its own walk-through, its own escape routes and its own first aid organisation.
- Home office and telework. Telework stations under section 2 paragraph 7 ArbStättV must be included in the initial assessment; mobile work needs at least an assessment of the activity.
- Special groups. Pregnant employees under section 10 MuSchG and young workers under section 28a JArbSchG: both carry their own assessment duties.
- State of the old documents. A well-kept previous version shortens the work.
What to check in an offer
A reliable offer for a risk assessment states the care group assumed, the scope in hours, the method for mental stress and the form of documentation. If any of these four points is missing, the offer is not comparable, merely cheap.
- Care group III stated? Whoever places an office in group II calculates three times the hours.
- On-site walk-through included? Under section 6 DGUV Regulation 2, care is in principle provided in person. An assessment by questionnaire alone does not meet this.
- Mental stress in scope? Ask explicitly, it is often missing from flat-rate offers.
- Measures with owners and deadlines? A list of hazards without an action plan is only half an assessment.
- Updates agreed? Who updates after a relocation, and on what terms?
- Ownership of the documentation? The documents must stay with you, complete and editable, when you change provider.
Which duties apply alongside the risk assessment at your company size is shown by the duties quick check. The most common content flaws in finished assessments are described in 7 mistakes in the risk assessment.
Safety Club produces the risk assessment for office and administrative businesses as part of ongoing care: an occupational safety specialist on site plus digital, audit-ready documentation that is updated with every change. Request an offer.
This article is general guidance and does not replace legal advice on individual cases. The current versions of ArbSchG, ArbStättV, ASiG and DGUV Regulation 2 and the interpretation of your responsible accident insurance institution are authoritative.
