The basic duties are the same for every business. What differs is where the risk assessment puts its focus. Every business type here has its own page with its own focus.
The Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Occupational Safety Act and DGUV Regulation 2 apply regardless of sector. Every office business needs a risk assessment, safety training, a first-aid organisation and the appointment of a specialist and a physician. Pure office and administrative businesses sit in support group III with 0.5 hours of basic support per employee and year, shared between the specialist and the physician. Where other areas are operated alongside the office, such as a workshop, studio, store or childcare, that does not apply as a block: the group follows the actual activities. The duties quick-check shows which duties apply at your headcount, and the support-hours calculator gives you the number of hours.
Where the difference actually lies
Not in the regulations but in the risk assessment. It is not a form that looks the same for everyone, but the assessment of the activities that actually occur in your business (section 5 ArbSchG). Whether your people mostly sit at a screen, regularly lift files, work from home half the week or drive to properties every day does not change the duty, but it changes its content entirely. That is exactly where the business types on this page part ways.
How to tell which focus applies to you
Three questions are usually enough. First: which activity accounts for most of the working time, and does it happen in the office? Second: are there areas that are not a plain office, such as an archive, plant room, store, branch, field work or event space? Third: do people change frequently, through turnover, project staff or volunteers? Anyone who answers all three has already outlined the focus of their assessment, and knows what the safety training has to be tailored to.
If your sector is not listed
Each business type on this page has its own page setting out its focus. We support office and administrative businesses from across the VBG sector and public administration, from architecture and engineering offices through publishers and media houses to management consultancies and education providers. The tailoring does not come from the sector label anyway, but from the inspection: the specialist sees the rooms and the activities and writes the assessment to fit. How that works is set out under external occupational safety specialist.
