Occupational safety for public bodies and administration
For public bodies and administration, the Occupational Health and Safety Act applies as it does to any business, the Occupational Safety Act in the form of equivalent occupational safety (section 16 ASiG). The responsible institution is not a Berufsgenossenschaft but a public-sector accident insurance institution, and civil servants are subject to their own accident provisions.
- Public bodies & administration
Important: Public bodies and their offices are not insured with a Berufsgenossenschaft but with a public-sector accident insurance institution: the state accident fund, a municipal accident insurance association or the Unfallversicherung Bund und Bahn. The Occupational Safety Act requires equivalent occupational safety there (section 16 ASiG). What counts is DGUV Regulation 2 in the version of your institution.
Public bodies: occupational safety between collective agreements and civil-service law
Public administration employs public-sector employees and civil servants side by side, often with public access. The Occupational Health and Safety Act applies to both alike, accident insurance does not: civil servants are not covered by statutory accident insurance, they fall under the civil-service accident provisions.
The Occupational Health and Safety Act expressly counts civil servants as employees (section 2 (2) no. 4 ArbSchG), and in the public service the office counts as the business (section 2 (5) ArbSchG). Risk assessment, training and first aid therefore have to be organised alike for everyone, whatever their status.
Accident insurance is what differs. Public-sector employees are insured with the state accident fund, a municipal accident insurance association or the Unfallversicherung Bund und Bahn. Civil servants are exempt from statutory accident insurance (section 4 (1) no. 1 SGB VII), they fall under the civil-service accident provisions. How the institutions differ is explained in DGUV and Berufsgenossenschaft: who covers offices.
Public administration: institution, legal basis and support group
| Feature | Public bodies and administration |
|---|---|
| Accident insurance institution | State accident fund or municipal accident insurance association for states and municipalities, Unfallversicherung Bund und Bahn for the federal administration. Not a Berufsgenossenschaft. |
| Civil servants | Not covered by statutory accident insurance (section 4 (1) no. 1 SGB VII), civil-service accident provisions apply. For occupational safety they count as employees (section 2 (2) no. 4 ArbSchG). |
| Support | Equivalent occupational safety under section 16 ASiG, scope under DGUV Regulation 2 in the version of your institution |
| Economic sector | WZ 84.1 public administration |
| Support group under DGUV Regulation 2 | III: 0.5 hours of basic support per employee and year, shared between the specialist and the occupational physician. Company-specific support comes on top, for example for public access. |
| External support | Permitted: the duty to appoint can also be met through an external service (section 19 ASiG). The contract is awarded under the procurement rules of your authority. |
| Staff representation | The staff council has co-determination rights on occupational safety measures (federal or state staff representation act) |
Which institution covers your office follows from who runs it: municipalities and state authorities belong to the accident fund of their state or to a municipal accident insurance association, federal authorities to the Unfallversicherung Bund und Bahn.
What the risk assessment in public administration looks at
- Public access. Citizen offices, immigration, social welfare and job centres see tense conversations and assaults. Sight lines, an escape route to the rear, raising the alarm and aftercare following an incident belong in the risk assessment, not only in the house rules.
- Registries and files. Filing cabinets, mobile shelving and crates full of paper. Lifting and carrying are a real strain here, and mobile shelving systems are work equipment that is inspected regularly (Industrial Safety Regulation).
- Offices at several locations. Branch offices, citizen offices and annexes differ in premises and public access. What is assessed are the workstation types in each office, not one template assessment for the whole authority.
- Staff council and procedure. The staff council has co-determination rights on occupational safety measures, set out in the federal or state staff representation act. Involving it early avoids finished measures getting stuck in the procedure.
How mental stress, including difficult conversations with members of the public, enters the assessment is explained in Mental stress in the risk assessment.
Walkthrough in an administrative building: what the specialist finds
Typical findings are corridors with file trolleys and copiers that double as traffic and escape routes, advisory desks with public access and no clear route to the rear, and registries where heavy binders are stored above head height. In older buildings lighting and room climate stand out, and on paper there is often a risk assessment that was never updated for the individual branch offices.
Safety training for administration and public areas
Besides the screen-work part, areas with public access need a block of their own: behaviour in tense conversations, raising the alarm, withdrawing and the route to aftercare. For registries, lifting and carrying and operating mobile shelving are added. Public-sector employees and civil servants receive the same training (section 12 ArbSchG).
Procedure, content and records of the annual training are set out in Safety training in the office: how often and on what?.
Related
- External occupational safety specialist: Scope of services, support models and how the hours are calculated.
- DGUV and Berufsgenossenschaft: who covers offices: Berufsgenossenschaft, accident fund and labour inspectorate compared.
- Support group and WZ code under DGUV Regulation 2: How support hours follow the economic sector.
- Risk assessment for the office workstation: Structure, minimum content and updating.
- Support-hours calculator: Basic support in support group III, worked out for your headcount.
- Occupational safety for associations and clubs: For associations and bodies with a head office.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Occupational Safety Act apply to public bodies?
Yes, in a form of its own: in the administrations and undertakings of the federal government, the states and the municipalities, occupational medical and safety protection equivalent to the principles of the act must be ensured (section 16 ASiG). The Occupational Health and Safety Act applies there directly.
Is the VBG responsible for public bodies?
No. The public sector is covered by the state accident funds, the municipal accident insurance associations and the Unfallversicherung Bund und Bahn. The VBG is a commercial Berufsgenossenschaft for private-sector businesses.
May a public body hire an external occupational safety specialist?
Yes. The Occupational Safety Act expressly allows the duties to be met through an external service (section 19 ASiG). How the contract is awarded follows the procurement rules and value limits of your authority.
Other business types
Worry-free occupational safety in 4 steps
A simple path from the first conversation to audit-proof documentation.
Free initial consultation
We set out what the law requires, what you don't need and what we deliver. Clarity from day one.
Contract signed
One contract, predictable annual costs, booked directly with us. First contact to signature: five working days at most.
Occupational safety specialist on site
Your specialist visits for the walkthrough, produces the risk assessment and checks: what is there, what is missing?
Audit-proof documentation in the portal
Every record sits in the client portal: digital, complete, current, easy to share.
Talk to us.
