Occupational safety for startups
A startup has the same duties as any other office business, they just arrive faster. Notifying the accident insurance institution is due within one week of founding, the risk assessment, training and support with the first employment contract, and every hiring wave can cross a new threshold.
- Startups
Startups: occupational safety that grows with the team
A startup grows faster than its occupational safety does. Three founders become twenty employees within a year, and every hiring wave brings new duties that nobody on the team is watching, because there is neither an HR department nor a responsible person.
The first duty has nothing to do with employees yet. Within one week of the business starting, its type and purpose, the number of insured persons and the opening date must be reported to the accident insurance institution (section 192 (1) SGB VII). What follows in which order is set out in Occupational safety for new businesses.
The founders themselves are not automatically covered by accident insurance. Whether the statutes of the institution include them or voluntary insurance is needed (section 6 SGB VII) should be settled while founding, not after the first accident.
Startups: institution, support group and thresholds
| Feature | Office-based startups |
|---|---|
| Accident insurance institution | For software, consulting, internet services, agencies and fintechs as a rule the VBG. Businesses that manufacture hardware or install systems may belong to another Berufsgenossenschaft. What counts is the notice of responsibility. |
| Notification | Within one week of the business starting (section 192 (1) SGB VII) |
| Economic sector and support group | Follows the business purpose, for example WZ 62 IT services: support group III with 0.5 hours of basic support per employee and year, shared between the specialist and the occupational physician |
| From the first employee | Risk assessment, training before the first working day, first-aid organisation, support from an occupational safety specialist and an occupational physician |
| Above 20 employees | Occupational safety committee, one meeting per calendar quarter (section 11 ASiG) |
| Up to 50 employees | Unternehmermodell permitted as an alternative. From 51: standard support. |
| From 50 employees in the office | Safety officers (section 22 SGB VII, since 29 May 2026) |
For the duties, every person with an employment contract counts, including working students, interns and mini-jobbers. For the threshold of 20, part-timers count pro rata: up to 20 hours a week as 0.5, up to 30 as 0.75.
What the risk assessment in a startup looks at
- Thresholds while growing. Above 20 employees the occupational safety committee is required, from 51 standard support with a formally appointed specialist. Knowing the thresholds means planning them alongside hiring instead of noticing them afterwards.
- Safety training with every hire. The duty starts with the employment contract, not with its length. Working students, interns and mini-jobbers are trained before their first working day like a full-time hire, and again with every hiring wave.
- Coworking and sublets. In a coworking space or sublet premises several employers share escape routes, first aid and fire safety. They have to coordinate (section 8 ArbSchG), while responsibility for their own employees stays with each company.
- Workload peaks and distributed teams. Funding rounds, product launches and time zones create workload peaks. They belong in the assessment of mental stress under section 5 paragraph 3 ArbSchG, as does working from home, which is the normal case for many startups.
How working from home and mobile work enter the assessment is explained in Risk assessment for remote work and telework.
Walkthrough in a startup office: what the specialist finds
Typical findings are laptops without an external screen, keyboard or adjustable chair, power strips plugged into each other, and kitchen or event areas that turn into a venue in the evening. In a coworking space nobody on the team often knows where the nearest fire extinguisher hangs, who the first aider is and which escape route applies. On paper, the risk assessment, training records and the appointment of support are usually missing altogether.
Safety training as part of onboarding
Safety training belongs in onboarding, on the first day and before work starts, with a record. For distributed teams it may be held online, provided questions are possible and understanding is checked. The part on escape routes, first aiders and fire safety refers to the actual premises, which in a coworking space means the operator's rules.
How online training for distributed teams works on a sound legal footing is set out in Online safety training and home office.
Related
- External occupational safety specialist: Scope of services, support models and how the hours are calculated for your team size.
- Occupational safety for new businesses: The duties in the order in which they fall due.
- Unternehmermodell: safety under DGUV Regulation 2: For businesses up to 50 employees, and when it does not pay off.
- Occupational safety for software and tech: For teams that work mostly remotely.
- Duties quick check: Which duties apply at your current headcount.
- First aider calculator: How many first aiders have to be present on your office days.
Frequently asked questions
When does a startup have to notify the accident insurance institution?
Within one week of the business starting, even without employees (section 192 (1) SGB VII). The type and purpose of the business, the number of insured persons and the opening date must be reported. The duty counts as met if a trade registration is filed within that week.
Does a startup with five employees already need an occupational safety specialist?
Support has to be in place from the first employee (section 2 ASiG). That does not mean a formally appointed specialist: up to 50 employees the Unternehmermodell is permitted. From 51 employees standard support with fixed hours applies.
Who is responsible for occupational safety in a coworking space?
Your own company remains responsible for its own employees, even in someone else's premises. Where employees of several employers work in the same place, the employers have to coordinate (section 8 ArbSchG), for example on escape routes, first aiders and fire safety. The operator provides the space, it does not draw up the risk assessment for your team.
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.
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