ASA planner for the meeting cycle

How the scheduling works

The legal basis is Section 11 ASiG. An occupational safety committee must be set up above 20 employees and meets at least once per calendar quarter.

cycle = 1 meeting per calendar quarter
what counts is the quarter, not an interval of three months

That distinction is the most common planning error. Meetings in March and May cover the second quarter but leave the first uncovered if only the March one fell there. The planner therefore works in quarters, not in monthly intervals.

Who to invite to each date

• the employer or a decision-empowered appointed person
• two works council members, where one exists
• the occupational physician
• the occupational safety specialist
• the safety officers, where appointed

What the planner does not do

• The agenda. Without one the meeting turns into an exchange of impressions. What works: open measures from the previous quarter first, then new topics.
• The minutes. They are the only evidence that the committee met, and are regularly requested during an inspection. Every measure needs an owner and a deadline.
• The invitation. Fixing dates a year ahead is the most effective protection against losing a quarter.

Everything about the committee is in Occupational safety committee: required from when?.

What to record after each date

The minutes are the only evidence that the committee met. Usable ones contain five things:

• Date and duration of the meeting
• Participants with their function, and who sent apologies
• The points covered, not merely "occupational safety in general"
• The decisions taken
• An owner and a deadline for every measure

That last point is the difference between minutes that document a meeting and minutes that actually steer occupational safety. A topic appearing in four consecutive sets of minutes without closure shows an inspection exactly the opposite of what it should.

Frequently asked questions