Occupational health and safety is the employer's responsibility
Five points that describe the responsibilities in occupational health and safety in Germany:
- The employer is primarily responsible for compliance with occupational health and safety in the company.
- The employer must set up an appropriate organization and provide the necessary resources to ensure the safety and health of employees.
- The employer's responsibility for health and safety at work increases with the number of employees.
- The employer must appoint managers who have authority to issue instructions and are responsible for the health and safety of employees.
- The employer must appoint persons to advise and support him and the managers reporting to him on all matters relating to health and safety in the workplace.
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Employer and occupational safety specialist have different responsibilities
RESPONSIBILITY OF THE EMPLOYER
The employer is obliged to take the necessary occupational health and safety measures, taking into account the circumstances that affect the safety and health of employees at work. (Occupational Health and Safety Act)
The employer must appoint company doctors and occupational safety specialists in accordance with this law. These are to support him in occupational safety and accident prevention. (Occupational Safety Act)
The employer must appoint specialists for occupational safety (safety engineers, technicians, foremen) in writing and assign them the tasks specified in § 6, insofar as this is necessary with regard to
- the type of operation and the associated accident and health hazards for employees,
- the number of employees and the composition of the workforce,
- the company organization, in particular with regard to the number and type of persons responsible for occupational health and safety and accident prevention,
- the knowledge and training of the employer or the persons responsible in accordance with Section 13 (1) No. 1, 2 or 3 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act in matters of occupational health and safety.
TASKS OF THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY SPECIALIST
Occupational safety specialists have the task of supporting the employer in occupational safety and accident prevention in all matters relating to occupational safety, including the humane organization of work. They have in particular
- to advise the employer and other persons responsible for occupational health and safety and accident prevention, in particular on
a) the planning, design and maintenance of plant facilities and social and sanitary facilities,
b) the procurement of technical work equipment and the introduction of work processes and working materials,
c) the selection and testing of personal protective equipment,
d) the design of workplaces, work processes, the working environment and other ergonomic issues,
e) the assessment of working conditions, - to carry out a safety inspection of the operating facilities and technical work equipment, in particular prior to commissioning, and work processes, in particular prior to their introduction,
- monitor the implementation of occupational health and safety and accident prevention and, in connection with this
- a) to inspect the workplace at regular intervals and to report any deficiencies found to the employer or the person otherwise responsible for occupational health and safety and accident prevention, to propose measures to remedy these deficiencies and to work towards their implementation,
- b) to pay attention to the use of personal protective equipment,
- c) to investigate the causes of accidents at work, to record and evaluate the investigation results and to propose measures to the employer to prevent these accidents at work,
- to ensure that all employees in the company behave in accordance with the requirements of occupational health and safety and accident prevention, in particular to instruct them about the accident and health hazards to which they are exposed at work and about the facilities and measures to avert these hazards and to assist in the training of safety officers.