Our Occupational Health Services

Yes. Under Section 5 of the German Occupational Health and Safety Act (ArbSchG), every employer in Germany is required to assess workplace conditions. Since 2013, the law has explicitly required that psychosocial risks and mental stress factors must also be taken into account.

This obligation applies as soon as you employ staff. The legal structure of your organization (e.g., a limited liability company, sole proprietorship, or non-profit organization) is irrelevant. Employees include, among others:

• Regular employees (full-time, part-time, and mini-job employees)

• Apprentices and interns

• Civil servants, judges, and military personnel

• Individuals working in sheltered workshops for people with disabilities

We offer all legally recognized assessment methods, including moderated workshops and observational interviews.

However, our primary focus is on employee surveys. We prefer this approach because it is the most straightforward and objective method available. It provides reliable, comparable data while ensuring employee anonymity, which typically leads to higher participation rates and more honest feedback from the workforce.

German legislation does not prescribe fixed intervals for repeating a psychosocial risk assessment. However, a reassessment is required whenever there are significant changes to working conditions, when existing measures prove ineffective, or when indicators such as sickness absence rates increase noticeably.

In practice, many organizations review their psychosocial risk assessment every two to three years. Regular reassessments help ensure ongoing legal compliance and allow employers to identify and address emerging workplace risks at an early stage.

There are three well-established approaches for assessing psychosocial risks in the workplace. The most suitable method depends on the size of the organization and the objectives of the assessment.

Employee Surveys (the standard approach): Anonymous, scientifically validated questionnaires are used to create an objective overview of psychosocial stress factors within the organization. This method provides highly reliable data and is suitable for businesses of almost any size, offering an efficient way to obtain comparable results.

Moderated Workshops: Employees work together to identify key stress factors and develop potential solutions. This approach often achieves a high level of acceptance and can be used either as a standalone method or to further explore findings from an employee survey.

Observational Interviews: Occupational health and safety experts assess work processes directly in the workplace. While this method can provide very detailed insights into complex work environments, it is more time-consuming and may be influenced by the individual perspective of the assessor to a greater extent than other methods.

The answer depends on whether the examination is based on a specific legal requirement.

Examinations with a legal basis: In some cases, the law explicitly requires a fitness-for-work examination before an employee may perform certain activities. Typical examples include medical fitness assessments for commercial truck drivers under the German Driving Licence Regulation (FeV) or examinations for emergency responders, such as firefighters.

Examinations without a direct legal basis: In practice, employers often request assessments for activities such as driving and operating machinery or working at heights, even where no specific legal requirement exists. In these cases, the employer may determine that medical fitness is a necessary prerequisite for safely carrying out the work.

Legal considerations: Requiring such examinations before an employee starts a high-risk activity is generally unproblematic from a legal perspective. The same applies when there is a specific reason for the examination, such as a prolonged illness, an accident, or a near-miss incident.

More complex legal questions arise when employers require recurring examinations during an ongoing employment relationship without a specific legal basis or concrete reason. To create a legally secure framework, many organizations regulate these procedures through company agreements or internal policies, while ensuring that the principle of proportionality is respected.

No. A consultation with an occupational physician is not automatically required for every pregnancy. The correct process is as follows:

Employers are required to have a workplace risk assessment in place that evaluates whether each position is suitable for pregnant employees. When an employee becomes pregnant, this assessment must be reviewed and updated to determine whether she can continue working safely.

The primary objective is always to adapt the workplace or working conditions wherever possible. A partial or full employment restriction should only be considered if appropriate adjustments cannot adequately eliminate the risks.

An important exception applies to employees working with children or adolescents. In these cases, the employer must immediately impose a temporary precautionary work restriction. The occupational physician must then assess the employee’s immunity status, including vaccination records and antibody protection. Only after the occupational physician confirms adequate immunity against relevant childhood infectious diseases may the employee legally return to work in childcare or youth-care settings.

In practice, pregnant employees sometimes report that they have informed their employer about their pregnancy but continue to work under conditions that may no longer be permissible under maternity protection regulations.

In such situations, it can be very difficult for a physician who has not been officially appointed as the company’s occupational physician to provide effective support. Without established communication channels and defined processes within the organization, it is often impossible to determine whether the working conditions comply with the requirements of the German Maternity Protection Act (Mutterschutzgesetz) or whether an “unacceptable risk” exists.

In addition, there may be no clear framework for coordinating and implementing the necessary protective measures quickly and effectively in cooperation with the employer.

For this reason, an occupational physician should be appointed and the relevant procedures should be established before a pregnancy occurs. This ensures that appropriate measures can be taken immediately and in compliance with legal requirements.

This is particularly important in childcare settings, such as daycare centers, where an immediate assessment of the employee’s immunity status and well-defined occupational health procedures are essential to minimize health and legal risks for everyone involved.

An occupational physician supports the employer in preparing and reviewing workplace risk assessments in accordance with the German Maternity Protection Act (Mutterschutzgesetz). Their role is to help ensure that all measures required to protect both mother and child are implemented in a legally compliant and effective manner.

They also serve as a medical advisor for pregnant employees and can provide guidance on individual health concerns related to the workplace and working conditions.

A particularly important responsibility arises in childcare and youth-care settings. In these environments, the occupational physician assesses the employee’s immunity status and determines whether, and under what conditions, continued employment during pregnancy is medically and legally permissible.

No. An examination will not be carried out against your will. The primary purpose of occupational health surveillance is to provide employees with specialist medical advice regarding potential health risks in the workplace. Once you participate in this consultation, the legal requirements for occupational health surveillance are already fulfilled, and the occupational physician can issue the certificate of attendance.

Many occupational health assessments include additional components such as vision or hearing tests, physical examinations, blood tests, or vaccinations. However, these measures are entirely voluntary. You may decline any of these components at any time – even in the context of mandatory occupational health surveillance – without facing any legal disadvantages. Your employer will not be informed of your decision.

In our experience, however, most employees are happy to take advantage of these additional services. Occupational health surveillance often reaches people who rarely visit a doctor in their daily lives and therefore provides an accessible opportunity to receive medical advice, preventive care, and professional support.

Yes. If an assessment of the actual workplace hazards in accordance with the Occupational Health Care Ordinance (ArbMedVV) determines that mandatory occupational health surveillance is required, participation becomes a legal prerequisite for performing the relevant work.

In practice, this means that employees cannot be forced to attend. However, employers are legally prohibited from assigning them to the respective activity unless a valid certificate of participation has been issued. Occupational health surveillance is therefore a necessary legal requirement for working in environments with specific risks, such as exposure to noise, infectious agents, or hazardous substances.

To maintain trust and confidentiality, employers do not receive any medical findings or results. They only receive confirmation that the employee has participated. The purpose of mandatory occupational health surveillance is to provide the best possible medical advice and support while helping to identify and minimize health risks at an early stage.

Yes, absolutely. In addition to providing individual medical advice, occupational health surveillance also serves an important feedback function. Through confidential consultations with employees, occupational physicians gain valuable insights into actual workplace stresses and hazards that may not always be identified during workplace inspections.

While strictly maintaining employee confidentiality and anonymity, occupational physicians can use these insights to provide targeted recommendations to management, for example during Occupational Safety and Health Committee (ASA) meetings. This helps organizations improve work processes and create healthier working conditions.

This feedback loop is an intentional part of the German occupational health and safety system and is most effective when occupational health surveillance and general occupational health support are provided by the same occupational physician.

The occupational health surveillance certificate is issued by the occupational physician after the appointment. It serves as an official record confirming when and for what reason the occupational health surveillance took place, as well as when the next surveillance appointment must be arranged or offered.

Employers are required to maintain these certificates in an occupational health surveillance record and retain them until the end of the employment relationship.

The certificate does not contain any medical findings, diagnoses, or examination results. It merely confirms that the employee participated in the occupational health surveillance, enabling the employer to meet their legal documentation obligations towards regulatory authorities and accident insurance institutions.

If an assessment of the actual workplace hazards in accordance with the Occupational Health Care Ordinance (ArbMedVV) determines that voluntary occupational health surveillance is required, the employer is legally obligated to actively offer occupational health consultations to all affected employees. The employer must also document that this offer has been made.

Participation is entirely voluntary for employees. They may decline the offer at any time and without providing a reason, without facing any disadvantages or negative consequences.

The purpose of voluntary occupational health surveillance is to provide employees with professional medical advice and support, helping to prevent work-related health problems and promote long-term wellbeing.

Failure to comply with occupational health surveillance requirements constitutes a regulatory offence under German occupational health and safety law.

During inspections by occupational safety authorities or accident insurance institutions, companies may face substantial fines for non-compliance. In cases where an employer intentionally disregards these obligations and thereby endangers the health of employees, the conduct may even constitute a criminal offence.

The starting point is always a workplace risk assessment, which identifies the actual hazards and exposures associated with each role and work environment. These findings are then compared with the requirements of the Occupational Health Care Ordinance (ArbMedVV), and an occupational health assessment matrix is created.

This matrix provides a structured overview of which occupational health surveillance measures and fitness-for-work examinations are relevant for the different departments and activities within the company.

Developing this matrix is a core responsibility of the occupational physician as part of occupational health support. It is often one of the first steps taken when a company appoints a new occupational physician, helping to ensure legal compliance and establish an effective, risk-based occupational health program.