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Employee Protection and Occupational Safety and Health

Source: Dr. Robert Rath, head of division Information and Communication in the Landesamt für Arbeitsschutz, Berlin

Employee protection means to preserve safety and health of all employees, also for the success of the company through a healthy, active and motivated personnel.

Responsible for employee protection is the employer, councelled and supported by the company's works doctor and the expert for occupational safety or the safety officer (. According to the occupational safety act, the employer assesses hazards at workplaces (hazard assessment), takes proper measures for protecting his employees and documents this. Because of the new European law, German legislators have let go of former rigid, mechanical regulationsa and leave open individual ways to realize company-specific or sector-specific safety solutions. All in all, the mployer has to note and assess the specific hazards, lay down rules respectively take measures and look after the effects of his changes as well as to document all this.

In certain legal areas, the legislators have freed the employer from the responsibilties of free investigating, assessing and ruling, and instead, things to do are standardized. Examples are the legal protection of expectant mothers, the area of employment of children and young persons, especially in artistic occupations, the designing of workplaces, the using of company financial means, the working at monitor workstations, and the handling of hazardous substances.

The supervision system for occupational safety and health, in Germany, is two-fold: The accident insurers being professional associations and the accident insurances settle damage cases of disease, death, or disablement in consequence of occupational activities. Every company is, according the sector, is compulsary policy-holder of an accident insurer. Accident prevention regulations and supervision by revising personnel are meant to minimize the rate of insured events.

Independent of that, the authorities of occupational safety, in each federal state, are in charge of the governmental supervision. These authorities of supervisionwho are named differently in each federal state punish violators and consult companies in building an internal safety organization.

For employers:

• Determine what characteristic hazards your employees are exposed to
• Think how to change working conditions in order to decrease and minimize impairment of your employees, for the benefit of their health and safety
• Check who of your employees have been introduced to typical hazards at their workplaces and who still needs an introduction
• Put up rules of healthy and safe behaviour at work, and sanction negligence
• Point out to your employees the importance of their health and safety, in their own interest as well as well as for the company
• Proactively demand consultation by your works doctor and safety manager on specific matters or on the overall safety concept and health management
• Form a judgement from time to time, whether your taken measures in employee protection are still effective or have to be improved or updated

For employees:

• Before first work at all, or first work in a new workplace, let yourself be informed concretely about hazards for your health and safety
• Inform your bosses about safety lacks and health problems at your workplace, and if possible, already suggest a solution
• Proactively contact your works doctor and safety managers for un-treated health hazards or safety lack at workplaces, and do not wait until the next annual inspection