The responsibility of employers

This includes – alongside combating work-related dangers – giving information and instructions, and above all creating a suitable organisational structure for occupational safety and health and providing the funding required for worker protection activities.

Depending on the dangers present in the company, employers have to keep themselves informed about the latest developments in occupational safety and health, and about new findings in the field of work(place) design.

If the employer is a legal entity such as a GmbH (similar to a limited company), the persons responsible for representing it, such as the managing director or general manager, are responsible for occupational safety and health. Under certain conditions, responsibility can be transferred to a person who has been appointed to carry out this task, a so-called designated representative.

Employers also bear responsibility in administrative penal proceedings, unless they have appointed a designated representative.