Occupational health care G 25 for computer work: compulsory, offered and desired care separated out

The Ordinance on Occupational Health Care (ArbMedVV) obliges employers to offer employees preventive care as soon as they carry out activities with particular risks. For VDU work, this obligation is anchored in Annex Part 4 Paragraph 2 ArbMedVV: Provision for “activities on VDU devices”. The DGUV recommendation G 25 (today “occupational health precautionary recommendation G 25”) specifies the content and depth of the examination, but is not itself the legal basis.

In practice, G 25 is often confused with a mandatory examination. In fact, screen precautions are usually provisional precautions, supplemented by the obligation to provide employees with suitable visual aids if the result suggests this. This article organises the legal situation, the reasons, the content of the examination, the documentation requirements and the way in which the employer organises the preventive care properly without violating medical confidentiality.

The ArbMedVV differentiates between three types of preventive care: compulsory preventive care, offered preventive care and desired preventive care. Compulsory precautions must be taken before a specific activity is started and is a prerequisite for carrying out this activity. Provision must be offered to the employee; acceptance remains voluntary. According to § 11 ArbSchG, desired preventive care must be made possible at the request of the employee if a health risk cannot be ruled out.

For screen work, the offer of preventive care applies according to Annex Part 4 Paragraph 2 ArbMedVV. The DGUV recommendation G 25 is a methodology that structures the examination, eye test, advice and documentation. It does not replace the applicability assessment of the ArbMedVV; However, it provides the professional standard by which company doctors orient themselves. The Workplace Ordinance (ArbStättV) supports the requirements for computer workstations in Annex No. 6: screen, keyboard, lighting, radiation, ergonomic chair, eye examination and, if necessary, visual aids. Whoever carries out the preventive care as a company doctor documents the offer and the result separately, as the employer is only informed of the fact “offered, carried out, if necessary recommended visual aid”, not the medical findings.

The ArbMedVV requires provision before starting work and at regular intervals. Specific intervals are not specified in the ArbMedVV; They result from the risk assessment in accordance with Section 5 ArbSchG. In company medical practice, a norm has been established based on previous regulations: 60 months for those under 40, 36 months from 40, 24 months from 50. These values ​​are not a legal standard, but are a suitable expected value for supervision.

A new offer is also required after a long break from work, after complaints about worsening vision or headaches, after a change to the workplace (new monitor, different sitting position) and after a change of employee. The employer documents both the offer and its acceptance or rejection in the pension file in accordance with Section 3 Paragraph 4 ArbMedVV, without any medical content. A blanket entry of “busy with computer screen work, has refused” is not enough; The date of the offer and the information that the meaning was explained belong in the entry. Anyone who employs 80 of 90 employees in an administrative company to work on computer screens has to offer 80 pension plans, some of which are initial offers and others as repeat offers. The deadline begins when the relevant change is known.

The DGUV recommendation G 25 provides for a standardised examination with three components. Firstly, the anamnesis, in which professional activity, previous complaints, glasses or contact lens wearer status, general eye health and work-related symptoms such as dry eyes, double vision or muscular complaints in the shoulder and neck area are inquired about.

Secondly, the examination: visual acuity test at distance, near and screen distance (usually 50 to 70 cm), test of spatial vision (stereo), colour vision, phoria and eye mobility, as well as one Orientative inspection of the anterior segments of the eye. If there are any abnormalities, you will be referred to an ophthalmologist. Thirdly, advice: tips on screen distance, lighting situation, screen position relative to the window, screen break according to DGUV Information 215-410, exercises for the eyes and cervical spine as well as information on other preventative measures (maternity protection, psychological stress). The doctor's duty of confidentiality according to Section 8 ArbMedVV remains strict: the employer only receives a certificate that the preventive care was carried out and only a specific recommendation if the employee expressly agrees. If necessary, the FAQ overview is used to classify the interfaces.

Appendix No. 6 Para. 2 ArbStättV obliges the employer to provide “special visual aids for screen work” if precautionary measures have shown that these are necessary and normal visual aids are not sufficient. “Normal” means the correction of general ametropia (glasses or contact lenses that are also worn in everyday life). “Special” addresses the particular visual distance of the computer workstation, regularly for people who need progressive vision or age-related accommodation restrictions.

Cost coverage is limited to the medically necessary extent. In practice, this means simple computer glasses with functional frames, not design-oriented brand glasses. A maximum limit is not regulated by law; Internal company regulations with a cost framework are common, often 100 to 250 euros for lenses and frames. The visual aid is the property of the employee and remains with him if he leaves. Screen glasses are not compulsory; it is made available to employees who actually need it for screen work. The proof comes from the medical recommendation. Employees who do not need visual aids do not receive any. If there is a dispute about the necessity, a specialist opinion is recommended; As a rule, the professional association does not bear any costs, as computer glasses are not occupational safety equipment within the meaning of the PPE use regulations.

According to Section 3 Paragraph 4 ArbMedVV, the employer keeps a preventive care file with information on the reason, day and result of the preventive care (only “carried out”, without findings). The entry remains current for the duration of the activity and is handed over to the employee or deleted after the employment has ended. The preventive care certificate from the company doctor is kept in the file at the same time. It contains the name, date, reason for the preventive care and, if necessary, the recommendation to provide visual aids.

During audits by the professional association or the state occupational safety authority, the preventive care file is checked at random. Typical findings: the offer was not documented, only the acceptance; or no pension card was kept, but notes were distributed in various personnel files. A central file for each location, in which every computer workstation is recorded, avoids gaps. The CIVAC workspace displays the pension index as a separate module, with resubmission depending on age and type of pension, with separation of medical and employer documents and with access rights that respect medical confidentiality. Audit-proof, documented, § ...-proof. The retention period depends on the activity; The certificate should be available for at least the duration of the employment relationship.

Home office and mobile working have removed screen activity from the classic office environment. However, the ArbMedVV does not differentiate according to the location of the activity. Anyone who regularly works on a screen as an employee, whether in the company, in the home office or on the move, is entitled to the pension provision. The employer must extend the risk assessment to the respective workplace. A full on-site assessment for employees working from home is not mandatory; a self-disclosure with a checklist is usually sufficient.

For trainees and young employees under the age of 18, there are additional requirements from the Youth Employment Protection Act (JArbSchG): initial examination before starting work in accordance with Section 32 JArbSchG, follow-up examination after one year and repeated if requested. The content extends beyond G 25; they include a general suitability assessment. Mobile devices (tablets, smartphones) are not screen devices within the meaning of Annex Part 4 ArbMedVV if they are only used for a short time. However, if used permanently with an external keyboard and over several hours, the workstation is considered a computer workstation and the provision applies. Others run compliance like a filing cabinet. We run it like software.

G-25 preparedness is not isolated. It intervenes in the ASA mechanism according to Section 11 ASiG: the company doctor reports quarterly, anonymously, to the occupational health and safety committee about the screen precautionary assumption, complaints and suggestions for improvement. The occupational safety specialist integrates the findings into the risk assessment of the workplace, into the lighting concept and into the selection of chairs, tables and monitors. Anyone who carries out the psychological risk assessment in accordance with Section 5 Paragraph 3 No. 6 ArbSchG at the same time gains information about the stress caused by high amounts of screen time.

In practical terms, this means: A recommendation from the company doctor to reduce screen breaks or to optimise ergonomics is translated into measures in the ASA meeting. It is documented in the ASA protocol, in the action plan and in the risk assessment. The CIVAC workspace links the precautionary file, ASA protocol, action plan and risk assessment in one file so that the reporting line to management remains comprehensible. Anyone who needs the interface to data protection because the preventive care file contains personal health data should clarify access and retention periods with the data protection officer. The data category according to Art. 9 GDPR is particularly in need of protection.

Day 1 to 14: Inventory. Record all computer workstations in accordance with Appendix No. 6 ArbStättV. The benchmark is not the desk, but the activity. Classic processing with several hours a day on the screen counts, sporadic use of a PC terminal does not. Mark employees who have not yet received an offer or whose last provision was more than 36 months ago (or 24 months for those over 40).

Day 15 to 35: Commissioning. Clarify frequency, booking channel and reporting line with the company doctor or an inter-company service provider. Agree on a uniform certification format and a fixed process for visual aid recommendations. Day 36 to 50: Implementation. Offer preventive care, document the offer, organise the appointments. Day 51 to 60: Resubmission. Submit a reminder for each resubmission 30 days before the deadline, check the precautionary file and set up a quarterly reporting line to the ASA meeting. CIVAC maps this process in the workspace, with templates for offer, acceptance, certificate, resubmission and ASA report. Anyone who employs the company doctor externally has the function ordered, with an appointment certificate, reporting line and 2 working days SLA until the first consultation.

CIVAC is a compliance platform and officer-as-a-service. Licence the workspace for your internal occupational safety and your company medical service so that screen prevention, visual aid recommendations, precautionary records and ASA reporting lines run in a verifiable inventory. Or have our representatives order, with an appointment certificate, signed, filed and verifiable. The EU data residency, the ISO 27001:2022 basis and the 490 audit templates underlie every solution, whether you are looking after a small office or a medium-sized administrative location.

When the next inspection is due and an auditor wants to see the pension index, the question is not who kept the cards, but whether every offer, every acceptance and every recommendation can be found. With the CIVAC workspace, this situation can be evaluated in seconds and medical confidentiality is maintained. Write to info@civac.de or use the contact form on civac.de. We check your pension situation, suggest the necessary templates and set up the workspace, or make the company doctor available to order. Turn reading into an assignment.