Company doctor: From what number of employees does the obligation to order apply?

The obligation to appoint a company doctor results from Section 2 of the Act on Company Doctors, Safety Engineers and Other Occupational Safety Specialists (ASiG) of December 12, 1973. The specific design is regulated by DGUV Regulation 2 of January 1, 2011, which applies to all sectors of statutory accident insurance. Contrary to what is often assumed, the obligation does not only begin with 20 or 50 employees, but generally with the first employee. What changes with the number of employees are the permissible care models and the calculated working times, not the basic obligation.

This article explains the tiered logic of DGUV Regulation 2, from alternative care in small businesses to regular care with personal working times from the 11th employee. You will find out how the working time is calculated according to care group 1, 2 or 3, what obligations apply to the employer and how the appointment certificate, proof of working time and documentation of the occasions can be kept audit-proof. We classify the interfaces to the occupational safety specialist and risk assessment and show how CIVAC, as a compliance platform and officer-as-a-service, bundles the role in the workspace. Licence the workspace for your internal representatives or have our representatives order it. The aim is to have documentation that can be presented to the supervisory authority within 24 hours.

§ 2 ASiG obliges the employer to appoint company doctors in writing and to assign them the tasks mentioned in § 3 ASiG. DGUV regulation 2, issued by the statutory accident insurance providers, specifies the obligation to order, the operating times and the care models. The regulation has been in effect in all sectors of statutory accident insurance since January 1, 2011 and replaced the previous sector-specific UVV regulations.

The regulation distinguishes between two models: standard care and alternative needs-based care. Standard care applies to companies with more than 10 employees and combines basic care with industry- and job-specific working hours. The alternative support is available to small businesses with up to 10 employees, provided that certain requirements are met, such as the entrepreneur's participation in motivation, information and training measures.

In both models, a written order is mandatory. The company doctor can be employed, freelance or work through an inter-company occupational health service. What is essential is the professional requirement as a specialist in occupational medicine or a doctor with the additional title of occupational medicine in accordance with the state medical association's further training regulations. You can find out more about the role at Company Doctor. In the appointment relationship, it must be ensured that the doctor's freedom of professional instruction is preserved and that the appointment fully covers the scope of duties in accordance with Section 3 ASiG without impermissibly restricting it. In addition, the requirements of the ArbMedVV must be adhered to, in particular regarding mandatory precautions for hazards such as noise, vibration, hazardous substances, biological agents and computer work, as well as offered and requested precautions at the request of employees or for special activities. Anyone who properly documents these requirements also creates the basis for later recognition of the pension index in supervisory procedures or in the event of a change of employer.

For companies with up to 10 employees, DGUV regulation 2 provides for alternative needs-based care. It combines the entrepreneur's obligation to motivate and provide information with the appropriate deployment of company doctors and occupational safety specialists. The entrepreneur takes part in training courses provided by his responsible professional association and documents this. If necessary, for example after accidents, changes in activity or complaints, he will consult the company doctor.

The prerequisites are, in particular, regular participation in motivation, information and training measures, the risk assessment in accordance with Section 5 of the ArbSchG, the documentation of the measures and the availability of a company doctor for advising on specific occasions. A written agreement with the company doctor or the inter-company service is also common in the alternative model, because otherwise the eventual care cannot be guaranteed.

In practice, the alternative care requires discipline in the documentation. In the event of an incident, the supervisory authority checks whether the training requirement has been fulfilled, whether the risk assessment has been carried out and whether the event-related advice has been taken up. Anyone who cannot document this will fall back from alternative care to regular care, including calculated deployment times. In the CIVAC workspace, training certificates, risk assessments and event documentation for small businesses are prepared and linked to the SiFa module. The appointment certificate, signed, filed, verifiable. This means that the status of alternative care remains resilient for years to come. Anyone who chooses this model should check annually whether the number of employees remains below 10 and whether the entrepreneur's participation in training is fully documented; As soon as the threshold is exceeded, the transition to regular care must be completed promptly and the change must be formalized, including adjusting the appointment certificate and adding the basic care period.

Standard care applies to 11 or more employees. It consists of two parts: basic care with clearly defined working hours for each employee and company-specific care, the scope of which results from a joint assessment of the company by the employer, company doctor, safety specialist and, if necessary, employee representatives. The sum of both parts results in the overall care of the company.

Basic care is divided into care groups. Group I includes high risks, such as the construction industry, chemical industry or wood processing. Group II stands for medium risk, such as mechanical engineering or metal processing. Group III summarizes low risks, such as administration, banks, software development. Depending on the industry, the working hours per employee per year are typically between 0.2 and 2.5 hours, divided between the company doctor and the occupational safety specialist. The exact assignment can be found in Appendix 2 of DGUV Regulation 2.

The company-specific support addresses specific risks, such as noise, hazardous substances, psychological stress, computer screen work, maternity protection or shift work. It is shown in appendix 3 and 4 of DGUV regulation 2 in task areas. The employer evaluates which task areas are relevant, estimates the effort and records the result in a written statement. The definition is part of the mandatory documentation and should be checked at least annually. CIVAC provides a calculation template in the workspace that links basic support and company-specific support and automatically responds to industry group, number of employees and task areas. This creates reproducible calculations that can be traced back to the current status of the risk assessment at any time. This means that the operating time is traceable and reproducible for supervision. An annual review of the operating time is particularly recommended if the number of employees, the activity structure or the risk assessment changes, so that the calculation always corresponds to the current status.

The calculated operating time seems complex at first, but it follows a clear logic. An example: A mechanical engineering company with 80 employees belongs to Group II. Appendix 2 DGUV Regulation 2 assigns Group II a basic care time of 1.5 hours per employee per year, of which, for example, 0.6 hours are a company doctor and 0.9 hours are a safety specialist. The basic care time for the company doctor is 48 hours per year, plus company-specific parts from areas of responsibility such as hazardous substances or psychological stress.

The employer determines the company-specific times together with the company doctor and SiFa, usually based on the risk assessment. The assessment of each task area results in an estimated number of hours, which is documented. The sum of basic and company-specific care is the total working time, which should be recorded in the contract with the doctor or service. A pure flat-rate agreement without reference to the calculation steps cannot be audited.

Important: The deployment time is not simply served, but rather used for specific reasons. Initial examinations, preventive appointments, risk assessments, ASA meetings, inspections, advice to management and training are the typical occasions. An overview of the reasons for use is continuously maintained in the CIVAC workspace and linked to the appointment certificate. Anyone who receives a supervisory request can provide reasons for the time spent working within 24 hours. The auditor calls, the evidence is ready. This significantly simplifies communication with the responsible supervisory authority and reduces queries. In addition, references to concrete measures can be derived from the documented occasions, so that the operational time can not only be used as a duty, but as a resource relevant to management, for example for the early identification of stress areas or for prioritizing investments.

The duties of the company doctor result from Section 3 ASiG. He advises the employer on the planning of workplaces, the procurement of work equipment, the selection of personal protective equipment and questions about work physiology, work psychology and work hygiene. He takes part in risk assessments, examines employees as part of occupational health precautions in accordance with ArbMedVV and carries out inspections.

In concrete terms, this means: mandatory precautions for activities with increased risk, offered precautions for certain stresses, desired precautions at the request of the employees. In addition, there are aptitude tests, for example according to G25 for driving activities, if they are required. The preventive care is documented in a preventive care file in accordance with Section 3 ArbMedVV, which is subject to medical confidentiality and is maintained by the company doctor. The employer receives certificates, but no medical details.

The company doctor has a special role in the psychological risk assessment. Since the 2013 amendment to the ArbSchG, psychological stress has been explicitly part of the risk assessment. The company doctor supports surveys, workshops and analyses without taking on the responsibility of the employer. He can also help organise ASA meetings, which must be held at least quarterly in accordance with Section 11 ASiG. In the CIVAC workspace, the precautionary file, ASA protocol and reporting line are linked. Others run compliance like a filing cabinet. We run it like software. A secure medical confidentiality zone is maintained because personal medical data is held exclusively by the doctor and administrative documents are managed separately. In terms of data protection, the requirements of the GDPR and the ArbMedVV must be observed, in particular regarding the retention period, the separation of the pension file and the personnel file and the handing over of the pension file to the employee upon termination of the employment relationship. A clean separation prevents data protection complaints and protects employers and employees alike because the confidentiality of medical data is maintained.

The appointment of the company doctor is made in writing. The appointment certificate regulates the scope of tasks, professional freedom from instructions, reporting line to the management, operational time, resources, duration of the appointment and special termination regulations. It refers to § 2 and § 3 ASiG and concludes with the acceptance by the doctor. In the case of an inter-company service, a framework agreement supplements the appointment certificate without replacing it.

The content includes at least: name of the company, description of tasks based on § 3 ASiG, freedom from technical instructions, agreed working time per year, calculation basis according to DGUV regulation 2, reporting line, representation regulations, data protection regulations for the pension file. A point that is often overlooked is the obligation to document the reasons for use. If you do not provide evidence of the reasons, you will not be able to verify the contractually agreed working time.

Small and medium-sized businesses often find outdated appointment certificates, for example from the 1990s, with reference to old UVV regulations. An update to DGUV regulation 2 with clear calculation logic is overdue because otherwise the supervisory authority would lack the necessary plausibility. In the CIVAC workspace, the appointment certificate for the role of company doctor is prepared, including calculation of working hours, medical record reference and reporting line. If you want to migrate an existing document, you can bring it up to date in 2 working days. Audit-proof, documented, Section 130-proof. The appointment certificate is transferred to the digital agent register and linked to expiry and training dates. This ensures that representations, training certificates and contractual changes remain accessible without a manual search and that management can argue consistently in the audit. An electronic signature of the appointment certificate and automatic reminders of expiry or extension dates significantly reduce manual effort. A version status on the last page of the appointment certificate documents every change and makes the maintenance in the audit clearly traceable.

Anyone who violates the obligation to appoint a company doctor risks fines of up to 30,000 euros per offense in accordance with Section 25 of the ArbSchG. In the event of repeated violations or intentional violations, the sanction may increase. Section 130 OWiG often has a more serious effect because management's breach of supervisory duty can lead to fines of up to 10 million euros per offense if an incident in the company is due to the lack of an order.

In addition, there is a risk of orders from the responsible supervisory authority, such as the professional association or the state occupational safety authority. They can issue a subsequent order, set operating times or, in extreme cases, impose restrictions on activities. In the case of accidents related to the absence of a company doctor, there are additional criminal risks according to Sections 222 and 229 of the German Criminal Code if negligent homicide or bodily harm are involved.

In practice, the supervisory authority not only checks the existence of the appointment certificate, but also the liveliness of the care: Were ASA meetings held, risk assessments updated, preventive appointments offered, inspections carried out? Anyone who cannot prove this will come under pressure. An honest inventory is therefore the first step. CIVAC supports you with a diagnosis in the first appointment and a migration plan that closes the gaps in a prioritised manner. Licence the workspace for your internal representatives or have our representatives order it. The deadline begins as soon as we become aware of it and requires a quick reaction as soon as gaps become apparent. A structured inventory usually takes between one and two weeks, followed by a binding plan with those responsible, deadlines and a gradual transfer to the workspace. This plan is presented to management in a brief overview so that the decision on the future care model is made in a comprehensible manner and can be included in the next quarterly report. This creates a continuous track from the inventory through the decision to implementation in the workspace.

The company doctor rarely works alone. According to ASiG and ArbSchG, close cooperation with the occupational safety specialist, the occupational safety committee and the staff council or works council is mandatory. According to Section 11 ASiG, the Occupational Safety and Health Committee (ASA) meets at least quarterly as soon as more than 20 employees are regularly in the company. ASA protocols are mandatory documents and are regularly requested during supervisory audits.

The risk assessment according to Section 5 ArbSchG is the central control document for occupational safety. It is the responsibility of the employer and is drawn up with the participation of the company doctor and SiFa, updated regularly and supplemented to include psychological stress. Measures are derived from this and are documented and checked in an action plan. Training, inspections, instructions and preventative measures are the operational result.

CIVAC bundles these interfaces in the workspace. Appointment certificate for company doctor, appointment certificate SiFa, ASA calendar, risk assessment, precautionary file and action plan are linked. The reporting line to management produces a quarterly report with indicators such as prevention ratio, training status, open measures and event dates. For the safety specialist see SiFa. This creates a consistent occupational safety system with a verifiable audit trail that is accepted by professional associations, state regulators and internal auditors alike and makes everyday management noticeably easier. Medium-sized companies that manage multiple locations particularly benefit from the consolidated reporting line because management receives comparative values ​​between locations and can prioritise measures instead of reading an individual report from each location. The consolidation takes place automatically in the workspace and can be accessed with location, role and measure filters so that management, compliance function and works council see the same indicators. This means that no contradictory information is given to supervisors or certifiers.

If you cannot clearly state today who your company doctor is, what time of deployment has been agreed, whether the appointment certificate is current and what events were documented in the last year, then action is required. The obligation arises from Section 2 ASiG from the first employee onwards. The form results from DGUV regulation 2, and the supervisory authority checks both the appointment certificate and the liveliness of the care. There will only be noticeable relief when all artifacts are in one place and updated automatically.

CIVAC is a German compliance platform and officer-as-a-service. The workspace contains the company doctor's appointment certificate, working time calculation, precautionary index, ASA calendar, risk assessment and action plan. Data remains in the EU, operations are ISO/IEC 27001:2022 compliant, and the SLA for standard artifacts is 2 business days. Licence the workspace for your internal representatives or have our representatives order it. Both models use the same workspace and the same audit trail.

A one-hour conversation is sufficient for an initial inventory. We check the appointment certificate, deployment time, ASA protocols and risk assessment, provide a list of gaps with priorities and suggest a migration path. Turn reading into an assignment. Write to info@civac.de or use the contact form on civac.de. Further overviews can be found under Officer Roles and FAQ. Within 90 days, a verifiable line of evidence will be available that will support the next supervisory audit and relieve the burden on management. This means that the function is not only formally occupied, but is also effectively integrated into everyday business life and linked to all relevant artifacts in the workspace. In the quarterly report, management receives a compact overview of operating time, ASA protocols, precautionary measures and open measures.