European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
Clarissa Eickholt, Anja Winkelmann, Magnus Beyrer, Lars Fritzsche, Cäcilia Haverkamp and Rüdiger Trimpop
Germany's approach to supporting occupational safety and health compliance: the role of labour inspectorate and prevention services
Report
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Research pointers: Labour inspectorates and monitoring practices
Research pointers: Prevention service
Policy pointers: Labour inspectorates and monitoring practices
Policy pointers: Prevention services
Policy pointers: Monitoring practices and Prevention services
1 Introduction
1.1 Aims of the project
1.2 The dual OSH system in Germany – between monitoring and advising activities
1.2.1 The OSH system in Germany
1.2.2 The OSH system of the statutory accident insurance institutions (UVTs)
1.2.3 Institutional cooperation of the state and UVTs
1.3 Prevention services (Präventionsdienste)
2 Research questions and methodology
2.1 EU-OSHA research questions
2.1.1 Labour inspectorates
2.1.2 Prevention services
2.2 Literature review and analysis
2.3 Review of quantitative studies
2.4 Guided interviews
2.5 Qualitative analysis
2.6 Case studies
3 ‘Compliance’ in OSH
3.1 Compliance in the German legal system
3.2 Current discussion and interpretation of ‘Compliance’ in OSH in Germany
4 Labour inspectors, monitoring practices and compliance: Results of desk and fieldwork research
4.1 Labour inspectors
4.1.1 Procedure of the state labour inspectorate on compliance
4.1.2 Tasks of the federal state OSH authorities and the UVTs.
4.1.3 Roles of labour inspectors in Germany
4.1.4 Contribution to OSH culture
4.1.5 Contribution to OSH compliance
4.2 New developments
4.2.1 Changes due to COVID-19
4.2.2 Debates and initiatives to rethink current methods
4.2.3 Digital technologies for monitoring/supervision
4.3 Incentive systems
4.3.1 German Occupational Safety Award
4.3.2 Incentives in the prevention system of the UVTs
4.3.3 Eligibility of financial incentive systems (return on prevention)
4.4 Sanctions
4.4.1 Sanctioning possibilities
4.4.2 Corruption, regulatory resistance and under-reporting
4.4.3 Amount of fines
4.5 OSH strategy in Germany
4.5.1 The Joint German Occupational Safety Strategy (GDA)
4.5.2 Implementation of the strategy into labour inspection
4.5.3 Strategic initiatives of individual institutions/actors
4.6 Data for prioritising the selection of companies
4.6.1 Company selection at federal state OSH authorities
4.6.2 Company selection at the UVTs
4.6.3 Data exchange between the federal states and UVTs
4.7 Company visits procedure
4.7.1 Inspection methods and contents of the federal states
4.7.2 Inspection methods and contents of the UVTs
4.7.3 Common basis for action
4.7.4 Documentation related to company visits
4.8 Transferability
4.8.1 Advantages and disadvantages of the dual OSH system
4.8.2 Transferability to EU Member States
5 Prevention services and supporting compliance: Results of desk and fieldwork research
5.1 Models
5.1.1 Prevention services of the UVTs
5.1.2 Support by occupational physicians and OSH professionals in accordance with DGUV Regulation 2
5.1.3 Examples of safety and occupational health services coordinated by the UVTs in accordance with § 19 of the OSH Expert Act (ASiG)
5.1.4 Example of safety and occupational health services provided by the UVTs in accordance with § 24 of the Social Code VII
5.2 Data related to prevention services (type, scope, effectiveness)
5.2.1 Overview based on the current identified documentation
5.2.2 Lack of data
5.3 Dealing with hard-to-reach companies
5.3.1 Approaches of the UVTs.
5.3.2 Centre model (Zentrumsmodell)
5.3.3 INQA Initiative New Quality of Work
5.3.4 ‘Pilot function’ (Lotsenfunktion) and ‘Map of Supporters’
5.3.5 Medium-sized enterprise Offensive (Offensive Mittelstand): Focus action on safety and health at work – ‘OSH for non-occupational safety professionals’
5.3.6 Podcast ‘Wandelwerker’
5.4 Increasing the effectiveness of prevention services
5.4.1 Lack of resources in occupational medicine
5.4.2 Integration of other professions into OSH
5.4.3 Alternative, demand-based supervision Plus (AB+)
5.4.4 Necessary structural changes
5.4.5 BGHM: Systemic methods in company counselling
5.5 Synergies: Service providers and other actors
5.5.1 Synergies between labour inspectors and prevention services of the UVT
5.5.2 Synergies between the UVTs and social partners
5.5.3 Synergies between the UVTs and external prevention services
5.5.4 Synergies through multidisciplinary and institutional programmes or actions
5.6 Success factors of the UVTs’ prevention services and possible transferability to other EU countries
5.7 Role of the prevention services
6 Presentation of the case studies
7 Discussion of the results
7.1 Labour inspection and compliance
7.1.1 On the role of labour inspectors and their influence on compliance
7.1.2 Developments in monitoring action
7.1.3 Joint German OSH Strategy (Gemeinsame Deutsche Arbeitsschutzstrategie (GDA)
7.1.4 Sanctions
7.2 Prevention services and compliance
7.2.1 Data on the nature, scope and effectiveness of prevention services
7.2.2 Model of the prevention services
7.2.3 Success factors of the German prevention services system
7.2.4 Dealing with hard-to-reach companies
7.2.5 Role of the prevention services
7.2.6 Increasing the effectiveness of prevention services
7.2.7 Synergies
7.3 Ways to support OSH compliance
7.3.1 Legal requirements
7.3.2 Attitude of managers/workers
7.3.3 Contribution of workers
7.3.4 Education and qualification
8 Conclusions and Recommendations
8.1 Recommendations related to labour inspection
8.1.1 Digitalisation of inspection
8.1.2 Monitor minimum standards for inspections across Germany and discuss across the EU
8.1.3 Qualification and training of labour inspectors (federal states and UVTs)
8.1.4 Data exchange/understanding across jurisdiction/institutions
8.2 Recommendations related to prevention services
8.2.1 Digital tools for operational support (OSH Expert Act (ASiG))
8.2.2 Address and advise MSEs
8.2.3 Interaction of different prevention services
8.2.4 Procedure oriented towards operational needs – inter-professional/expanding
8.3 Overall recommendations related to inspection and prevention services
8.3.1 Research on in-house and external OSH providers
8.3.2 Qualification of company actors – organisational and health competence
8.3.3 Countering image problems and barriers to implementation of OSH
8.4 Outlook on comparative EU research projects
References
© European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2024
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
fonte: osha.europa.eu