ISO 45003:2021 is the first international standard dedicated to psychological health and safety at work. It provides guidelines for managing psychosocial risks and complements the occupational health and safety management system under ISO 45001.
What ISO 45003 covers
The standard helps employers to
- systematically identify psychosocial hazards (from work organisation, social factors, and the work environment, equipment and tasks),
- assess and control these risks,
- and promote employee wellbeing.
It is a guidance document and not certifiable on its own; it extends the certifiable ISO 45001 management system.
Relationship to German law
In Germany the psychological risk assessment is governed by §5 ArbSchG and the GDA guideline; ISO 45003 is not legally mandatory here. It does, however, provide an internationally recognised framework that usefully complements the statutory GB Psych, especially for companies with multiple or international sites or those pursuing a management-system approach.
Link to the psychological risk assessment
The psychosocial factors named by ISO 45003 largely overlap with the six GDA design areas. A GDA-compliant survey therefore also captures the risks addressed by ISO 45003.
SafeMind runs the psychological risk assessment in a GDA-compliant way and also covers the psychosocial stressors in the sense of ISO 45003.