Occupational Safety Inspection Act 2026: 5% quota means tenfold GB Psych inspections

Anyone who has been hoping that the topic of psychological risk assessment (GB Psych) would just blow over has a new problem from 2026: with the German Occupational Safety Inspection Act (Arbeitsschutzkontrollgesetz), a federally binding minimum inspection quota for state supervisory authorities has come into force – five percent of all companies per year. That is, mathematically, ten times what the authorities have actually managed in recent years.

This is not industry speculation. It is federal law. [1]

0.5 % was the reality – 5 % becomes mandatory

The Federal Ministry of Labour's interim report on the minimum inspection quota documents that German occupational safety supervision has been operating at around one percent or below in recent years. In Baden-Württemberg, the 2023 annual report of the Gewerbeaufsicht shows that the authority achieved only 19 % of its own GDA system-control target; the federal average was 44.7 %. [2] [3]

From 2026, the federal states must close that gap massively. The Hessian occupational safety administration states clearly in its 2024 annual report: the 5-percent quota is to be fulfilled "in principle with system assessment" – not superficially, but with real GB scrutiny. [4]

What a system inspection actually checks

A system inspection is the gold standard of state supervision: it does not just check whether a fire safety officer or occupational safety specialist has been appointed. It checks the state of the risk assessment across all activity areas – including psychological stress. Anyone caught without a documented GB Psych risks an order under §22 ArbSchG. Non-compliance leads to a fine – up to 30,000 euros under §25 (1) No. 2a ArbSchG.

How many companies are "non-compliant" today?

The most reliable number is still the GDA final report on the Psyche programme 2013–2018. Across 12,975 company inspections, the authorities found:

• 47.4 % of companies inspected had no GB including psychological stress
• only 5.3 % received the top "very good" rating
• 35 % were rated "deficient" or "inadequate"

Even though the report dates from 2018, there is no robust evidence that the situation has fundamentally changed since. The GDA evaluation 2023/24 confirms: one third of German companies still do not carry out any risk assessment at all. Of those that do, only 65 % explicitly cover psychological stress – effectively, only roughly half of all German companies have a GB Psych. [5]

What North Rhine-Westphalia is signalling

The NRW State Institute for Occupational Health (LIA) published its "Safety and Health at Work (SuGA) NRW 2024" report on 9 January 2026 and made mental health the annual focus. The figures are unambiguous: 147.3 million sick days due to mental disorders – 16.7 % of all sick days. And: 42 % of all early-retirement pensions have a mental-health background. [6]

What managing directors should do in the coming weeks

1. Take stock: Is there a written, current GB Psych? Use our obligation checker in 2 minutes.
2. Differentiate activity areas: A blanket assessment for the whole company is not GDA-compliant.
3. Close the action loop: Risk identification → measures → implementation → effectiveness check.
4. Check documentation: In an inspection, it must be presented, not buried in a SharePoint folder.

How SafeMind helps

SafeMind digitalises exactly this process: a GDA-compliant GB Psych covering all six GDA design areas, available in 15 languages, with one-click documentation ready for authority inspections.

Going deeper: our hub page on authority inspections of GB Psych collects all relevant sources, federal states and obligations in one place.

Book a 15-minute consultation – we'll show you where your gaps are and how to close them before the inspector calls.

Sources

1. German Occupational Safety Inspection Act (Arbeitsschutzkontrollgesetz), 22 Dec 2020, Federal Law Gazette 2020 Part I p. 3334. Art. 1 No. 4 introduces § 21 (1a) ArbSchG (5 % minimum inspection quota p.a. from 2026). Primary: BMAS – ArbSchKontrG. Paragraph: § 21 ArbSchG (gesetze-im-internet.de). Consolidated text: buzer.de.
2. BMAS interim report on inspection density / minimum inspection quota under § 21 ArbSchG, BMAS press release 9 Jan 2024. Primary: BMAS – Interim report. Secondary: Haufe.
3. Annual Report Gewerbeaufsicht Baden-Württemberg 2023, BW Ministry of Economic Affairs, 66 pp – Table 5 (target/actual 3rd GDA period AP Psyche per Regional Council, status 31 Dec 2023); BW system controls 19 % vs. national 44.7 %; small-businesses (1–19 emp.) 277/1,006 without GB. PDF, wm.baden-wuerttemberg.de.
4. Hesse Annual Report Occupational Safety 2024, ch. "Mental stress at work" pp. 98–102, author Claudia Flake (Specialist Centre at Regional Council Gießen) – LASI working group on psychological stress 2020–2025 led by Hesse. PDF, arbeitswelt.hessen.de.
5. GDA Final Report "Psyche" Programme 2013–2018, federal government / states / accident insurance, 5 Dec 2018 – 12,975 inspections; 47.4 % without GB Psych; quality rating very good 5.3 % / deficient 18.2 % / inadequate 16.8 % (supervision audit chapter, p. 23 ff.). PDF, gda-portal.de.
6. LIA NRW press release "SuGA Report NRW 2024", 9 Jan 2026 – mental-health focus: 810,399 reportable accidents, 440 fatal; 147.3 m sick days due to mental disorders (16.7 %); 42 % of early-retirement pensions mental-health related. Press release, lia.nrw.de. Federal full text (BAuA): SuGA 2024 PDF, baua.de.
7. GDA Company and Employee Survey 2023/24 (overarching evaluation), federal government / states / accident insurance, fielded by infas, n=3,817 companies + 3,824 employees (Sept 2023 – Jun 2024). Overall risk-assessment rate 68 % (vs. 52 % in 2015); 65 % of those covering psychological stress. Primary: GDA bulletin 24 Jun 2025. BMAS: BMAS press release.