Legal Requirements under § 6 ArbSchG
The documentation requirement for risk assessment derives from § 6 of the German Occupational Health and Safety Act:
"The employer must have available the records required depending on the type of activities and the number of employees, from which the result of the risk assessment, the occupational safety measures he has determined and the result of their review are apparent."
Who Must Document?
The documentation requirement applies to every employer, regardless of headcount. The former exemption for employers with ten or fewer employees was removed by Article 8 of the BUK reorganisation act of 19 October 2013 (BGBl. I p. 3836), effective 25 October 2013. Since then the type of activities and the number of employees only determine how extensive the records must be. A small business can keep its documentation brief, but cannot skip it.
What Must Be Documented?
The documentation must include the following elements:
1. Results of the Risk Assessment
- Which activities/areas were examined?
- Which psychological stressors were identified?
- How were the stressors evaluated?
2. Defined Measures
- Which measures were agreed upon?
- Who is responsible for implementation?
- By when should the measures be implemented?
3. Results of Effectiveness Review
- Were the measures implemented?
- Are the measures having the desired effect?
- Are adjustments necessary?
Format of Documentation
The law does not prescribe a specific format. Documentation can be done as:
- Digital documentation (e.g., in SafeMind)
- Excel spreadsheets
- Word documents
- Paper forms
What matters is that the documentation is traceable and complete.
Retention Periods
For retaining documentation:
- No legally mandated minimum period in the ArbSchG
- Editorial recommendation by Safe Mind: keep for at least 5 to 10 years
- For work accidents/occupational diseases: Retain until conclusion of possible proceedings
Checklist: Complete Documentation
Check your documentation against this checklist:
- ☐ Date of implementation
- ☐ Persons involved (responsible parties, works council)
- ☐ Method applied
- ☐ Activity areas examined
- ☐ Identified stress factors
- ☐ Evaluation of stressors
- ☐ Derived measures
- ☐ Responsibilities and deadlines
- ☐ Results of effectiveness review
- ☐ Date of next review
Digital Documentation with SafeMind
SafeMind automatically creates legally compliant documentation:
- Automatic logging of all steps
- Timestamps for all actions
- PDF certificates for authorities and audits
- Version control for updates
- Audit-proof archiving
Conclusion
Proper documentation protects you from legal consequences and serves as proof of your due diligence. With digital solutions like SafeMind, documentation is created automatically – you can focus on the substantive work.
