Notification requirements

General information

Certain notifications are obligatory in employee protection. In general, there are no formal requirements. However, their necessary content is clearly set out.

Construction work

Employers are obliged to notify the competent labour inspectorate of any construction work that is anticipated to last longer than five working days, and keep records of such notifications.

The notification must include:

• the exact location of the construction site
• when the work began
• the type and scope of work being carried out
• the anticipated number of employees
• names of the intended supervisory staff.

If construction work is performed by several employers one immediately after the other, the notification requirement lies with the employer that first begins construction work on the site that is subject to the notification requirement.

The notification requirement does not apply if advance notice as per the Bauarbeitenkoordinationsgesetz is to be provided. This must be submitted to the competent labour inspectorate at least two weeks prior to the start of work.

Advance notice

The constructor must provide advance notice for construction sites at which it is anticipated that

• the work will last more than 30 working days and at which more than 20 employees will be employed at the same time or
• whose scope exceeds 500 person-days.

The advance notice must include:

• the date of creation
• the exact location of the construction site
• name and address of the constructor, the project manager and the planning and construction site coordinators
• information about the type of construction work
• information about when work is anticipated to start and how long it is anticipated to last
• information about the anticipated maximum number of employees on the construction site
• information about the number of companies and self-employed contractors working there
• information about which contractors have already been engaged.

The advance notice must be amended in the event of any changes.

Particularly dangerous construction work

Particularly dangerous construction work must be reported separately in all cases if it is anticipated that the work will last longer than five working days:

• work in containers, mines, shafts, channels or pipelines for which protective measures must be arranged in writing
• work where lead dust is released
• sand blasting work
• work on roofs where the fall height is more than five metres

asbestos work

other work subject to notification requirements includes asbestos work, for example. Employers must notify the competent labour inspectorate of the following in writing prior to commencing work where employees are or may be exposed to asbestos dust or dust from asbestos-containing materials:

• location (address)
• start and end of work
• name of the employer
• quantities of the materials in question that are anticipated to be used each year and the preparations in which the materials in question are contained
• type of work processes
• number of employees exposed
• information on exposure
• intended measures for risk prevention
• If it is construction work: name of the intended supervisory staff

Should working conditions change such that exposure to asbestos dust or dust from asbestos-containing materials may significantly increase, a new notification is required.

The safety representatives and employee associations must be permitted to view the notification. If neither safety representatives are appointed nor employee associations set up, the employees concerned must be permitted to view the notification.

Enterprises affected

Essentially all establishments that perform construction work of any kind, apart from agricultural and forestry establishments, administrative departments and federal, province and municipal schools as well as private households

Advance notice: Any natural or legal person^{German text} or other company with legal personality, on whose behalf construction work is performed

Deadlines

Depending on the case in question, the notification must be made within a certain deadline. Exact information on deadlines and dates is available from the Labour Inspectorate. The following applies for all notifications: The notification must be made one week prior to the start of work at the latest (advance notice: two weeks). The work may only begin after the notification has been received. In disaster situations, if the work cannot be deferred and with tasks that need to be completed at short notice, the notification must be made on the day on which the work begins at the latest.

Competent authority

The locally competent labour inspectorate (Arbeitsinspektion → BMAW)^{German text}

Required documents

No specific documents are required.

Further information

The Labour Inspectorate provides  forms with guides on how to complete them (Arbeitsinspektion → BMAW)^{German text} which explain the legal requirements. In this way, it can be assessed whether employers are affected by the notification requirement. For further information, the competent labour inspectorate (Arbeitsinspektion → BMAW)^{German text} can be contacted.

Further links

Notification and record-keeping requirements in employee protection (Arbeitsinspektion → BMAW)^{German text}

Legal bases

• Section 97 of the ArbeitnehmerInnenschutzgesetz (ASchG)
• Section 6 of the Bauarbeitenkoordinationsgesetz (BauKG)
• Section 3 of the Bauarbeiterschutzverordnung (BauV)
• Sections 21 and 22 of the Grenzwerteverordnung

Link to form

Forms with guides on how to complete them (Arbeitsinspektion → BMAW)^{German text}