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Occupational safety; application for an exception to the appointment of a company physician or occupational safety specialist

Employers may apply to the relevant trade supervisory office for the granting of an exemption when appointing occupational physicians and occupational safety specialists if the person to be appointed does not meet the legal requirements.

Description

Employers are generally required to appoint company physicians and occupational safety specialists (Sifa), e.g. safety engineers, technicians or foremen. These support the employer in ensuring that

the regulations serving the safety and health protection of the employees are applied in accordance with the respective operating conditions,
safety at the workplace is improved by implementing occupational health and safety findings, and
all employees in the company behave in a safety-conscious manner.

Company physicians and occupational safety specialists must be specially qualified for these activities.

Under certain conditions, the responsible trade supervisory office may, at the employer's request, permit the appointment of company physicians and occupational safety specialists (Sifa) even if they do not yet have the necessary specialist knowledge, or permit the appointment of someone who has the appropriate specialist knowledge to perform the safety tasks in place of a safety engineer.