Preventive occupational health care and advice

The legal basis for preventive occupational health care is the Ordinance on Preventive Occupational Health Care (ArbMedVV ).

Personal advice on individual work-related health risks is the focal point of the Ordinance on Preventive Occupational Health Care (ArbMedVV). A physical or clinical examination (e.g. laboratory examination, vision test, pulmonary function test, ECG) will only take place at your request. The aim of preventive occupational health is to detect work-related illnesses at an early stage or prevent them altogether. It does not serve as proof of suitability for professional requirements.  Preventative occupational health certificates serve as proof of your participation only. They do not provide any assertion of aptitude.

The ArbMedVV differentiates between:

• Mandatory health care
• Optional health care
• Elective health care

Preventive occupational health care comprises vaccinations if the employee’s area of activity increases their risk of infection and biomonitoring, which gives everyone the opportunity to check the efficacy of their own occupational safety measures when handling hazardous substances.

We are subject to medical confidentiality.

Mandatory health care

Mandatory health care must be carried out before commencing certain activities which bear a particular risk, and must then be repeated at regular intervals.

In this case, the employer may only allow an activity to be carried out if mandatory precautions have been conducted beforehand. Employees are obligated to participate.

For example:

• Work involving the handling of hazardous substances (e.g. trichloroethylene, dimethylformamide, methanol) if occupational exposure limits cannot be adhered to

or

• Repeated exposure cannot be precluded and the hazardous substance is a carcinogen or a mutagenic substance, or a category 1 or 2 concoction as defined by the Hazardous Substance Regulation
• Work in wet conditions (including wearing gloves) for 4 hours a day or more on a regular basis
• Work involving regular contact with large amounts of body fluids, excretions and tissues
• Regular work in low vegetation (forests, gardens, parks)
• Work involving exposure to noise >85 dB (A)
• Activities which necessitate the use of Group 2 or 3 respiratory protective equipment

For more examples on work meriting the need for mandatory health care, please see the Ordinance on Preventive Occupational Health Care (ArbMedVV)

Optional health care

Optional health care must be offered before commencing certain activities with particular risk, and must then be re-offered at regular intervals.

Participation in optional health care is voluntary.

However, an employee’s refusal does not exempt the employer from their obligation to continue offering optional health care at regular intervals.

For example:

• Activities involving work at a computer screen
• Activities involving work with hazardous substances within the occupational exposure limits
• Activities involving significantly increased physical stress (manual handling of loads, work that involves being forced to adopt postures such as kneeling)
• Work involving exposure to noise >80 dB (A)
• Working in wet conditions (including wearing gloves) for > 2 hours a day on a regular basis

For more examples on work meriting optional health care, please see the Ordinance on Preventive Occupational Health Care (ArbMedVV)

Elective health care

Employees fundamentally have the right to receive elective health care consultations and examinations at their request. Elective health care comes into consideration when there may be a link between damage to your health and your work.

Vaccination is offered if risk of infection is increased due to your work.

For example:

• Hepatitis B vaccine if your work involves handling human blood
• Hepatitis A vaccine if your work involves handling wastewater containing feces

If you are advised to receive a vaccine as part of your occupational health care, your institute will typically be responsible for bearing the costs.
Please bring the Cost Coverage Declaration and your vaccination record booklet with you to the vaccination appointment.

To print:

• Cost Coverage Declaration
• Information on vaccination against hepatitis A
• Information on vaccination against hepatitis B
• Information on vaccination against hepatitis A and B
• Information on vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis
• Information on vaccination against rabies

For current information on all vaccines, please visit the Robert Koch Institutes’ Standing Committee on Vaccination website.

Many employees handle hazardous substances in the course of their work. Biomonitoring is one way of recording the exposure and health hazards posed by these substances. This involves the direct quantitative detection of a hazardous substance or its degradation products in blood or other biological material (e.g. urine). If an increased concentration of the substance is found, appropriate occupational health and safety measures must be decided upon. The examination must take place during or immediately after coming into contact with the hazardous substance in question.

There are no costs for you as an employee nor for your institute/department.

If you are interested in biomonitoring, please phone or email us.

You will find important information and recommendations on working at a computer screen on the following slides. You are also encouraged to share these with your colleagues.

The submission of the completed data entry form 0.5b and/or the form for aptitude tests is now a prerequisite for setting up an appointment (particularly important: your email address + telephone number; signature + stamp from your supervisor as well as your signature):

• Data Entry Form (Form 0.5 b) - German Version oder  - English Version
  Please note: This form cannot be filled out – is it only to be used as a guide to fill out the German version
• Form for aptitude test (attachment 2 of SA) - German Version or English Version
  for specific job categories (attachment 1 of German version), e.g. driving, job involving controlling and monitoring, job involving danger of falling or which takes place in a testing area (cat. A) according to the Radiation Regulations/X-Ray Regulations (StrlSchV/RöV) (only when hired) or aptitude test for a specific occasion
• form for holistic preventive care - German Version or English Version

Please submit the form/s by email to () or by post. We will then contact you with a suggested appointment date and time.