Protection of employees

The legal provisions for occupational safety are intended to ensure the protection of the life and health of employees when performing their professional activity. Humane working conditions and a high safety standard in companies ensure that the economic and operational consequential costs of work accidents and occupational diseases are reduced.

The lawmaker sets out obligations – i.e. requirements or proscriptions – and the responsible party (generally the employer) must then ensure that these are implemented/complied with.

Arbeitsschutzgesetz (Working Conditions Act)

Regulations for the protection of working people govern the following, for example:

• the use of hazardous machines and tools
• the handling of hazardous agents, such as toxic or flammable chemicals
• stresses caused by work processes and other effects. e.g. noise
• provisions for risk prevention
• instruction and investigations
• the layout of workplaces, work premises and sanitary facilities
• working conditions for young people and pregnant women
• working time and rest periods

The fundamental objective of modern occupational safety is “prevention”, i.e. not only acting once an accident has happened, but taking steps beforehand to minimise the likelihood of an accident occurring.

With this in mind, Section 3 of the ArbeitnehmerInnenschutzgesetzes obliges the employer to ensure their health and safety, in relation to all aspects concerning the work of the employees. So that these efforts have effective and sustainable effects, the employer must ensure a suitable occupational safety system is in place.

This occupational safety system can take vastly different forms depending on the size of the company, the sector and the existing form of the operational organisation. In any case, the fixed points of the structural organisation are the legally prescribed functionaries, such as safety representatives and preventive specialists.

Employers must observe the basic principles of risk prevention when shaping the occupational health strategy.

Detailed information on the subjects of Types of employment and Work and disability can be found at USP.gv.at.

Health protection

All companies must ensure that the health of persons employed in the company is sufficiently protected. This is achieved, for example, by monitoring employee health, measuring and monitoring the concentration of a hazardous agent, putting time limits on dangerous activities and using respiratory protection.

Numerous laws and regulations set out the necessary measures and limit values for the protection of employees, such as the ArbeitnehmerInnenschutzgesetz (ASchG), the Verordnung über die Gesundheitsüberwachung am Arbeitsplatz 2020 (VGÜ) or the Grenzwerteverordnung 2021 (GKV).

The ASchG does not apply for employees

• in agricultural and forestry establishments
• of Federal, state and municipal offices
• in private households and
• for homeworkers

Other rules and regulations apply for these, such as the Bundes-Bedienstetenschutz-Gesetz (B-BSG), for federal staff, or the respective provisions of state regulations for staff of the state, municipalities and local governments (e.g. the OÖ Bediensteten-Schutzgesetz).

More Information about Protection of Employees

• Labour Inspectorate
• Workplace evaluation
• Workplace permits
• Records and registers
• Busniess consulting fit2work
• Industries
• Fire protection
• Health in the workplace
• Sharing of information
• Labelling obligations
• Notification requirements
• Rights and obligations – Employers and employees
• Safety in the workplace
• Safety representatives
• Testing
• Instruction
• Employment protection

Further links

• Labour Inspectorate (Labor Inspectorate → BMAW)^{German text}
• Law texts for employee protection (Labor Inspectorate → BMAW)^{German text}
• Helpful links (Labor Inspectorate → BMAW)^{German text}
• Health and safety in the workplace (→ EC)
• App "Lexikon Prävention" of the Allgemeine Unfallversicherungsanstalt (→ AUVA)^{German text}