Germany Eases Safety Officer Requirements for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
Germany’s Federal Ministry of Labor plans to reduce safety officer obligations for SMEs, easing bureaucracy while maintaining workplace safety standards.
- • Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees will no longer need to appoint a safety officer.
- • Companies with fewer than 250 employees will only need to appoint one safety officer.
- • The regulatory change aims to reduce bureaucracy for SMEs.
- • Political support highlights maintaining safety alongside regulatory relief.
Key details
On October 18, 2025, German Federal Minister of Labor Bärbel Bas announced a significant regulatory change aimed at easing the burden on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) concerning workplace safety management. Under the new plan, companies with fewer than 50 employees will no longer be required to appoint safety officers, while those with fewer than 250 employees will be mandated to appoint just one safety officer.
Peter Bohnhof, an AfD Bundestag member and Committee for Labor and Social Affairs participant, expressed support for this move, emphasizing that reducing bureaucracy does not detract from workplace safety. He noted that minimizing paperwork and procedural demands allows companies to focus more effectively on targeted prevention efforts. Bohnhof hailed the abolishment of mandatory safety officers in small businesses as a positive step but requested further reduction in excessive regulations to better support the Mittelstand, the backbone of the German economy.
This regulatory change reflects a broader governmental effort to relieve smaller enterprises from overregulation, which is expected to enhance operational efficiency without compromising employee safety. Monitoring will continue to ensure these announcements are enacted in forthcoming legislation, confirming the balance between regulatory relief and maintaining necessary safety standards.