In future, appointing an occupational physician by email could be legally sufficient. The same is planned for occupational safety specialists and the delegation of certain employer duties relating to occupational health and safety. As at 17 September 2026, the change has not yet been passed. The first reading in the Bundestag is scheduled for 24 September 2026.
Is appointing an occupational physician by email already legally effective?
No, the government draft bill is still going through the legislative process. Until it enters into force, businesses should continue to use the currently required written form with a handwritten signature.
The government draft bill, published as Bundestags Drucksache 21/7870 (German federal parliament paper), was presented on 7 September 2026. According to the explanatory memorandum, text form should be sufficient in future for appointing occupational physicians. It specifically gives email as an example.
Put simply, text form means that the declaration must be readable and must identify the person who made it. A handwritten signature on paper is not required. However, the email should still be worded clearly and stored permanently.
The Deutsche Bundestag (the German federal parliament) has scheduled the first reading for 24 September 2026. The content, wording and dates may still change during the remainder of the legislative process.
Which occupational health and safety duties could be delegated digitally?
The draft bill covers three important processes: appointing occupational physicians, appointing occupational safety specialists and delegating employer duties under Section 13(2) of the Arbeitsschutzgesetz (Occupational Health and Safety Act). Text form rather than written form would be sufficient for these processes.
Occupational physicians advise employers and employees on occupational health matters. Occupational safety specialists provide support with matters including risk assessments, work equipment and the design of safe workplaces. A written appointment document is currently generally required for both roles.
Section 13(2) of the Arbeitsschutzgesetz is also to be amended. It currently allows an employer to appoint reliable and competent people in writing to carry out certain occupational health and safety duties on their own responsibility. In future, a readable digital declaration without a signature on paper would also be sufficient.
This delegation is not automatically the same as appointing a safety officer. Businesses should therefore specify exactly which role, duties and powers a person is being given. General wording such as “responsible for occupational health and safety” creates unnecessary ambiguity.
How could digital appointments help businesses with several work locations?
Digital appointments can be sent more quickly, stored centrally and assigned to several locations. This is particularly helpful when employees frequently change where they work or when the responsible people are not based at the administrative office.
For example, a building cleaning company could appoint the manager responsible for a site by email, with clearly defined occupational health and safety duties. A care provider could record the appointment of its occupational safety specialist centrally in the digital personnel file. A trades business could store responsibilities for construction sites by business, period and location.
The draft bill would also make it easier for several employers to work together. Authorities would be able to request documents electronically for coordinating protective measures when employees from different companies work together. This could apply, for example, to a construction site where a construction company, an electrical contractor and a temporary employment agency all have staff working at the same time.
However, an email alone is no substitute for an organised process. When responsibilities change, it must remain clear which appointment is current, when it began and whether it was subsequently revoked or replaced. Businesses therefore need a traceable filing system and clear access rights.
How can businesses prepare a digital appointment process?
Even before the change enters into force, businesses can decide what information a digital appointment should contain and where it should be stored. However, they should only make the actual switch once the law has been promulgated and the change applies.
A practical template should contain at least the following information:
- name and position of the appointed person
- precise role, for example occupational safety specialist
- delegated duties and decision-making powers
- locations, construction sites or employee groups concerned
- start and, where applicable, end of the appointment
- name and position of the employer’s representative making the declaration
- reference to attachments, training records or job descriptions
Possible storage locations include a digital personnel file, a document management system or an internal business application. Proper version control, regulated access and the ability to search by person, location and validity period are important. An unstructured email folder is generally not sufficient for businesses with several locations.
When digitalising processes and replacing paper and Excel, the occupational health and safety process should be considered together with HR administration and data protection. If existing systems do not have a suitable function, a bespoke application for internal approvals and records may be appropriate. ibx company advises small and medium-sized businesses in Hannover and the surrounding region on selecting and implementing such processes.
When will the change enter into force?
No fixed date has yet been set. Under the government draft bill, the occupational health and safety changes would enter into force on the first day of the quarter following the promulgation of the law.
For example, if the law were promulgated in November, the planned date would be 1 January of the following year. If it were promulgated in February, the date would be 1 April. This timetable is set out in the draft bill, but depends on the relevant provision remaining unchanged during the rest of the legislative process.
The Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales (the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs) describes the draft bill as a measure to support digitalisation and reduce bureaucracy. According to the Bundestags Drucksache, the draft bill as a whole is expected to reduce bureaucracy costs for the German economy by around 11 million euros per year and create no new information obligations. This amount relates to the entire legislative package, not only to digital appointments in occupational health and safety.
Until the legislative process has been completed, businesses should not abolish their existing paper-based processes prematurely. It makes sense to review templates, responsibilities and storage locations now, then make the switch in a controlled manner after the law has been promulgated.
If you would like to manage your occupational health and safety process digitally, we can review it together in a no-obligation initial consultation on digitalisation and implementation. This can establish, without committing to a particular approach, whether existing software is sufficient or another solution is required.