European Construction Industry Federation European Federation of Building and Woodworkers

Paritarian Social Funds in the Construction Industry

BG Bau

Berufsgenossenschaft der Bauwirtschaft

COUNTRY

GERMANY
Type of fund
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

ADDRESS

Hauptverwaltung Berlin, Hildegardstraße 29/30, DE - 10715 Berlin

WEBSITE

CONTACT

Mr. Bernd MERZ (OSH expert)
Tel : +32 (0) 2 296.92.39 - Bernd.Merz@bgbau.de

General Information Employee Group Covered Eligibility Employee contributions Employer contributions Public Financing Information to Employees Training activities and proposed course framework Teaching products Other activities and services Information dissemination

General Information

Presentation

The BG BAU is the statutory accident insurance for the construction and construction related services in Germany.  We promote occupational safety and health at the workplace. Thus we avoid accidents and occupational diseases. Following the occurrence of a work or an occupational disease, we offer comprehensive support and provide the performance by all appropriate means to restore or provide financial compensation.

 

Board composition

Managing Directors, managing board and representative’s board (with 50% of the votes each ensured by employees and employers).

 

Regulatory framework

The statutory accident insurance institutions are incorporated under public law (German Social Code, particularly Volume 7). They are managed In the fulfillment of their statutory duties by an autonomous administration in which representatives elected by employers and insured individuals (employees) share equal rights. Social elections are held every six years in which the employers and insured individuals elect their delegates to the representatives' meeting of the relevant accident insurance institution.  The Bundesversicherungsamt approves and supervises BG Bau.

Employee Group Covered

Under the responsibility of the statutory accident insurance institutions for the industrial sector (the BGs), the following employees must be covered: Contractual employees, trainees or apprentices in the industrial sector, including during temporary posting abroad; Persons working or conducting a business from home, teleworkers; Persons undergoing rehabilitation; Entrepreneurs and members of the liberal professions may also take out voluntary insurance with a statutory accident insurance institution. In some sectors, they are obliged to do so by law or charter.

 

Part-timers are included.

eligibility

Immediate eligibility.

No minimum age required to become a member of the plan.

No waiting period is required.

Compulsory for employees, voluntary for employers.

employee contributions

No employee contributions

employer contributions

100% of the premiums.  Preventive measures, rehabilitation and compensation are funded in full by the employers. The level of premiums corresponds to the necessary expenditure in the preceding year (adjustable contribution procedure). The premiums are thus calculated retrospectively for each calendar year. The statutory accident insurance system does not generate a profit; only the actual costs are apportioned. Compared to other social insurance premiums, those for statutory accident insurance are low. Averaged over many years, the premium for employers has been in the region of 1.3%.

public financing

No public financing

Information to Employees

All relevant OHS related aspects in paper form or electronically

Training activities and proposed course framework

Types of trainings provided

The statutory accident insurance institutions in Germany and their umbrella association, the DGUV, have good reasons to be strongly involved in the area of qualification. Firstly, the German Social Code mandates them to conduct qualification measures in relation to all prevention issues; secondly, by virtue of the initial and further training of their own staff, they conduct continual quality assurance. Qualification measures addressing prevention issues are offered in particular for employers and management staff, OSH professionals, safety officers, teaching staff, trainers, company physicians, specialist medical personnel and other disseminators at plant level. Qualification of the accident insurance institutions' own staff encompasses the training of labour inspectors, accident and pensions experts, and also the further training of case managers and management staff.

 

  • The statutory mandate

The statutory accident insurance institutions in Germany and their umbrella association, the DGUV, offer qualification measures in all areas of prevention, in accordance with their statutory mandate. Volume 7, Article 23 of the German Social Code (SGB VII) places the requirements.

 

  • Facts and figures

The statutory accident insurance system is one of Germany's largest non-governmental providers of education and training. Each year, it delivers qualification measures to almost 400,000 persons in 37 training institutions.

 

  • Cross-sector initial and further training

The institutions of the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV) deliver their initial and further training services to all sectors of industry. Each has its own focus.

 

  • Sector-specific initital and further training

The greater part of OSH-related training in Germany is conducted by the individual statutory accident insurance institutions as part of sector-specific initial and further training. These training measures address typical, sector-specific hazards and associated proven prevention strategies.

 

Training period

Depends on the subject: hours, days, weeks

 

Are they compulsory?

It is up to the employer to decide on the qualification needs based on his risk assessment

 

Exams

Depends on the training course

 

Cards and certificates

Cards and certificates are provided upon fullfilling the training program

 

Financing of the trainings

Paid via employers’ contributions

Teaching products

Support and study material

All necessary material (CD-Rom, DVD, paper)

 

Financing of the support and study material

Paid via employers’ contributions

Other activities and services

Medical care, Own clinics, Occupational and social rehabilitation, Financial benefits, Special occupational preventive medicine, research institutes, which are specialized in the complex causal relationships between occupational exposure and health risks.

 

These services are aid via employers’ contributions.

Information dissemination

Brochures, Magazines, Newsletter, Internet, Books, Brochures, CD-ROM

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