ASA: Requirements & Minutes

How often must the ASA (occupational safety committee) meet — and what has to go into the minutes?

Under German law (ASiG Sec. 11), companies with more than 20 employees must have an ASA that meets at least quarterly. Members: employer or representative, two works council members, company doctor, safety specialist, safety officers. Minutes: date, agenda, decisions, owners, deadlines.

ASA Members per ASiG Sec. 11

Role	Required / Optional	Note
Employer or designated representative	Required	Often: HR lead or management representative
Company doctor	Required	An external company doctor is sufficient; ensure regular presence
Occupational safety specialist	Required	Can be external (external safety service)
Safety officers	Required if appointed	Appointed under SGB VII Sec. 22: from 50 regular employees; with 21–49 only where there is a particular hazard
Works council (if one exists)	Required if present	Two members appointed by the works council (ASiG Sec. 11)
Representative for severely disabled employees	Advisory, if present	Right to attend in an advisory capacity (SGB IX Sec. 178 (4))
Other managers, WHP coordinator	Optional	Useful for WHP integration

From what point on, and how often, must the ASA meet?

Under German law, ASiG Sec. 11 requires employers with more than 20 employees to establish an Occupational Safety Committee (ASA). Part-time staff count proportionally: up to 20 hours a week as 0.5, up to 30 hours as 0.75.

The ASA must convene at least once per quarter. A higher frequency is possible and common at safety-critical companies.

With 20 or fewer employees, the formal ASA requirement does not apply. An informal “safety round table” can still be useful — especially where an occupational safety specialist is involved.

What belongs on the agenda of every ASA meeting?

Standing agenda item: review of the previous quarter's accident statistics (accidents, near misses, suspected occupational illness cases)
Standing agenda item: results of site inspections and risk assessments — track open action items
Standing agenda item: current safety and health topics (seasonal: flu season, heat protection, darkness/visibility)
Recommended: WHP metrics (sick leave rate, BEM case rate, program participation)
Recommended: results of the psychological risk assessment and progress on related measures
Decisions with owners and deadlines — for follow-up at the next ASA meeting

What goes into the ASA minutes?

The minutes should include at minimum: meeting date and location, a complete attendee list (name and role), agenda items, the key points discussed, clearly worded decisions, the people responsible, deadlines and follow-up on outcomes and action items from the previous minutes. ASiG Sec. 11 itself does not require minutes, but they are the usual proof that the committee met and deliberated.

Minutes should be accessible to all ASA members — typically by email or on the intranet. There is no statutory retention period; it is advisable to keep them long-term, since they can become relevant in labor court proceedings or after a workplace accident.

Digital minute-taking is permitted and more efficient.

Can the ASA also steer WHP?

Yes — the ASA is the natural organizational home for WHP in companies without their own workplace health department. Instead of setting up a separate WHP steering committee, many SMEs can extend the ASA: the WHP coordinator or HR lead attends regularly, and WHP topics become a standing agenda item.

Useful WHP agenda items for the ASA: sick-leave analysis by department, BEM outcomes (anonymized), ongoing programs and their participation rates, planned prevention projects, and feedback from health insurers (GKV) on funding applications.

The advantage of this integration: the ASA already has a legally anchored meeting structure, and its minutes are kept anyway — so WHP documentation is produced as a byproduct of meetings that are mandatory anyway.

EasyWHP, which offers BGM-Kompass free of charge, provides the figures for these agenda items at a glance: sick-leave rate by department, BEM cases without names and participation in ongoing measures. The meeting and its minutes remain the job of the ASA, together with the occupational safety specialist and the company doctor. What EasyWHP covers in occupational safety →

Related measures & topics

Key takeaways

Under German law, an ASA is required with more than 20 employees — meeting at least quarterly (ASiG Sec. 11)
Members: employer or representative, company doctor, occupational safety specialist, safety officers, two works council members
Minutes with decisions, owners and deadlines — not required by law, but the usual proof
The ASA is a natural home for WHP integration — saves setting up a separate steering committee
Digital minute-taking saves time and makes action-item tracking easier

Frequently asked questions

What happens if the ASA meets less often than quarterly?+

Germany's occupational safety authority (Gewerbeaufsicht) can order the company to set up the ASA properly and keep to the meeting frequency (ASiG Sec. 12). Failing to comply with an enforceable order can lead to a fine of up to €25,000 (ASiG Sec. 20). More important in practice: without ASA minutes, it is very hard to prove systematic prevention after a workplace accident.

Can the company doctor be external and still fulfill ASA duties?+

Yes. An externally contracted company doctor can and should attend ASA meetings. DGUV Regulation 2 governs the required hours of engagement — for companies with up to 50 employees, often just a few hours per year. So the doctor can contribute meaningfully, meetings should be scheduled well in advance and minutes sent out beforehand.

Do small companies with 20 or fewer employees also have to set up occupational safety committees?+

No ASA requirement, but under German law the risk assessment duty (ArbSchG Sec. 5) still applies. Safety officers must be appointed under SGB VII Sec. 22 from 50 regular employees; with 21 to 49 employees only if the risk assessment shows a particular hazard to life and health. The accident insurance institution can also order an appointment. Recommendation: still run an annual “safety check” with the company doctor and occupational safety specialist.

Who takes the minutes — is there a legally defined responsibility?+

ASiG Sec. 11 does not name anyone responsible for taking minutes. In practice, this is often the HR lead or the employer's representative. It is good practice to have all attendees confirm the minutes as accurate — by signature or by explicit approval at the start of the next meeting.

The WHP figures for your ASA in one place

EasyWHP brings the metrics for your ASA together in one tool: sick-leave rate by department, BEM cases without names and participation in ongoing measures.

Try EasyWHP

Sources

Last updated: 2026-06-24. Not legal or tax advice — have your specific case reviewed by a professional.

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