Embedding WHP Long-Term

How do I embed workplace health promotion (WHP) permanently in a company — and what does the GKV guideline require for Phase 6?

Note: This guide explains German statutory requirements (SGB V, ArbSchG, ASiG, SGB IX) that apply to employers operating in Germany. Under the GKV guideline (§ 20b SGB V), workplace health promotion (WHP) is not a one-year project but a permanent cycle: analysis → planning → implementation → evaluation → restart. The same applies to the overall program: sustainability requires committees, metrics, and legal duties (risk assessments, BEM, safety committee) to be institutionalized — independent of staff turnover.

WHP Monitoring Calendar: What to Do and When

Activity	Frequency	Responsible	Requirement?	Legal Basis
Health working group meeting	Quarterly	WHP coordination + management + works council	Expected for health insurer funding (steering body)	§ 20b SGB V
Review / update risk assessment (GBU)	On material change; review regularly	Occupational safety specialist + company physician + HR	Yes — employer obligation	§ 5 ArbSchG
Workplace safety committee (ASA) meeting	Quarterly (more than 20 employees)	Management + works council + company physician + safety specialist	Yes — legally mandated	§ 11 ASiG
Initiate BEM (reintegration) process (after more than six weeks of incapacity within 12 months)	Ongoing / case-based	HR + direct supervisor	Yes — employer obligation	§ 167 (2) SGB IX
Evaluate GKV health report	Annually	WHP coordination	Recommended	§ 20b SGB V
Employee health survey	Every 2 years	WHP coordination + data protection	Recommended	Art. 9 GDPR
Prepare WHP results report	Annually (Q1)	WHP coordination + management	With health insurer funding — evidence for funding	§ 20b SGB V
Submit GKV funding application	As needed / at project start	WHP coordination + health insurer	Optional, but resource-relevant	§ 20b SGB V

Why does WHP so often stall after the first year?

Usually because it depends on one person. The typical WHP lifecycle at small and mid-sized companies looks like this: a motivated HR person builds a WHP program, the first measures go well, the steering committee meets regularly. Then that person leaves — and the WHP program stalls. Six months later, the health working group is history, the health insurer has lost contact, and the company starts over from scratch.

The GKV Prevention Guideline (§ 20b SGB V) names the structural antidote: workplace health promotion (WHP) is a permanent process, not a project. According to the guideline, sustainability results “when such organizational arrangements and routines are permanently implemented” — regardless of which individual currently sits on the WHP team.

The decisive difference between WHP that survives and WHP that stalls: whether core functions are tied to roles (a position, not a person), and whether the cycle of analysis, planning, implementation, and evaluation is embedded in the corporate calendar as a permanent institutional task.

WHP coordination as a fixed role description (not informally attached to one person)
Steering-committee meeting dates scheduled 12 months in advance
Handover documentation: what does only the current WHP coordinator know — and how is that knowledge secured?
Written management commitment (works agreement or management statement) — makes WHP independent of personnel preferences

What does the annual improvement cycle under the GKV guideline look like?

The GKV guideline describes WHP as a cycle: preparation phase → structure building → analysis → measure planning → implementation → evaluation. After evaluation, the cycle begins again — the results of completed measures feed directly into the next analysis phase. This is the continuous improvement process.

In practice this means: the WHP results report (Q1) provides the data basis for the health-working-group session (Q2), where priorities for the following year are set. New measures launch in Q3, with an interim evaluation in Q4. Companies that consistently keep to this calendar have, after three years, a WHP program that sustains itself.

Important for GKV funding applications: the health insurer wants to see, in the follow-up application, that insights from the prior year were incorporated. A program that offers the same measures every year without adjusting looks unable to learn — and has a harder time with the follow-up application.

Q1: Prepare results report, evaluate GKV health report
Q2: Health-working-group session — what do we carry from Q1 into the new year?
Q3: Launch new measures, communicate to staff
Q4: Interim evaluation, prepare funding application for the following year

How do occupational safety, BEM and health promotion work together under the WHP umbrella?

A permanent program connects the two duty areas every employer already has — occupational safety (including the psychosocial risk assessment) and BEM — with health promotion, which is legally voluntary but a business necessity. Companies that understand this integration are not running it as extra effort, but as an efficient structure for what is legally required anyway — and for what the competition for skilled workers demands.

Bringing occupational safety, BEM, and health promotion into a shared governance system means using data from all three pillars: the GKV guideline explicitly names risk assessments and BEM case analyses as data sources for the analysis phase. Companies that make this connection run a program that deserves the name.

Occupational safety (§ 5 ArbSchG): the risk assessment is an ongoing duty. It must be updated on every material change to working conditions — not just once at introduction. Psychosocial risk assessment is part of this.
Workplace safety committee (ASA) meetings (§ 11 ASiG): mandatory with more than 20 employees, at least quarterly. Company physician, safety specialist, management, and works council sit together — a natural starting point for steering the program. Many companies link the health working group to the ASA instead of building a second committee.
BEM / reintegration management (§ 167 (2) SGB IX, German law): if an employee has been unable to work for more than six weeks within 12 months, continuously or repeatedly, the employer must offer BEM. A refusal should be documented. BEM cases are a direct early-warning system for the program.
The integration: risk-assessment results feed into the program analysis. Clusters of BEM cases reveal problem areas — evaluated only in aggregated, anonymized form. Safety-committee minutes are steering-committee input. An integrated system saves time and reduces liability risk.

What does the health insurer expect for follow-up funding?

Follow-up funding under § 20b SGB V requires the company to demonstrate that it has processed the insights from the prior period. Many companies submit a one-time GKV funding application and believe that settles the matter. The reality: health insurers fund workplace health promotion (WHP) as an iterative process.

What the insurer wants to see in the follow-up application: (1) Was the results report from the prior year completed? (2) Did the steering committee meet and keep minutes? (3) Were the weaknesses identified in the last improvement cycle addressed? (4) Are there new needs shown by the current employee survey or the GKV report?

GKV funding is one thing. Separately, you can use the tax allowance under § 3 No. 34 EStG (German income tax act; up to €600 per employee per year) every year. This also works without any funding from a health insurer. The €600 is an upper limit for tax-free employer health benefits — not a target and not a payout. Eligible are, for example, courses whose concept has been certified by the Central Prevention Certification Body (Zentrale Prüfstelle Prävention), and measures within the workplace health promotion process; nothing is automatically tax-exempt — only your tax advisor can confirm the tax exemption. That keeps the allowance a permanent instrument for an ongoing WHP program — on top, not as a source of financing.

How does health stay on the agenda for good?

Through internal communication throughout the entire process. The GKV guideline names internal communications as a “continuous task throughout the entire process.” This means health should not be communicated only at a January kickoff event and then disappear into a drawer for nine months.

In practice: a fixed annual “health month” is not enough. Small, regular touchpoints work better — a short health tip in the monthly newsletter, a poster in the break room, a health KPI in the team meeting. Health becomes part of company culture when it is omnipresent, not when it flares up once a year.

Shift workers and employees without a computer workstation need their own communication channels: according to the GKV guideline, these groups face greater access barriers to workplace health measures. Bulletin boards, direct address by supervisors, and low-barrier formats (no online sign-up system) are indispensable here.

Embed health topics in team meetings (5 minutes per quarter is enough)
Share measure results transparently: “We opened yoga to 40% of staff — feedback?”
Train managers as communication multipliers — without management commitment at team-lead level, communication fizzles out
An annual report to staff (one-page summary) shows impact and increases buy-in

Quick check

What's your company's workplace-health maturity?

Your maturity level shows how far your measures already sit within a structured health promotion process. Under German tax law, such a process is one way for measures to be tax-free up to the allowance of €600 per employee per year (§ 3 No. 34 EStG) — only your tax advisor can confirm this. Answer in about 7 minutes, no sign-up.

Start maturity check (about 7 min.)

Related measures & topics

Key takeaways

Note: the following applies to German statutory requirements (SGB V, ArbSchG, ASiG, SGB IX) for employers operating in Germany. Workplace health promotion (WHP) is not a one-year project — the GKV guideline describes a permanent improvement cycle, and the same applies to the overall program.
Workplace safety committee (ASA) meetings (§ 11 ASiG) and risk assessments (§ 5 ArbSchG) are ongoing legal requirements — and, at the same time, natural WHP governance bodies.
Clusters of BEM (reintegration) cases are a direct early-warning signal — evaluated in aggregated, anonymized form.
The tax allowance under § 3 No. 34 EStG (up to €600 per employee per year) applies every year — an upper limit, not financing; only your tax advisor can confirm the tax exemption.
Staff turnover on the WHP team must not stop the process — institutionalize roles, not individuals.
GKV follow-up funding requires proof of continuous improvement: a results report plus documented learning from the prior year.

Frequently asked questions

How many employees do I need for permanent WHP to make sense?+

The GKV guideline sets no minimum size. With more than 20 employees, the workplace safety committee (ASA) requirement (§ 11 ASiG, German law) applies, providing a natural starting point for the steering body. Smaller companies can also establish a permanent program — the effort is significantly lower because communication paths are short.

What happens if my WHP coordinator leaves the company?+

WHP must not depend on one person. Secure the handover through: (1) a written role description, (2) documentation of all ongoing measures, contacts, and open improvement-cycle items, (3) direct involvement of the successor in the steering committee before departure. The GKV accepts staff turnover — but expects the process to continue.

Can I reapply for GKV funding every year?+

Yes. The GKV guideline provides for “needs-based, repeated funding.” The requirement is that, in the follow-up application, you demonstrate the WHP process was continued and results from the prior period were evaluated. There is no statutory cap on follow-up funding rounds.

Do BEM and WHP have to be formally merged?+

Not formally — BEM/reintegration management (§ 167 SGB IX, German law) and the overall program are legally separate instruments. In practice, the connection pays off: clusters of BEM cases in certain departments are a direct early-warning signal that action is needed. Because BEM data are health data under Art. 9 GDPR, they flow into the program only in aggregated, anonymized form — individual cases stay in the BEM file.

How often must the risk assessment be updated?+

German law sets no fixed interval. Under § 3 (1) ArbSchG, the employer must review occupational safety measures for effectiveness and adapt them to changing circumstances — so the risk assessment (§ 5 ArbSchG) has to be updated, for example with new software, new tasks, relocation, or a change in shift model. Many companies also review it regularly without a specific trigger. The psychosocial risk assessment is just as binding as the physical one.

Keep WHP permanently under control

EasyWHP tracks steering-committee minutes, risk-assessment status, BEM case histories, and measures in one system and reminds you of upcoming deadlines.

Try EasyWHP Check your WHP maturity level

Sources

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

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