Safe working from home and at teleworking workstations

14 modules · about 48 minutes · final test with 18 questions, 13 correct to pass · certificate of participation as PDF

What this course is about

If you answer e-mails at the kitchen table, sit at a desk in your study that your employer has set up, or work on a laptop on the train, you are working — and the same duty to instruct applies to this workplace as to any other.

No registration needed. We only ask for your name and e-mail address before the final test – just for your certificate. Your progress is saved in this browser. You can stop at any time and continue later.

Module 1 of 14

What this course is about — and what it is not

If you answer e-mails at the kitchen table, sit at a desk in your study that your employer has set up, or work on a laptop on the train, you are working — and the same duty to instruct applies to this workplace as to any other. Section 12 of the German Occupational Safety and Health Act (Arbeitsschutzgesetz, ArbSchG) requires safety and health instruction before work starts and regularly thereafter, tailored to the workplace. The fact that this workplace is in your own home changes nothing.

This online training is the English-language edition of our German course for employees who work in Germany but do not read German. It provides the general part: the terms teleworking workstation, mobile work and home office and what applies legally to each, the legal framework, the risk assessment, the ergonomic set-up of room, screen, desk and chair, working hours and breaks, accident insurance cover at home, data protection and information security at the home desk, mental strain, first aid and fire safety — and a worked case study.

What the course does not provide: the company-specific part. Whether a works agreement on home office applies in your company, who the contact persons for IT, data protection and occupational safety are, which devices are permitted, how an accident is reported and when you are expected to be reachable — only your company knows. That is what the module "Procedure in our company" is for. Nor does the course replace the risk assessment your employer must carry out for your workplace, occupational medical care or legal advice in an individual case. Tax questions (home office allowance) and the employment-law question of whether there is a right to work from home are not covered. The course explains German law in English; it does not cover the law of other countries.

Remember

The protective rules of the workplace continue to apply at home — but nobody there adjusts your chair for you. This course shows how to do it yourself and what to look out for.

Module 2 of 14

Teleworking workstation, mobile work, home office — three terms, two legal situations

In everyday language everything is "home office". Legally there are two situations, and the difference decides which rules apply in detail.

The teleworking workstation (Section 2(7) ArbStättV)

A teleworking workstation (Telearbeitsplatz) is a computer workstation permanently set up by the employer in the employee's private premises. Three features must come together:

1. Employer and employee have laid down the conditions in the employment contract or in an agreement — including the weekly working time at home and the duration of the arrangement.
2. The employer (or someone commissioned by the employer) has provided and installed the equipment: furniture, work equipment, communication technology.
3. The workstation is fixed — not the kitchen today and the balcony tomorrow.

The German Workplace Ordinance (Arbeitsstättenverordnung, ArbStättV) applies to teleworking workstations, but only in part (Section 1(4)): the risk assessment when the workstation is first set up (Section 3), the instruction (Section 6) and Annex No. 6 on display screen workstations — as far as the workstation differs from the one in the company and as far as the requirements can be applied to a private home at all. Room sizes, escape routes or sanitary facilities from the other annexes are not required at home.

Mobile work and the "ordinary" home office

Anyone who works from home occasionally or regularly without the employer having set up a workstation there, or who works on a laptop on the train, in a hotel or at a customer's premises, performs mobile work (mobile Arbeit). The Workplace Ordinance does not apply here — the legislator expressly excluded mobile work in 2016.

What still applies — without any reduction: the Occupational Safety and Health Act (ArbSchG) with risk assessment (Section 5) and instruction (Section 12), the Working Hours Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz, ArbZG), DGUV Regulation 1, the Ordinance on Occupational Medical Care (ArbMedVV — offer of eye examinations for screen work) and statutory accident insurance cover (Section 8 of the Seventh Book of the Social Code, SGB VII). So even for mobile work the employer must assess which hazards may arise and instruct employees about them — only the specific set-up requirements of the ArbStättV are missing. The ergonomic recommendations in this course are therefore the same for both forms.

Remember

Teleworking workstation = agreed + fixed + set up by the employer → ArbStättV applies in part. Everything else = mobile work → no ArbStättV, but ArbSchG, ArbZG, DGUV Regulation 1 and accident insurance always.

Module 3 of 14

The legal framework in one place

Seven sets of rules interlock. Once you have seen them side by side, you know where each duty comes from.

In addition there are the GDPR (Art. 32: security of processing — also at the home desk) and, where they exist, a works agreement or collective agreement on mobile work. There is no general statutory right to work from home in Germany; Section 164(4) of the Ninth Book of the Social Code (SGB IX) gives severely disabled employees a right to a disability-appropriate organisation of work, which may include home office.

For managers

The employer remains responsible for occupational safety — even though he may not enter the home. He fulfils the duty through a risk assessment with the employee's participation, instruction and suitable work equipment. This course is the documented general part of the instruction; the company part follows in module 13.

Module 4 of 14

The risk assessment for the workplace at home

Every protective measure starts with the same question: What can happen here? Section 5 ArbSchG obliges the employer to identify and assess the hazards of every activity — regardless of where it is carried out. For the teleworking workstation, Section 3 ArbStättV requires this assessment when the workstation is first set up; if something essential changes (new room, new devices, new tasks), it must be updated. For mobile work, Section 5 ArbSchG applies directly: the employer assesses the typical conditions under which work is done.

What is typically assessed at home:

• Ergonomics: screen, seat, desk, legroom, lighting, glare — the kitchen table with a laptop is the most common source of problems.
• Electrics and trip hazards: multiple sockets, loose cables, carpet edges, stairs on the way to the workplace.
• Indoor climate and noise: ventilation, heating, street noise, family.
• Working time and organisation: reachability, breaks, separation of work and private life.
• Mental strain (Section 5(3) No. 6): isolation, blurring of boundaries, lack of feedback.
• Data protection and information security: visibility, paper, network.

How it works in practice — your participation: The employer may not enter your home without your consent (Art. 13 of the Basic Law, Grundgesetz). That is why the assessment at home usually runs via self-assessment: a checklist that you fill in, supplemented by photos of the workplace or a video call with the occupational safety specialist (Fachkraft für Arbeitssicherheit). Under Section 15 ArbSchG you are obliged to take care of your own safety as far as you can, and under Section 16 you must report defects — the wobbly chair, the faulty power strip, the flickering screen. If you report nothing, you deprive the employer of the chance to fix it.

Documentation: Section 6 ArbSchG requires the result of the assessment and the measures decided to be documented. For you this means: the completed checklist is an occupational safety document — fill it in honestly, do not tick "fine" out of habit.

Remember

The assessment at home depends on your information. What you do not report, nobody can fix — and it will not appear in any accident report later as "known".

Module 5 of 14

Workroom, lighting and indoor climate at home

At home there is no caretaker to change the light and no floor plan. The values from the company and the German Technical Rules for Workplaces (ASR) are guidance for your own home, not obligations — but they show where healthy working begins.

Space

• Work surface: DGUV Information 215-410 recommends a desk surface of at least 160 × 80 cm for a display screen workstation. A dining table manages that, a side table does not. Screen, keyboard, mouse and a space for documents must fit.
• Movement area: at least 1.5 m² at the workplace, nowhere narrower than 1 m, so that you can push the chair back and stand up.
• Legroom: free of boxes, power supplies and cables — at least 60 cm deep at knee height.
• Room size: For offices, ASR A1.2 specifies 8 m² per workstation. For the study at home this is a guide value; what matters is that desk, chair and movement area fit in.

Light

• Daylight is the best lighting — the room should have a window.
• Place the screen at right angles to the window, line of sight parallel to the window front. Not in front of the window (glare from backlight) and not with the window behind you (reflections on the screen). This reverses a widespread misconception: the window behind you is the worst position.
• Artificial light: For office work, around 500 lux on the work surface is the guide value (ASR A3.4). A ceiling light plus a desk lamp that lights the work area without reflecting on the screen is usually enough. Blind or curtain against direct sun.

Climate and air

• For seated office work, ASR A3.5 specifies at least 20 °C; above 26 °C concentration suffers. The heating must be adjustable.
• Air the room thoroughly every one to two hours — in small rooms the CO₂ level rises quickly, and afternoon tiredness often has this cause.

Electrics and routes

• One tested power strip per workplace, not daisy-chained, not under the carpet, not overloaded (a fan heater does not belong on the same strip as the computer).
• Route cables so that nobody trips — cable duct, clips, behind the desk. The way to the door and the stairs stays clear.

Remember

Screen at right angles to the window, desk surface 160 × 80, cables out of the way, air the room every two hours. Four simple steps that make the difference between a makeshift and a workplace.

Module 6 of 14

Adjusting screen, keyboard, desk and chair correctly

Annex 6 of the German Workplace Ordinance (ArbStättV) describes what a display screen workstation must be like; DGUV Information 215-410 translates this into measurements. At home you adjust everything yourself — in this order.

1. Chair

• Seat height so that thighs and lower legs form roughly a right angle and your feet rest flat on the floor. If that is not possible at a high table: footrest.
• The backrest supports the lower back, can be tilted and moves with you ("dynamic sitting"). A kitchen chair cannot do that — for more than occasional work an office swivel chair with adjustable seat height and backrest is needed (DIN EN 1335). Castors to suit the floor: hard castors for carpet, soft ones for smooth floors.

2. Desk

• Fixed desks are about 72 cm high; height-adjustable ones should cover about 65 to 85 cm (DIN EN 527-1), sit-stand desks up to around 125 cm.
• The desk is right when your forearms rest horizontally on the desk top or keyboard with relaxed shoulders. If the desk is too high (dining table!), raise the chair and use a footrest.
• Surface matt and light-coloured, not reflective.

3. Screen

• Viewing distance 50 to 70 cm — an arm's length. More for larger screens.
• Top edge no higher than eye level, better slightly below, so that your gaze goes slightly downwards and the neck muscles stay relaxed.
• Straight in front of you, not to the side: whoever turns their head for hours gets neck pain.
• Anti-glare surface, characters sharp and large enough — as a guide value at least 3.2 mm character height at 50 cm distance; if in doubt, increase the system font size.
• There is no statutory minimum size. For office tasks 22 to 24 inches have proven effective; two windows side by side need 27 inches or two screens.

4. Laptop — only with accessories

Annex 6 No. 6.5 ArbStättV makes it clear: portable display screen equipment without a detachable keyboard is not suitable for permanent use at a workstation. Anyone who works on a laptop for more than a short time needs an external keyboard, external mouse and an external screen or a laptop stand with an external keyboard. Otherwise the built-in screen forces a bent neck and bent wrists.

5. Keyboard and mouse

• Keyboard flat, at most slightly tilted, 10 to 15 cm from the edge of the desk so that the palms can rest.
• Mouse directly next to the keyboard, suited to the size of your hand; forearm resting.

6. Eyes and movement

• Every 20 minutes look briefly into the distance, blink consciously.
• Offer of examinations: Under the ArbMedVV the employer must offer you an examination of eyes and eyesight — before the work starts and regularly. If special screen glasses are required, the employer bears the cost to the extent necessary.
• Change your sitting position, stand up to make phone calls, alternate sitting and standing if the desk allows.

Remember

Chair → desk → screen, adjust in this order. Arm's length distance, top edge at eye level, forearms horizontal. And: a laptop on its own is not a workstation.

Module 7 of 14

Working hours, breaks and availability when working from home

At home there is no time clock, no colleague who collects you for lunch and no commute that ends the day. The German Working Hours Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz, ArbZG) nevertheless applies word for word — and the typical violations in the home office are not too little work, but too much and too fragmented.

The limits

• Daily working time: a maximum of 8 hours (Section 3). Up to 10 hours are permitted if an average of 8 hours is not exceeded within six months or 24 weeks. No more — not "voluntarily" either, and not because the laptop is open anyway.
• Breaks (Section 4): for more than 6 hours at least 30 minutes, for more than 9 hours at least 45 minutes. Breaks can be divided into periods of at least 15 minutes each; they must be fixed in advance and are not working time. A break in which you read e-mails is not a break.
• Rest period (Section 5): after the end of work, 11 uninterrupted hours off. If you answer an e-mail at 10:30 pm, you may start again at 9:30 am at the earliest — the rest period restarts with the last work-related action.
• Sundays and public holidays (Section 9): in principle work-free, also at home.

Recording

Section 16(2) ArbZG obliges the employer to record working time exceeding 8 hours. On 13 September 2022 (1 ABR 22/21) the Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG) derived from Section 3(2) No. 1 ArbSchG that the employer must introduce a system that records the entire working time — start, end, duration. In the home office this usually runs via self-recording or a time recording system. Enter it honestly: unrecorded overtime protects nobody and is missing when accident insurance cover is in doubt.

Availability

There is no statutory "right to disconnect" in Germany — but the rest period is exactly that: outside working hours you do not have to answer work calls and messages unless on-call duty has been agreed. Many companies lay down availability hours in a works agreement (for example 9 to 12 and 2 to 4). What applies in your company is in module 13.

Screen breaks

Annex 6 ArbStättV requires daily screen work to be regularly interrupted by other activities or breaks. Proven practice: every 50 to 60 minutes do something else for 5 to 10 minutes — stand up, make a phone call, fetch documents. These are not rest breaks within the meaning of the ArbZG, but working time.

Remember

8 – 30 – 11: a maximum of 8 hours, 30 minutes break from 6 hours, 11 hours of rest. And a fixed end of the working day — laptop closed, notifications off.

Module 8 of 14

Accident insurance cover when working from home — Section 8 SGB VII

For a long time it was unclear whether a fall on your own stairs is an occupational accident. Since 18 June 2021 it is in the law: Section 8(1) sentence 3 of the Seventh Book of the Social Code (Sozialgesetzbuch VII, SGB VII) provides that insurance cover exists "to the same extent as when the activity is carried out at the company's premises" if the insured activity is carried out in the household or at another place. Home office and company are thus on an equal footing — no more, no less.

What is insured

• The work itself — you fall off the office chair, the screen falls on your foot, you injure yourself on the shredder.
• Routes within the home to the workplace: On 8 December 2021 (B 2 U 4/21 R) the Federal Social Court (Bundessozialgericht, BSG) recognised a fall on the stairs from the bedroom to the study on the way to start work as a company route (Betriebsweg) and thus an occupational accident. The same applies to the walk to the printer in the next room or to the front door to accept a work parcel.
• Routes to fetch something to drink or eat: as with the route to the canteen in the company, insured in principle; the eating itself and the preparation are not.
• Routes for childcare (Section 8(2) No. 2a): anyone who takes the child to nursery from the home office and comes back is insured on this route — an express addition of 2021.

What is not insured

Everything you would have done even without the work: going to the toilet (disputed, as in the company; the accident insurance institution decides case by case), putting the laundry in the dryer, the private phone call on the balcony, walking the dog during the lunch break. The accident insurance institution (Berufsgenossenschaft) always asks: Did the action serve the work at the moment of the accident? That is why the separation in time — recorded start of work, recorded break — is so important at home: it is your evidence.

If something happens

1. Give or get first aid, if necessary call 112.
2. Report to the employer immediately — even minor injuries, even if you can carry on working. Only reported accidents can be proven later.
3. Go to an accident insurance doctor (Durchgangsarzt, D-Arzt), not to your GP, if you are unable to work or the treatment might take longer than a week. Tell them it was an occupational accident in the home office.
4. The employer submits the accident report to the accident insurance institution (Section 193 SGB VII) within three days if the incapacity for work lasts more than three days. For this he needs the time, what happened and your statement of what work you were doing.

Remember

At home the same cover applies as in the company — but you must show that you were working at the time. Record working time, report accidents immediately, see the D-Arzt.

Module 9 of 14

Data protection and information security at the home desk

Art. 32 GDPR requires a level of protection appropriate to the risk — and the risk looks different at home than in the company: no reception, no access control, but a partner, children, visitors, tradespeople and a Wi-Fi network whose password is stuck to the router. Eight basic rules; what additionally applies in your company is in module 13.

Seeing and hearing

1. Lock the screen as soon as you leave your seat — even for a coffee, even if "only" the family is there. Windows + L or Ctrl + Cmd + Q, automatic lock after a few minutes.
2. Family members are third parties. Work data is none of your partner's or children's business — not out of mistrust, but because confidentiality under Art. 5(1)(f) requires it. Position the screen so that it cannot be seen from the hallway or the sofa; no phone calls involving customer or personnel data in the family room.
3. Video conferences: check the background (whiteboard, files, calendar), mute the microphone when you are not speaking; recordings only with consent.

Paper

1. Keep printouts to a minimum. Lock away documents with personal data, do not leave them lying around, do not put them in the household waste or the paper bin — shredder (at least security level P-4 for personal data) or back to the company for disposal.

Network and devices

1. Secure the Wi-Fi: WPA2 or WPA3, your own long password, change the router's default password, keep the router firmware up to date. Public Wi-Fi (café, train) only with VPN.
2. Use the VPN if the company provides one — it encrypts the path between your device and the company network. Connect before accessing company data.
3. Only approved devices and services. No copying of company data to the private computer, no private cloud storage, no private e-mail address to "quickly send it home". What is permitted is laid down by the company (Art. 29: processing only on instructions). Install updates immediately, keep the device encrypted (BitLocker, FileVault).

If something goes wrong

1. Loss, theft, misdirected e-mail, unauthorised access — each of these situations can be a personal data breach under Art. 4(12). The 72-hour time limit of Art. 33 for notifying the supervisory authority runs from the moment the company becomes aware. Therefore: report immediately to the contact person named in the company, not on Monday, not after searching yourself first. The laptop on the train, the phone in the café, the open envelope in the hallway: report it.

Remember

Lock, lock away, VPN, report. At home you are reception, gatekeeper and IT department in one person.

Module 10 of 14

Mental strain — blurred boundaries, isolation, self-organisation

Since 2013, Section 5(3) No. 6 of the German Occupational Safety and Health Act (ArbSchG) has expressly named mental strain (psychische Belastung) as a subject of the risk assessment — on a par with noise, hazardous substances and falls. In the home office four topics stand out.

The four typical strains

• Blurred boundaries (Entgrenzung): Work and private life merge. The laptop is in the living room, e-mails are read at dinner, the end of the working day no longer has a place. Studies show longer working hours and more unpaid overtime in the home office than in the company.
• Isolation and lack of feedback: No conversation at the coffee machine, no glance from a colleague saying "fine". Informal information is missing, misunderstandings in chats pile up, recognition arrives less often.
• Constant availability: Every notification interrupts. Whoever reacts after hours trains their environment to expect it.
• Double burden and self-organisation: Children, care, housework in the same room; the structure the company provided from outside, you now have to create yourself.

What protects — in your hands

• Fixed working hours with a clear start and end, visible in the calendar. Rituals help: a walk as a "commute" before and after work.
• Spatial separation: your own room or at least a fixed place that is cleared or covered in the evening. The laptop disappears.
• Notifications off outside working hours; no work apps on the private phone if the company provides a work phone.
• Really take breaks — away from the screen, movement, daylight.
• Stay in contact: a short check-in in the morning, camera on, call someone without an agenda once in a while. Whoever cannot see you does not know that it is getting too much for you.

What the employer must do — and where you find help

The employer must take mental strain into account in the risk assessment and derive measures: availability rules, office days, leadership at a distance, workload. Say so when the strain becomes too much — manager, works council, company doctor, occupational safety specialist or, where available, the employee assistance programme (EAP). Early warning signs: trouble falling asleep, irritability, constant exhaustion, no longer being able to switch off, withdrawal. None of these is weakness; all of them are reasons to seek a conversation.

Remember

An end of the working day that nobody sees has to be made: fixed time, laptop away, notifications off. And once a day a real conversation with a person from the team.

Module 11 of 14

First aid and fire safety at home

In the company there are first aiders, a first aid kit in the corridor, fire extinguishers on the wall and an escape and rescue plan. At home there is you. The workplace rules on fire protection and first aid (Annexes 2.2 and 4.3 of the German Workplace Ordinance, ArbStättV) do not apply to teleworking workstations — the employer does not have to provide a fire extinguisher or a first aid kit in your home. What follows are therefore recommendations — but ones that save lives.

First aid

• First aid kit to DIN 13157 (the "small company first aid kit"; the car first aid kit to DIN 13164 also does) within reach in the workroom or nearby. Note the expiry dates of the sterile items.
• Emergency number 112 — for serious injuries, shortness of breath, chest pain, unconsciousness. Give your address and floor; at home the control centre does not know you.
• Alone at home? Agree a check-in rule with the team: whoever has not been heard from for an hour gets a call. With known pre-existing conditions (epilepsy, diabetes, heart) inform a trusted person.
• Every accident, even a small cut, is reported to the employer (module 8).

Fire safety

• Smoke alarms: All German state building codes (Landesbauordnungen) require them in bedrooms, children's rooms and hallways serving as escape routes. The study is usually not covered — fit one anyway: that is where computer, printer, power supplies and chargers are.
• Fire extinguisher: A 6-litre foam extinguisher or a fire extinguishing spray (for small fires) in the home, location known, inspection every two years (DIN 14406-4). Never water on live electrical equipment — pull the plug first.
• Electrics: Do not daisy-chain, overload or cover power strips. Do not charge devices and batteries on the bed, sofa or carpet, and not unattended overnight. Replace damaged cables immediately — and report it if it is a company device.
• Escape route clear: The way from the workplace to the front door is not blocked by boxes, clothes racks or cables. Front door and window keys known and within reach.
• In case of fire: Get out, close the door, call 112 — extinguish only if the fire is small and the way back stays clear. No company laptop is worth a rescue.

Remember

First aid kit within reach, smoke alarm in the study, escape route clear, 112. Nobody has to provide these for you at home — so do it yourself.

Module 12 of 14

Case study: A Tuesday in the home office

The situation: Ms B. works from home three days a week. Her employer has given her a laptop; he has not set up a teleworking workstation — she works at the dining table, so this is mobile work. Tuesday, 7:55 am: she has not yet started her time recording, walks downstairs from the bedroom with coffee and laptop to start work, slips on the second-to-last step and sprains her ankle.

Decision 1: Is this an occupational accident?

Yes — with good prospects. Since Section 8(1) sentence 3 SGB VII (2021), cover at home exists to the same extent as in the company; the Federal Social Court recognised exactly this case — stairs from the bedroom to the home workplace in order to start work — as a company route. What matters is the purpose of the action: she wanted to work, the laptop was in her hand. That the time recording was not yet running does no harm, but makes it harder to prove. What she must do: report to the employer immediately, with time and what happened; if unable to work, see the accident insurance doctor (Durchgangsarzt). If the incapacity for work lasts more than three days, the employer submits the accident report within three days.

Wrong would be: waiting to see whether it gets better by itself and only mentioning the accident weeks later when the ankle still hurts. Without a prompt report and documentation, the accident insurance institution will refuse in case of doubt.

Decision 2: The neck

Ms B. has been working on the laptop without accessories for months. She has neck and shoulder pain and thinks that is just part of it. No. Annex 6 No. 6.5 ArbStättV makes it clear that laptops without external accessories are not suitable for permanent work; Section 16 ArbSchG obliges her to report the defect. The solution costs little: external keyboard, mouse, laptop stand or monitor — and a chair on which her feet reach the floor. For mobile work the employer has no set-up duty under the ArbStättV, but the duty under Section 5 ArbSchG to assess and eliminate hazards; many companies provide accessories or pay a subsidy. Ask, do not suffer.

Decision 3: 10:10 pm, an e-mail from the boss

"Can you take a quick look?" Ms B. finished work at 5:30 pm. If she answers now, her rest period of 11 hours (Section 5 ArbZG) starts again — she could start at 9:10 am tomorrow at the earliest. Right: do not answer, deal with it in the morning; if this happens more often, raise the question of availability hours. The responsibility for complying with the ArbZG lies with the employer — but at home she is the one who closes the laptop.

Decision 4: Visitors

On Wednesday the neighbour drops by spontaneously; on the dining table lies the open laptop with the customer list, next to it a printout with salary data. Right: lock the screen before opening the door, turn over or put away the printout. The neighbour is a third party within the meaning of the GDPR; Art. 32 requires exactly these simple measures. Had the neighbour photographed or copied anything, it would have been a reportable data breach.

Remember

Four situations, four reflexes: report (accident), report (defect), do not answer (rest period), lock (screen). All four take seconds — and all four decide later who bears the consequences.

Module 13 of 14

Procedure in our company

Your company fills in this module. The general part of this training ends here — what follows now, only your company knows.

This information belongs here:

For managers

The reporting path for accidents and data breaches is the most important item on this list — and the one most often left unclear at home. Whoever is lying on the stairs on Tuesday morning must know whom to call before deciding whether it is "worth it". Lay it down before it happens.

Module 14 of 14

Proof of training

Finally, what turns this training into proof.

Why proof at all: Section 12 ArbSchG requires the instruction, Section 4 DGUV Regulation 1 its documentation. After an accident in the home office the accident insurance institution (Berufsgenossenschaft) asks the employer first of all: Was the employee instructed for working at home? Show me. Without proof the employer is liable — and you have no evidence that you knew the rules.

When: Before starting work at home — that is, before the first home office day begins —, when things change (new room, new devices, new tasks, switch from mobile work to a teleworking workstation) and at least once a year. Also after an accident or a data breach in the company and when rules change.

Participants: everyone who works from home or on the move, regularly or occasionally — full-time, part-time, trainees, temporary staff, managers. Those who work at home only "now and then" are not exempt; the hazards are the same.

Documentation: Your certificate of participation shows your name, the course, date, result, the complete list of topics and a certificate number that can be verified on the verification page of the Academy. Keep it and give a copy to the department that keeps the training records in the company — usually HR or the occupational safety specialist.

What must be documented in addition: the company-specific part from module 13 (Procedure in our company) with your signature and the self-assessment for the risk assessment of your workplace. Only all of it together — general part with certificate, company part with signature, risk assessment with date — gives the proof that the accident insurance institution, the labour inspectorate or an auditor want to see.

Remember

Proof that nobody can find is no proof. File the certificate, note the date, repeat next year — and instruct new colleagues before their first home office day, not after.

Final test

18 questions, one correct answer each. You need 13 correct answers to pass (70 %). Scoring happens on the server — there is no answer key on this page.

Your result