Home office and teleworking
free online safety training for employees who work from home or on the move — in English, with certificate
👥 Target group: Employees in Germany who work from home or on the move, regularly or occasionally, and prefer to learn in English — office, administration, sales, IT, project work, International teams and English-speaking staff of German companies, before the first home office day
Which legal duty or standard requirement does this training cover?
About this training
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 instruction before work starts and regularly thereafter, Section 4 DGUV Regulation 1 at least once a year, documented. The fact that the workplace is in your own home changes nothing — and since 2021, Section 8 SGB VII puts accident insurance cover at home on an equal footing with cover in the company.
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 distinction between a teleworking workstation (Section 2(7) ArbStättV) and mobile work with the rules that apply to each, the legal framework, the risk assessment for the home workplace, the ergonomic set-up of room, light, screen, desk and chair under Annex 6 ArbStättV and DGUV Information 215-410, working hours, breaks and availability under the Working Hours Act, accident insurance cover including routes within the home, data protection and information security at the home desk, mental strain and blurred boundaries, first aid and fire safety — and a worked case study. 14 modules, 18 questions, certificate of participation with a verifiable number and the complete list of topics.
Was dieser Kurs leistet — und was nicht: The course provides the general part of the instruction under Section 12 ArbSchG for employees working from home, in mobile work and at teleworking workstations, with proof of content, date and result. It does not provide the company-specific part — whether a works agreement applies, who the contact persons for IT, data protection and occupational safety are, which devices are permitted, how accidents and data breaches are reported and when availability is expected, only your company knows; that is what the module "Procedure in our company" is for. It replaces neither the employer's risk assessment under Section 5 ArbSchG nor the offer of occupational medical eye examinations for screen work, and no legal advice in an individual case. Tax questions on the home office and employment-law questions on 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.
Contents at a glance
- What this course is about — and what it is notScope: general part of the safety training for working from home and teleworking under Section 12 of the German Occupational Safety and Health Act (ArbSchG) — replaces neither the company-specific rules nor the employer's risk assessment
- Teleworking workstation, mobile work, home office — three terms, two legal situationsTerms: teleworking workstation under Section 2(7) of the German Workplace Ordinance (ArbStättV) — permanently set up, agreed, equipped by the employer — versus mobile work and home office; the Occupational Safety and Health Act applies everywhere, the Workplace Ordinance only to teleworking workstations
- The legal framework in one placeLegal framework: Sections 5 and 12 ArbSchG, Section 2(7), Section 1(4) and Annex 6 ArbStättV, Section 4 DGUV Regulation 1, Working Hours Act (ArbZG), ArbMedVV, Section 8 SGB VII, DGUV Information 215-410
- The risk assessment for the workplace at homeRisk assessment under Section 5 ArbSchG and Section 3 ArbStättV for the home workplace: employee participation, self-assessment and checklist, access to the home only with consent, reporting defects (Section 16 ArbSchG)
- Workroom, lighting and indoor climate at homeWorkroom at home: space requirements (guide values from DGUV Information 215-410: work surface 160 × 80 cm, movement area 1.5 m²), daylight and lighting of around 500 lux, screen at right angles to the window, glare and reflections, room temperature and ventilation, electrics and trip hazards
- Adjusting screen, keyboard, desk and chair correctlyErgonomics at the display screen workstation under Annex 6 ArbStättV and DGUV Information 215-410: viewing distance 50 to 70 cm, top of screen no higher than eye level, external keyboard and monitor for permanent laptop work, desk height, chair with adjustable seat height and backrest, dynamic sitting, offer of eye examinations
- Working hours, breaks and availability when working from homeWorking hours at home under the Working Hours Act (ArbZG): a maximum of 8, exceptionally 10 hours (Section 3), breaks of 30 minutes from 6 hours and 45 minutes from 9 hours (Section 4), rest period of 11 hours (Section 5), Sunday and public holiday rest (Section 9), recording duty and the Federal Labour Court decision on time recording, screen breaks under Annex 6 ArbStättV, availability
- Accident insurance cover when working from home — Section 8 SGB VIIStatutory accident insurance at home: Section 8(1) sentence 3 SGB VII (since 18 June 2021 cover to the same extent as in the company), routes within the home to the workplace insured, routes for childcare (Section 8(2) No. 2a), distinction from private activities, report accidents immediately, employer's accident report under Section 193 SGB VII
- Data protection and information security at the home deskData protection and information security at home (Art. 32 GDPR): screen lock, privacy and family members, paper and disposal, secured Wi-Fi and VPN, approved devices only, video conferences, loss or theft as a data breach to be reported immediately (72-hour time limit under Art. 33)
- Mental strain — blurred boundaries, isolation, self-organisationMental strain in the home office (Section 5(3) No. 6 ArbSchG): blurring of work and private life, isolation and lack of feedback, constant availability, self-organisation — protective factors: fixed hours, spatial separation, contact with the team, breaks, early warning signs and help
- First aid and fire safety at homeFirst aid and fire safety in the home office: no employer duty to provide first aiders and fire extinguishers in the private home — recommendations: first aid kit to DIN 13157 within reach, smoke alarms (mandatory under the state building codes for bedrooms, children's rooms and hallways, recommended for the study), fire extinguisher, electrics and chargers, emergency number 112, escape route clear
- Case study: A Tuesday in the home officeCase study home office: fall on the stairs on the way to the workplace (occupational accident under Section 8 SGB VII, report immediately, accident insurance doctor), neck pain from laptop at the dining table (Annex 6 ArbStättV, report defects under Section 16 ArbSchG), e-mail at 10 pm and rest period (Section 5 ArbZG), unlocked screen and visitors (Art. 32 GDPR)
- Procedure in our companyProcedure in our company: works agreement or rules on home office and mobile work, availability and core hours, time recording, contact persons for IT, data protection and occupational safety, reporting path for accidents and data breaches, work equipment provided, self-assessment for the risk assessment
- Proof of trainingProof of training: instruction under Section 12 ArbSchG and Section 4 DGUV Regulation 1 before starting work at home and at least once a year, participants, documentation of instruction, risk assessment and company part, retention of the certificate
Frequently asked questions
Is the course really free?
Yes. No registration, no payment details, no trial period. You only enter your e-mail address so that the certificate can be delivered.
Does the duty to instruct also apply to occasional home office without a set-up teleworking workstation?
Yes. Section 12 ArbSchG and Section 4 DGUV Regulation 1 apply at every place of work, so also to mobile work at the kitchen table or on the train. Only the set-up requirements of the Workplace Ordinance apply exclusively to teleworking workstations under Section 2(7) ArbStättV.
Does the course fulfil the duty to instruct completely?
It fulfils the general part and documents it with a certificate. The company-specific part — works agreement, contact persons, reporting paths for accidents and data breaches, permitted devices — must be added and documented by the company; as a fixed-price customisation we fill in the module "Procedure in our company" for your company.
Which law does the course explain?
German law — the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Workplace Ordinance, the Working Hours Act and the Social Code — explained in plain English for employees who work in Germany but do not read German. It is the English-language edition of our German course and has the same content and the same certificate.
Am I insured against accidents at home?
Yes. Since 18 June 2021, Section 8(1) sentence 3 SGB VII provides that when working in the household, insurance cover exists to the same extent as in the company — also on the route within the home to the workplace. Private activities such as housework or the meal itself are not insured. The course explains the distinction and the reporting path.
What is on the certificate?
Name, course, date, result, the complete list of the 14 training topics, the legal basis with a note on the company-specific part, and a certificate number that can be verified on the verification page of the Academy — without showing the e-mail address.