Calculating accident rates in Germany: 1,000-worker rate, LTIFR and more

What are accident rates?

Accident rates relate the number of occupational accidents to the working time actually performed. Only then can years, sites and companies of different sizes be compared. The most important are the 1,000-worker rate, the LTIFR (lost time injury frequency rate) and the days lost per accident.

There is no legal obligation in Germany to calculate such figures. They do, however, help to judge whether protective measures work, to find priorities for the risk assessment (Gefährdungsbeurteilung) and to report on accidents in the occupational safety committee (Arbeitsschutzausschuss). Anyone running a management system under ISO 45001 has to monitor and evaluate their health and safety performance anyway.

The key figures and formulas

• Figure 1,000-worker rate

  Formulareportable occupational accidents × 1,000 ÷ full-time equivalents

  What it showsaccident frequency, comparable with the rates published by the DGUV and the accident insurance institutions

• LTIFR

  Formulaaccidents with time lost × 1,000,000 ÷ hours worked

  What it showsfrequency of accidents with at least one day lost, widely used internationally

• TRIFR

  Formulaaccidents with time lost, restricted work or medical treatment × 1,000,000 ÷ hours worked

  What it showsincludes less serious injuries, reacts faster to change

• Accident severity

  Formuladays lost ÷ accidents with time lost

  What it showsaverage days lost per accident

• Near-miss rate

  Formulanear-miss reports × 100 ÷ employees

  What it showsreporting culture and early warning signs

The base of 1 million hours corresponds to the frequency rate that the International Labour Organization (ILO) also recommends for injury statistics. In the USA, the safety authority and the Bureau of Labor Statistics use 200,000 hours – equivalent to 100 employees working 40 hours a week for 50 weeks.

Which accidents count?

Every figure depends on which events are counted. These definitions are common:

• Reportable occupational accident: death or more than three days of incapacity for work, not counting the day of the accident – the basis of the 1,000-worker rate and of the accident report under Section 193 SGB VII
• Lost time injury: at least one working day or shift lost after the day of the accident – the basis of the LTIFR
• Accident with medical treatment or restricted work but no time lost – additionally included in the TRIFR
• First aid case: entry in the first aid log (Verbandbuch), usually not included in any rate
• Commuting accident: analyse separately – the DGUV does not relate commuting accidents to full-time equivalents but to weighted insurance relationships

There is no binding definition of LTIFR and TRIFR in Germany; groups and industry associations draw the line differently, for example on the minimum time lost or on fatalities. So define your approach once, document it and stick to it – otherwise you compare years that are not comparable.

Worked example: a company with 250 employees

A manufacturing company has 250 employees, 190 full-time and 60 part-time. According to time recording, 352,000 hours were actually worked in the year; a full-time employee works around 1,600 hours a year in this company. The records for the year show: 9 accidents with at least one day lost, 5 of them reportable, with 117 days lost in total, plus 4 accidents with medical treatment but no time lost and 42 near-miss reports.

• Full-time equivalents

  Calculation352,000 ÷ 1,600

  Result220

• Figure 1,000-worker rate

  Calculation5 × 1,000 ÷ 220

  Result22.7

• LTIFR

  Calculation9 × 1,000,000 ÷ 352,000

  Result25.6

• TRIFR

  Calculation(9 + 4) × 1,000,000 ÷ 352,000

  Result36.9

• Accident severity

  Calculation117 ÷ 9

  Result13.0 days per accident

• Near-miss rate

  Calculation42 × 100 ÷ 250

  Result16.8 per 100 employees

For comparison: according to the DGUV, the national rate in 2025 was 19.9 reportable accidents per 1,000 full-time equivalents. The company is slightly above that. A comparison with its own sector is more meaningful, though – accident insurance institutions (Berufsgenossenschaften) such as the BG RCI publish rates per 1,000 full-time equivalents and per 1 million hours worked in their annual reports.

Converted to the US base, the LTIFR becomes 9 × 200,000 ÷ 352,000 = 5.1 accidents with time lost per 100 full-time workers – one fifth of the value per 1 million hours. When comparing with group or customer figures, always check the base.

Lagging and leading indicators

Accident rates measure what has already happened – they are lagging indicators. Leading indicators, by contrast, show whether prevention is working before anyone is hurt. Proven examples include:

• Near-miss reports – rising numbers often indicate a better reporting culture, not more hazards
• safety inspections carried out compared with those planned
• actions from inspections, accident investigations and risk assessments completed on time
• Instruction rate: share of employees with up-to-date safety instruction
• inspections of work equipment completed on time

Limits: when figures mislead

With few accidents, chance shapes the picture. If a company averages five reportable accidents a year over the long term, the annual figure will fall anywhere between two and nine in well over nine years out of ten purely by chance – without anything having changed in terms of safety. A fall from five to three accidents is therefore not yet a success, and a rise to seven not yet an alarm signal.

• Small companies and departments: look at rates over several years or as a rolling twelve-month value
• Recording quality: if first aid entries or accident reports are missing, the rate looks better than the reality
• Reference value: use hours worked, not hours paid – holidays and sick days do not count
• Temporary workers and contractors: decide consistently whether to include them, then count accidents and hours alike
• Severe single cases: one long absence can shift accident severity considerably – the median and a look at individual cases help

Data sources and approach

1. 1

   Define the scope

   Which figures, which types of accident, which groups of employees? Ideally decide this in the occupational safety committee and put it in writing.

2. 2

   Record accidents completely

   Bring together the first aid log (every first aid treatment, Section 24(6) DGUV Regulation 1), accident reports to the accident insurance institution and internal accident reports.

3. 3

   Track days lost

   Document the incapacity for work per accident until the person returns – excluding the day of the accident.

4. 4

   Obtain working hours

   Hours worked from time recording or payroll, ideally per month and area.

5. 5

   Calculate, evaluate, act

   Calculate the figures regularly, compare them with previous years and the sector, analyse them by area, activity and cause, and derive actions.

Accident data is health data. Analyses for the occupational safety committee or a notice board should therefore not allow conclusions about individual people.

Checklist: accident rates in your company

• Figures and definitions set and documented
• All first aid treatments recorded in the first aid log
• Reportable accidents reported and counted
• Days lost per accident tracked, excluding the day of the accident
• Hours worked available per area
• Rates compared with previous years and sector figures
• Near misses and other leading indicators analysed
• Results discussed in the occupational safety committee and actions derived

Free templates for this guide

As PDF and Excel, free – to use in your own company.

• Accidents

  Accident investigation report template (PDF) for internal investigations

  PDFFree download

Frequently asked questions