Mandatory workplace notices in Germany 2026: which laws employers must post
The Working Hours Act, the AGG and first aid information concern every German employer; the youth and maternity protection acts apply only above certain thresholds. Which notices are mandatory, where they must hang and when the intranet is enough.
Last updated on 8 min readAMS Go editorial team
Key points at a glance
- Every employer in Germany must make available the Working Hours Act with the ordinances, collective agreements and works agreements on working time applicable to the company (Section 16 (1) ArbZG) and announce the AGG, Section 61b ArbGG and the competent complaints office (Section 12 (5) AGG).
- The Youth Employment Protection Act and the address of the supervisory authority are mandatory as soon as at least one young person is regularly employed (Section 47 JArbSchG); the Maternity Protection Act must be laid out or posted where more than three women are regularly employed (Section 26 MuSchG).
- Information on first aid, emergency calls and first aiders must be given by notice or in another suitable written form and kept up to date (Section 24 (5) DGUV Regulation 1).
- The Working Hours Act, the Youth Employment Protection Act and the AGG may also be provided via the information and communication technology customary in the company; a missing notice under Section 16 ArbZG or Sections 47 and 48 JArbSchG can lead to a fine of up to EUR 5,000.
What are mandatory workplace notices?
Mandatory workplace notices (aushangpflichtige Gesetze) are laws and information that employers in Germany must make accessible to their employees at work – traditionally on the notice board, and for many duties now also on the intranet. Every company is affected above all by the Working Hours Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz, ArbZG), the General Equal Treatment Act (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz, AGG) and the first aid information; further notices depend on who works in the company and on the workplace itself.
There is no central list: the duties are set out in individual laws, in DGUV Regulation 1 (DGUV Vorschrift 1) and in the technical rules for workplaces (ASR). Each provision determines itself whether a posted notice, a copy laid out or electronic provision is sufficient.
Overview: notice, legal basis and when it is mandatory
The table shows the most important notice duties (as of November 2026). The last column reflects what the wording of each provision allows.
Working Hours Act, ordinances issued under it, applicable collective agreements and works agreements on working time
Legal basisSection 16 (1) ArbZG
Mandatory if …every employer with employees
Digital allowed?yes, via the information and communication technology customary in the company
AGG, Section 61b ArbGG and information on the complaints office
Legal basisSection 12 (5) AGG
Mandatory if …every employer
Digital allowed?yes, expressly permitted
First aid: emergency number, first aiders, first aid facilities, doctors and hospitals
Legal basisSection 24 (5) DGUV Regulation 1
Mandatory if …every company
Digital allowed?notice or another suitable written form
Competent accident insurance institution and location of its office responsible for compensation
Legal basisSection 138 SGB VII
Mandatory if …every company
Digital allowed?form not prescribed
Applicable accident prevention regulations and relevant state regulations and rules
Legal basisSection 12 (1) DGUV Regulation 1
Mandatory if …every company
Digital allowed?yes, paper or electronic (DGUV Rule 100-001)
Youth Employment Protection Act and address of the supervisory authority
Legal basisSection 47 JArbSchG
Mandatory if …at least one young person regularly employed
Digital allowed?yes, as for the ArbZG
Start and end of the regular daily working time and breaks of young persons
Legal basisSection 48 JArbSchG
Mandatory if …at least three young persons regularly employed
Digital allowed?yes, as for the ArbZG
Maternity Protection Act
Legal basisSection 26 (1) MuSchG
Mandatory if …more than three women regularly employed
Digital allowed?yes, in an electronic directory accessible at all times
Works agreements
Legal basisSection 77 (2) BetrVG
Mandatory if …works council in place
Digital allowed?the act only mentions laying them out
Collective agreements applicable in the company
Legal basisSection 8 TVG
Mandatory if …collective agreement applies
Digital allowed?form not prescribed
Escape and rescue plan
Legal basisSection 4 (4) ArbStättV, ASR A2.3
Mandatory if …location, size and use of the workplace require it
Digital allowed?no, post at suitable places
Behaviour in the event of fire, e.g. fire safety regulations part A
Legal basisASR A2.2 No. 7.1
Mandatory if …increased fire risk, escape plan required or frequent visitors and contractors
Digital allowed?no, post at an easily accessible place
Mandatory for every company
Five notices concern every employer – regardless of sector and size, from the first employee:
- Working Hours Act: besides the act itself, this includes the ordinances applicable to the company as well as collective agreements and works or service agreements that deviate from the statutory working time rules under Section 7 (1) to (3), Section 12 or Section 21a (6) ArbZG.
- AGG: the act must be announced, together with Section 61b of the Labour Court Act (Arbeitsgerichtsgesetz, ArbGG), which sets a three-month deadline for bringing a claim for compensation, and information on the office where employees can complain about discrimination (Section 13 AGG) – for example name, role and contact details.
- First aid: information on first aid and details of the emergency number, first aid and rescue facilities, first aid personnel, doctors to be called and hospitals to be taken to. The poster DGUV Information 204-001 “Erste Hilfe” is available for this.
- Accident insurance institution: employees must know which employers' liability insurance association (Berufsgenossenschaft) or public accident insurance fund (Unfallkasse) is competent and where its office responsible for compensation is located (Section 138 of Social Code Book VII, SGB VII).
- Regulations and rules: the applicable accident prevention regulations and the relevant state regulations and rules must be made accessible at a suitable place (Section 12 (1) DGUV Regulation 1).
In addition, there is an information duty with no prescribed form: you inform all employees about the result of the maternity protection risk assessment and the need for protective measures (Section 14 (2) of the Maternity Protection Act, MuSchG) – a notice or the intranet are suitable for this.
Notice management in AMS GoThe planned notice management module (planned for 2027) is designed to record which notices apply at which site, remind you of checks, document on-site checks with a photo in the mobile app and turn missing notices into actions in the action plan.Mandatory only under certain conditions
Further notices depend on the workforce, the organisation and the workplace. Check them for every site:
- Young persons (aged 15 to under 18): from one regularly employed young person, the Youth Employment Protection Act (Jugendarbeitsschutzgesetz, JArbSchG) and the address of the competent supervisory authority (Section 47 JArbSchG); from three young persons, also the start and end of their regular daily working time and breaks (Section 48 JArbSchG).
- Women: where more than three women are regularly employed, a copy of the Maternity Protection Act (Section 26 (1) MuSchG).
- Works council: the employer must lay out works agreements at a suitable place in the company (Section 77 (2) of the Works Constitution Act, BetrVG).
- Collective agreements: the collective agreements applicable in the company must be announced (Section 8 of the Collective Agreements Act, TVG).
- Whistleblower protection: from as a rule 50 employees, an internal reporting office is mandatory (Section 12 of the Whistleblower Protection Act, HinSchG), plus clear and easily accessible information on internal and external reporting procedures (Sections 7 and 13 HinSchG) – the act does not require a posted notice.
- Escape and rescue plan: where the location, size and use of the workplace require it (Section 4 (4) of the Workplace Ordinance, ArbStättV). Under ASR A2.3, it hangs at suitable places along escape routes, correctly oriented to the viewer's position.
- Behaviour in the event of fire: to be posted under ASR A2.2 where there is an increased fire risk, an escape and rescue plan is required or visitors or contractors are frequently on site – for example as fire safety regulations part A (Brandschutzordnung Teil A) under DIN 14096.
- Retail outlets: the shop opening laws of the federal states apply here. In Bavaria, the federal Shop Closing Act with its notice duty (Section 21 LadSchlG) ceased to apply on 1 August 2025; whether a notice is required is governed by the relevant state law.
Is the intranet enough? Providing notices digitally
Since the Fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act (Viertes Bürokratieentlastungsgesetz, in force since 1 January 2025), the Working Hours Act and the Youth Employment Protection Act may be provided “via the information and communication technology customary in the company or office”. What the provisions allow:
- ArbZG and JArbSchG: customary information and communication technology, or laid out or posted at a suitable place
- AGG: posted, laid out or customary information and communication technology
- MuSchG: laid out or posted – not required if the act is accessible at all times in an electronic directory
- Accident prevention regulations: accessible at a suitable place, on paper or electronically according to DGUV Rule 100-001
- Works agreements: the BetrVG only refers to laying them out at a suitable place
- Escape and rescue plan and fire notice: on site at suitable, easily accessible places
What happens if a notice is missing?
Notice under Section 16 (1) ArbZG
Fine provisionSection 22 (1) No. 8 ArbZG
Fine up toEUR 5,000
Notices under Sections 47 and 48 JArbSchG
Fine provisionSection 59 (1) Nos. 7 and 8 JArbSchG
Fine up toEUR 5,000
Information under Section 138 SGB VII
Fine provisionSection 209 (1) No. 4 SGB VII
Fine up toEUR 2,500
There is no specific fine for the duties under the Maternity Protection Act, the AGG and the BetrVG or for the first aid notice under DGUV Regulation 1. A duty is still a duty – and after an accident, every minute counts.
Organising notices in four steps
- 1
Identify duties per site
Clarify for each site: young persons or more than three women? Works council, collective agreement, at least 50 employees? Escape and rescue plan, increased fire risk, frequent visitors?
- 2
Define posting and digital locations
Decide where each notice hangs – for example on the notice board in the break room – and what is additionally or instead available on the intranet.
- 3
Use current versions
Use the current version of the laws and note the status. Update first aiders, complaints office, supervisory authority and accident insurance institution as soon as anything changes.
- 4
Check regularly
Check the notices at fixed intervals, for example during the safety inspection, and after changes in the law, staff changes or refurbishments. Record who checked and when.
Checklist: notices in the company
- Working Hours Act with ordinances, collective agreements and works agreements on working time provided
- AGG, Section 61b ArbGG and complaints office announced
- First aid notice with current first aiders, emergency number, doctors and hospitals
- Competent Berufsgenossenschaft or Unfallkasse and its office announced
- Accident prevention regulations and state occupational safety regulations accessible
- With young persons: JArbSchG and supervisory authority, from three young persons also working hours and breaks
- More than three women: Maternity Protection Act laid out, posted or electronically accessible
- Works agreements and collective agreements announced
- Escape and rescue plan and fire notice posted, correctly oriented, where required
- Review date and responsible persons defined per site
Free templates for this guide
As PDF and Excel, free – to use in your own company.
Frequently asked questions
Which laws must be posted in a German workplace?
Every employer must provide the Working Hours Act with the ordinances, collective agreements and works agreements on working time applicable to the company (Section 16 ArbZG) and the AGG with Section 61b ArbGG and details of the complaints office (Section 12 (5) AGG). First aid information and details of the accident insurance institution are added. The Youth Employment Protection Act and the Maternity Protection Act are only mandatory if young persons or more than three women are regularly employed.
From how many employees do the notice duties apply?
There is no minimum size for the Working Hours Act, the AGG and first aid – they apply from the first employee. The Youth Employment Protection Act applies from one regularly employed young person, the notice on working hours and breaks from three young persons and the Maternity Protection Act from more than three regularly employed women. Information on the internal reporting office under the Whistleblower Protection Act is required as a rule from 50 employees.
Is it enough to provide the laws on the intranet?
For the Working Hours Act, the Youth Employment Protection Act and the AGG, yes – the wording allows the information and communication technology customary in the company. For the Maternity Protection Act, an electronic directory accessible at all times is sufficient. The precondition is that all employees actually have access. Escape and rescue plans and the fire notice, however, belong on the wall on site.
Does the Occupational Safety and Health Act have to be posted?
The Occupational Safety and Health Act (ArbSchG) itself contains no notice duty. Under Section 12 (1) DGUV Regulation 1, however, you must make the accident prevention regulations applicable to the company and the relevant state regulations and rules accessible at a suitable place – and the ArbSchG is one of them. Electronic provision is possible.
Terms from the glossary
This guide gives a general overview of German occupational safety law and does not replace legal advice. The regulations in force and the rules of the statutory accident insurance institutions are authoritative.
Organise occupational safety digitally
With the occupational safety software AMS Go you handle risk assessments, safety instructions, inspections and more in one system – mobile and with AI support.
Newsletter
Occupational safety, straight to your inbox
New templates, guides and changes to regulations – free from AMS Go. The newsletter is in German. You can unsubscribe at any time via the link in every email.
More guides
- Organisation
Legal register for occupational safety in Germany: structure, duties and updates
7 minRead - Safety instruction
Protecting young workers in Germany: working hours, breaks, health checks and instruction
8 minRead - Basics
Employer duties in occupational safety in Germany: the overview with checklist
10 minRead
