A letter from your accident insurance institution, an upcoming site opening or a workplace accident can quickly expose a missing appointment. If you need to know how to appoint a company doctor, the first point is simple: this is not a token job title. Your company doctor (Betriebsarzt) must be suitably qualified, involved in workplace prevention, and appointed at a level that reflects your people and their actual risks.
For employers operating in Germany, especially those building a local team for the first time, this duty can feel unfamiliar. The good news is that an external appointment is normal. With the right scope, documentation and coordination, you can turn a legal obligation into practical support for healthier, safer work.
When you need a company doctor
The German Occupational Safety and Health Act (Arbeitsschutzgesetz, ArbSchG) requires employers to protect employees’ health and safety. The Act on Occupational Physicians, Safety Engineers and Other Occupational Safety Specialists (Arbeitssicherheitsgesetz, ASiG) gives company doctors a defined role in this system.
In practice, companies appoint a company doctor under DGUV V2, the accident prevention regulation that sets out occupational medical and safety support. The amount and type of support depends on your sector, workforce size and risk profile. A small office team does not need the same medical input as a warehouse with shift work, manual handling, forklift traffic and hazardous substances.
Do not assume that low headcount removes the issue. Smaller businesses may be covered by alternative care models offered through their accident insurance institution (Berufsgenossenschaft, or BG), but duties still need checking. A growing business, a new workplace activity or a change in risks can alter what appropriate support looks like.
A company doctor advises the employer, managers and employees on prevention. Their work can include workplace inspections, input to the risk assessment (Gefährdungsbeurteilung), advice on ergonomic workstations, vaccinations relevant to work, reintegration after long-term illness, and occupational health surveillance where exposure creates a legal requirement.
How to appoint a company doctor: the practical process
The appointment should follow your operations, not a generic checklist. A credible arrangement starts by identifying what your organisation does, who performs which tasks and where exposures may occur.
Step 1: Assess your activities and required support
Start with your existing risk assessment. If it is missing, incomplete or does not cover recent changes, address that first. The company doctor should help interpret health-related risks, while an occupational safety specialist (Fachkraft für Arbeitssicherheit, or SiFa) addresses safety risks alongside them.
Review matters such as display screen work, lifting and carrying, noise, shift patterns, travel, biological agents, hazardous substances, heat, cold, lone working and work-related stress. For a logistics site, this might mean checking manual handling and diesel exhaust exposure. For a growing office, the priority may be ergonomics, psychosocial strain and a clear process for occupational health consultations.
DGUV V2 distinguishes between basic support and workplace-specific support. Basic support is determined partly by your BG allocation group and employee numbers. Workplace-specific support is driven by the hazards and events at your site. This is why copying another company’s annual hours is risky, even if you operate in the same sector.
Step 2: Select a properly qualified provider
You may appoint an external company doctor rather than employ one in-house. For many international businesses, this is the practical route because it provides access to appropriate expertise without creating a permanent internal function.
Check that the doctor has the qualifications required for occupational medicine. This is commonly a specialist in occupational medicine (Facharzt für Arbeitsmedizin) or a doctor with the additional qualification in occupational medicine (Zusatzbezeichnung Betriebsmedizin). The provider should also be able to support the language and operating needs of your workforce, while meeting German confidentiality requirements.
Qualification alone is not enough. Ask whether the provider understands your activities and can work with your safety specialist. A company doctor who only offers individual appointments, without any connection to your risk assessment or workplace conditions, may leave important prevention work untouched.
The doctor must be able to act independently in their professional advice. You remain responsible for workplace safety as the employer, but the medical assessment itself must not be shaped by production pressures or HR preferences.
Step 3: Make the appointment clear and document it
Put the appointment in writing. The document or service agreement should identify the appointed company doctor, the sites and employees covered, the agreed scope of support, and how the doctor will work with your internal contacts and safety specialist.
Keep evidence that the appointment is active and proportionate. This may include the service agreement, annual support planning, records of workplace visits, recommendations arising from assessments, and follow-up actions. If your BG asks how you meet your occupational health duties, a name in a spreadsheet is unlikely to answer the question on its own.
Make sure managers know how to involve the company doctor. They should seek advice before introducing new processes, equipment, shift arrangements or substances that could affect health. Early involvement is usually easier than correcting gaps after an incident or inspection.
Occupational health care is not the same as a fitness test
Employers sometimes treat the company doctor as a gatekeeper who decides whether someone is fit for work. That can be part of occupational medicine in limited circumstances, but it is not the central purpose of the role.
The company doctor focuses on prevention and medical confidentiality. Under the Ordinance on Occupational Medical Precaution (ArbMedVV), some activities require mandatory occupational health care, while other exposures trigger an offer of care that employees can choose to accept. The exact requirement depends on the exposure and task, not simply the job title.
Medical details remain confidential between the doctor and employee. You should receive only the information needed to fulfil your duties, such as confirmation that required care was offered or completed where applicable. You should not expect diagnoses or private medical histories.
This separation protects employees and helps the doctor give credible advice. It also means HR, operations and the doctor need a clear process for referrals, record handling and follow-up without crossing confidentiality boundaries.
Common mistakes that create avoidable risk
One common mistake is appointing a doctor only after an inspection notice arrives. An urgent response may be necessary, but occupational health support works best when it is part of planned prevention.
Another is relying on a contract that states broad support without defining the workplace-specific work required. If your warehouse introduces night shifts or your laboratory begins using a new substance, the arrangement needs review. The same applies when headcount, locations or equipment change.
Employers also sometimes separate occupational medicine from the rest of health and safety. In reality, the company doctor, safety specialist, managers and employee representatives should exchange relevant prevention information. In companies that require a safety committee, this cooperation is particularly useful for tracking actions and recurring issues.
Finally, do not confuse a general private medical service with occupational medical support. Your provider must understand the legal framework, the workplace and the difference between optional wellbeing initiatives and duties arising from identified exposure.
Bringing occupational health into your safety system
A well-appointed company doctor gives you more than a document for a compliance file. They can identify health risks before they become absences, complaints or accidents. Their advice is strongest when it informs real operational decisions, from workstation design to work schedules and protective measures.
Captain Safety can coordinate company doctor support with occupational safety, risk assessments, hazardous substances management and follow-up actions. That joined-up approach is particularly useful when you need to establish several required roles at once or respond quickly to a BG notice.
Questions employers often ask
Can we appoint an external company doctor? Yes. External occupational medical support is widely used in Germany. The key requirement is that the doctor is appropriately qualified and that the scope of support matches your organisation’s duties and risks.
Do remote employees need occupational health support? Remote work does not automatically remove your employer duties. Risk assessment, display screen work, work organisation and employee access to occupational health advice may all be relevant. The appropriate level of support depends on the work performed and your wider risk profile.
How often should the company doctor visit? There is no useful one-size-fits-all answer. The frequency and time allocation should be based on DGUV V2, your BG allocation, workforce size, hazards, changes at the workplace and any workplace-specific need.
What should we do after an accident or a BG notice? Act promptly, preserve relevant records and review whether health risks, risk assessments, training, appointments or corrective actions need attention. Coordinated advice from occupational medicine and safety specialists can help you build a practical corrective plan.
Appointing a company doctor is one of those duties that becomes much less daunting once it is connected to the work your people actually do. Start with the risks, choose qualified support and give the doctor a real place in your prevention process. That is how your health and safety superheroes get ahead of the next challenge, rather than arriving only after it has landed on your desk.