Occupational safety for banks and savings banks
Banks and savings banks have two very different working environments: a head office with large estates of screen workstations, and branches that anyone can walk into. Besides the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Occupational Safety Act and DGUV Regulation 2, the branches are covered by an accident prevention regulation of their own, DGUV Regulation 25 on robbery prevention. It contains duties that an ordinary office does not have.
- Banks & savings banks
Cash in the branch: what robbery prevention requires of banks
A branch is a workplace with open access and cash on the premises. Robbery prevention and support for those affected after a robbery are therefore part of occupational safety, and they have a legal basis of their own.
DGUV Regulation 25 applies to credit, financial services and payment institutions. It replaced the former accident prevention regulation on cash desks and, within these institutions, covers every area where employees handle cash, other means of payment or valuables. That includes branches without a teller counter, because anyone who fills or empties cash machines is handling banknotes. Cash machines have to be replenished in areas closed to the public, and views into those areas must be prevented as far as possible. If replenishment does take place in a publicly accessible area, suitable technical or organisational measures are required (section 13).
The regulation sets protection goals, and the assessment of each individual branch determines how they are met. Written operating instructions are required for handling banknotes, for faults in security equipment and for conduct during a robbery (section 8). Functional checks of alarm systems and video recording must be documented (section 21). DGUV Rule 115-003 on robbery prevention in credit institutions explains what this means in day-to-day banking.
Banks and savings banks: insurer, classification and additional rules
| Topic | Bank or savings bank |
|---|---|
| Accident insurance institution | Banks: Verwaltungs-Berufsgenossenschaft (VBG), hazard tariff category for financial services. Savings banks: depending on the federal state, the VBG or the state's Unfallkasse (for example in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate). The membership notice is what counts |
| Economic sector | WZ 64.1 central banks and credit institutions |
| Support group under DGUV Regulation 2 | III: above 20 employees 0.5 hours of basic support per employee and year, shared between specialist and occupational physician, at least 20 per cent each |
| Additional accident prevention regulation | DGUV Regulation 25 on robbery prevention, in force at the VBG since 1 April 2021 and at the Unfallkasse Nordrhein-Westfalen since 1 October 2021 |
| After a robbery | Support for those affected following an emergency plan drawn up in advance, immediate notification of the accident insurance institution (section 20 DGUV Regulation 25) |
| Above 20 employees | Occupational safety committee meeting once per calendar quarter (section 11 ASiG) |
| From 50 employees in office work | Safety officers (section 22 SGB VII, since 29 May 2026) |
For the thresholds, branch staff count as well as head-office staff, trainees included. Part-time staff count proportionally towards the threshold of 20: up to 20 hours a week as 0.5, up to 30 hours as 0.75. The risk assessment, by contrast, is carried out per site, because floor plan, access and security equipment differ from branch to branch.
Four checkpoints for a bank branch's risk assessment
- Robbery prevention. Sight lines, raising the alarm, a way to withdraw and how to behave during an incident are protective measures. They belong in the assessment and in the training, not only in a security instruction.
- Aftercare following an incident. After a robbery, the mental stress on those involved is the real harm. A defined route to support and aftercare has to exist beforehand, not be looked for afterwards.
- Lone working and fringe hours. Small branches, opening with few staff and self-service zones with long access hours lead to lone working. An arrangement is needed for how an emergency is noticed.
- Advisory positions and counter areas. Fixed advisory desks are screen workstations with public access: viewing distance and glare as everywhere, plus screening from view and a clear route to the rear.
With many branches, a shared baseline assessment works well, supplemented by one sheet per branch covering floor plan, escape routes and security equipment. Whether a branch needs its own escape and rescue plan depends on its location and size. The criteria are set out in Escape and rescue plan: office duty?.
Walking through branch and head office: typical findings in banks
In the head office the usual picture of large screen estates applies. In the branches, other points are added: advisory desks with no clear route to the rear, escape routes blocked behind customer zones, and self-service areas whose lighting and visibility were never assessed. On paper, a defined aftercare procedure is often missing.
Safety training in banks and savings banks
A branch block comes on top of the screen-work part: how to behave during an incident, raising the alarm, handling tense customer conversations, rules for opening and closing, and the route to aftercare. This block needs regular repetition, because in an emergency it has to be available from memory, not looked up.
Section 9 of DGUV Regulation 25 defines what regular means for everyone who handles banknotes or could be affected by a robbery: before they start, then at least every six months and whenever needed. The Training-interval calculator keeps the six-month cycle in view alongside your other deadlines.
Related
- External occupational safety specialist: Scope and support hours for head office and branch network under one contract.
- Occupational safety for financial services and fintech: For firms without branch business: large screen estates and fixed reporting dates.
- Occupational safety for insurance: Office staff much like a bank's head office, plus field staff and loss inspections.
- Accidents at work in the office: reporting and deadlines: What has to be reported after an incident that leads to time off work.
- Young workers, apprentices and interns in the office: What additionally applies to trainees under 18 in branch operations.
Legal basis
- Occupational Health and Safety Act (ArbSchG)
- Occupational Safety Act (ASiG)
- DGUV Regulation 2 (occupational physicians and safety specialists)
- Social Code Book VII (SGB VII), statutory accident insurance
Frequently asked questions
Which accident insurance institution covers banks and savings banks?
Private banks, building societies and cooperative banks are insured with the Verwaltungs-Berufsgenossenschaft (VBG), whose hazard tariff lists them under financial services. For savings banks, it depends on the federal state: many are insured with the VBG, but in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate they are members of the state's Unfallkasse. What counts for your institution is the membership notice.
May trainees carry cash between branches?
Only if they are at least 18, suitable and specifically trained for the task (section 15 (3) DGUV Regulation 25). As a rule, a banknote transport must not be recognisable as such to outsiders. Where that cannot be avoided, it needs a suitable transport security device, or the time and route are changed irregularly and a second person secures the transport (section 15 (1) and (2)).
Does DGUV Regulation 25 apply to a branch without a teller counter?
Yes, as soon as employees there handle cash, for example when filling or emptying cash machines. That task, raising the alarm and conduct during a robbery then belong in the assessment. In a purely advisory branch with no contact with cash, other means of payment or valuables, the regulation does not apply. Record that conclusion, with your reasons, in the risk assessment.
Other business types
Worry-free occupational safety in 4 steps
A simple path from the first conversation to audit-proof documentation.
Free initial consultation
We set out what the law requires, what you don't need and what we deliver. Clarity from day one.
Contract signed
One contract, market-tested fixed price, booked directly with us. First contact to signature: five working days at most.
Start of on-site support
Your specialist visits for the walkthrough, produces the risk assessment and checks: what is there, what is missing?
Audit-proof documentation in the portal
Every record sits in the client portal: digital, complete, current, easy to share.
Talk to us.
