Occupational safety for marketing and PR
Marketing and PR teams often work at trade fairs and on press trips, and in the run-up to a campaign launch in the evenings as well. If the team belongs to a larger company, its occupational safety runs through that company's organisation. An independent PR or marketing agency organises it itself, with all the duties under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Occupational Safety Act and DGUV Regulation 2.
- Marketing & PR
Marketing and PR: working at trade fairs and events
For marketing and PR, trade fairs, press appointments and events are field work, with set-up, transport, long hours on your feet and travel. None of it is visible during a walkthrough of the office.
At a trade fair, your own stand staff work alongside stand builders, electricians, caterers and the organiser's personnel. In situations like this the Occupational Health and Safety Act requires the employers to cooperate and inform each other about hazards (section 8 ArbSchG). Before set-up, the organiser's technical guidelines and house rules should be to hand, and it should be clear who builds the stand and who only staffs it. The stand team also needs to know where to find first aid in the hall.
Press and client trips abroad can involve the occupational physician. Work in tropical or subtropical regions and other stays abroad with particular climatic strain and infection risks require a mandatory occupational health check-up under the ArbMedVV. The appointment should be fixed before the trip is booked, because vaccinations need lead time.
Marketing and PR: accident insurance, economic sector and support thresholds
| Item | Marketing and PR |
|---|---|
| Accident insurance institution | Independent agencies: as a rule the VBG, whose statutes name advertising businesses, other consultancies, market and opinion research, and trade fair and exhibition businesses. Marketing departments: the institution of the company they belong to. |
| Economic sector | WZ 70.2 public relations and management consultancy, WZ 73.2 market research and opinion polling, WZ 82.3 organisation of conventions and trade shows |
| Support group under DGUV Regulation 2 | III for all three: 0.5 hours of basic support per employee and year, shared between the specialist and the occupational physician, at least 20 per cent each. Company-specific support comes on top. |
| From the first employee | Risk assessment, safety training, first-aid organisation, appointment of an occupational safety specialist and an occupational physician |
| Up to 20 employees | Annex 1 of DGUV Regulation 2 with no fixed support hours |
| Above 20 employees | Occupational safety committee, meeting once per calendar quarter (section 11 ASiG) |
| Up to 50 employees | Unternehmermodell permitted as an alternative. More than 50: standard support. |
| From 50 employees in an office | Safety officers (section 22 SGB VII, since 29 May 2026) |
| Accident at a trade fair or while travelling | Accident report to the accident insurance institution within three days if incapacity for work lasts more than three days (section 193 SGB VII) |
If the team is part of a larger company, the thresholds apply to the business as a whole, and the department is covered by that business's support. Part-time staff count proportionally towards the threshold of 20: up to 20 hours a week as 0.5, up to 30 as 0.75.
Four focal points of the risk assessment in marketing and PR
- Trade fairs and events. Stand build, transporting material, work with ladders and electrics in someone else's halls, plus long hours standing. That belongs in the assessment as its own section.
- Travel. Journeys by rail, car or air, overnight stays and return trips after long days. Commuting accidents are reportable accidents at work, and rest periods apply while travelling too.
- Community management. Anyone running channels reads abuse and threats. That is a mental stress under section 5 paragraph 3 ArbSchG and needs a reporting route, a contact person and aftercare.
- Campaign peaks and availability. Launch dates and crisis communication create peaks with availability beyond working hours. Because they are mostly predictable, they can be planned for.
Two simple measures help in channel management: replies are signed with initials rather than full names, and threats are saved before they are deleted, so that a criminal complaint remains possible.
Walkthrough in marketing and PR: what it shows and what it misses
The office floors are usually unremarkable apart from acoustics and hot desks that are never adjusted. What is missing is the assessment for trade fairs and events: no record of who is deployed how often, no rules for build work and ladders, and no agreement on how an accident in someone else's exhibition hall is reported. For channel management there is usually no documented approach to hostility at all.
Safety training for stand staff and channel managers
An events block comes on top of the office standard: conduct in someone else's halls, build work and ladders, electrical equipment, breaks during long hours on stand, and the reporting route after an accident on site. For channel management, add a short block on handling hostility: when to escalate, who to talk to, what aftercare exists.
Anyone travelling alone to a press appointment should know whom to check in with on arrival and before heading back. For trips in a hire car full of trade fair material, a note on securing the load belongs in the training.
Related
- External occupational safety specialist: Scope of services and support models, including for teams with a lot of field work.
- Occupational safety for advertising and creative agencies: For creative agencies with high turnover and their own productions.
- Mental stress in the risk assessment: What the law requires and how the survey works in practice.
- The occupational physician in the office: when required?: When you need the occupational physician and which types of check-up exist.
- 7 risk assessment mistakes in offices: Gaps that keep turning up in office businesses' assessments.
- Choosing a safety specialist: 7 criteria: Seven criteria, from qualifications to the contract.
Legal basis
- Occupational Health and Safety Act (ArbSchG)
- Occupational Safety Act (ASiG)
- DGUV Regulation 2 (occupational physicians and safety specialists)
- Ordinance on Occupational Health Care (ArbMedVV)
- Social Code Book VII (SGB VII), statutory accident insurance
Frequently asked questions
Who is responsible when our stand staff work at someone else's trade fair?
As their employer, you remain responsible for your own staff, even in someone else's hall. Where staff of several firms work together, the employers have to coordinate and inform each other about hazards (section 8 ArbSchG). The organiser's rules apply on top.
Does a marketing department have to arrange its own specialist and occupational physician?
The duty lies with the employer, meaning the company. The department is part of the company's risk assessment and support. Management can delegate individual tasks in writing to a reliable and competent head of department (section 13 (2) ArbSchG), such as organising the trade fair deployment.
Is an accident on the way from the hotel to the stand an accident at work?
As a rule, yes. Journeys connected with the trade fair assignment are covered by statutory accident insurance, as are the outward and return trips. Private activities during the trip, such as an evening stroll through town, are generally not covered. How to report the accident is explained in Accidents at work in the office: reporting and deadlines.
Other business types
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