Occupational safety for publishing and media houses
Book, magazine and newspaper publishers also handle physical goods. Returns, author copies and promotional material are stored, packed and shipped, and some houses deliver their newspaper themselves. Whether a publisher prints in-house decides which employers' liability insurance association is responsible. How much it stores and ships determines how much occupational safety work is needed beyond the office floor.
- Publishing & media houses
A publishing house with storage, studio and offices: several working areas under one roof
In many publishing houses, copy-editing, editorial, administration, technical areas and storage share one building. The office floor is then only part of the business, and the other areas have hazards that never arise at a desk.
For publishers, a specific demarcation rule determines which accident insurance institution is responsible. Publishers whose products are mainly printed by outside printers belong to the Berufsgenossenschaft Handel und Warenlogistik (BGHW), which also covers the sale, delivery and distribution of press products. A publisher with its own printing plant, on the other hand, is a member of the BG ETEM. Accident prevention regulations, inspection guidance and seminars come from that institution, and the publisher's documentation should be based on them. What counts is the membership notice.
When a newspaper publisher handles its own delivery, the headcount quickly extends beyond the office floor. Newspaper carriers are employees, including those on a mini-job, and their work looks nothing like the work in the building: early in the morning, in the dark and on icy pavements, on foot, by bike or by car. They need a separate section of the risk assessment that starts with the routes.
Publishing and media houses: institution, sector and thresholds
| Item | Publisher or media house |
|---|---|
| Accident insurance institution | Mainly printed by outside printers: Berufsgenossenschaft Handel und Warenlogistik (BGHW). Own printing plant: BG ETEM. What counts is the membership notice. |
| Economic sector | WZ 58.1 publishing of books and periodicals and other publishing (excluding software), including WZ 58.13 publishing of newspapers |
| Support group under DGUV Regulation 2 | III; above 20 employees 0.5 hours of basic support per employee and year, shared between the specialist and the occupational physician, at least 20 per cent each |
| Forklift trucks with a driver's seat or platform | Only with a written assignment, aged 18 or over, for people who are suitable, trained and have proven their competence (section 7 DGUV Regulation 68) |
| 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) |
Everyone employed by the publisher counts, including storage and dispatch staff and, where the publisher delivers itself, the newspaper carriers. 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. A publisher with 21 to 49 employees still has to appoint a safety officer if the risk assessment for storage or dispatch identifies a particular hazard to life and health (section 22 SGB VII). For the office side, the safety-officer calculator works out the number.
Four areas a publisher should assess separately
- Separate areas, separate assessments. Editorial, plant rooms, studios and storage are different working areas. A single assessment for the whole building misses the point in every one of them.
- Storage and dispatch. Author copies, paper and promotional material mean manual handling, shelf stability and traffic routes for pallet trucks. That is no longer an office topic.
- Technical and studio rooms. Cable routing, electrical equipment, fire load, and the question of who works there alone and how an emergency would be noticed.
- Open-plan acoustics in the newsroom. Open editorial floors are the norm. Acoustic exposure is the most frequently named factor there and belongs in the assessment of mental stress.
Where returns come back on pallets, goods-in belongs in the assessment too: the loading ramp, the roller door and the yard where delivery vans manoeuvre. For adhesives, cleaning agents and toner at the packing station, Hazardous substances in the office is a good starting point.
What an inspection of a publishing house brings to light
The typical picture is a tidy office floor and a store where the findings accumulate: pallets and boxes on traffic and escape routes, shelving with no documented inspection, material above head height. Add plant rooms with no access arrangement, and side rooms used as workstations without ever having been assessed as such.
Safety training by area in a publishing house
Training has to run separately by area. Editorial and administration get the office package with a focus on acoustics and screen work. Storage and dispatch get manual handling, shelf use, keeping routes clear and, where relevant, operating pallet trucks. For technical and studio rooms, only the people who actually enter them are trained.
Anyone driving a forklift with a driver's seat or platform also needs a written assignment from the publisher. This does not apply to pedestrian-operated pallet trucks, although training remains mandatory. Newspaper carriers are trained before their first round, covering routes, weather and what to do after an accident on the way.
Related
- External occupational safety specialist: Scope and hours for houses with office and storage areas.
- Occupational safety for journalism and press: Assignments in the field, threats and shift work in the newsroom.
- Fire safety in the office: The duties at a glance when paper and cardboard add to the fire load.
- Escape and rescue plan: office duty?: When it is required and what it has to show where storage and offices merge.
- First-aider calculator: How many first aiders the office floor and the store need together.
- 7 risk assessment mistakes in offices: Including a single assessment for the whole building.
Legal basis
- DGUV Regulation 2 (occupational physicians and safety specialists)
- Occupational Safety Act (ASiG)
- Social Code Book VII (SGB VII), statutory accident insurance
Frequently asked questions
Which employers' liability insurance association is a publishing house insured with?
If the publisher has its products printed mainly by outside printers, the Berufsgenossenschaft Handel und Warenlogistik (BGHW) is responsible; with its own printing plant, the BG ETEM. If a printing company sets up a publishing firm specifically to sell its products, that publisher belongs to the BGHW under the demarcation guidelines. What counts is the membership notice.
Do newspaper carriers count towards the headcount?
Yes, if the publisher employs them directly, including on a mini-job. For the threshold of 20, part-time staff count proportionally: up to 20 hours a week as 0.5, up to 30 hours as 0.75. If an independent delivery company handles distribution, the carriers are employed there and do not count at the publisher.
Does a book publisher without its own warehouse need more than office support?
Usually not. If a service provider handles storage and distribution, the publisher remains an office business under WZ 58.1 and support group III, and the assessment centres on screen work, indoor climate and escape routes. If author copies and trade fair material are stored in the basement after all, that room belongs in the assessment.
Other business types
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