Innovative economic incentives to promote occupational safety and health – examples from Germany

This discussion paper reviews the economic incentives established by external organisations in Germany and their effect on occupational safety and health (OSH). It also considers how these impact SMEs, as traditional bonus malus systems depending on accident figures alone may put them at a disadvantage.

Competitions are effective incentives to promote OSH, as are awards, and premiums can more effectively promote preventive measures in SMEs. More systematic evaluations will be useful and administrative burden must be reduced for companies and insurance institutions.