When setting up and operating workplaces in Germany the Workplaces Ordinance (Arbeitsstättenverordnung) is to be applied. Its objective is to ensure the safety and health protection of workers when workplaces are being set up and operated. The regulation is aimed at the employer. The Ordinance applies to places in buildings or outdoors which are located on the site of a company or a construction site intended and are to be used for workplaces and to which workers have access in the course of their work. These also include, for example, traffic and escape routes, storage and secondary rooms, and also sanitary, rest and first-aid rooms, as well as accommodations.

The provisions relating to the protective goals and generally worded requirements of the Ordinance are dealt with more specifically in Technical Rules for Workplaces (Technische Regeln für Arbeitsstätten - ASR).