Who Reports a Subcontractor Employee's Work Accident?

Subcontractor work accident notification: what does the law say?

A formwork carpenter on a construction site, a maintenance technician in a factory or a forklift operator in a warehouse may be a subcontractor employee. When the accident happens on the principal employer's site, the first question is always the same: whose job is the subcontractor work accident notification, and who reports it to the SGK?

The answer is in Law No. 5510. Art. 13 requires a work accident to be reported by the employer employing the insured person to the competent local law enforcement immediately and to the SGK within three working days after the accident at the latest. A subcontractor employee's employer is the subcontractor; the subcontractor work accident notification is therefore the subcontractor's job.

Art. 11 determines under which registration the notification is made: the subcontractor reports the insured persons it employs at the principal employer's workplace from the file in which the principal employer is registered, using a special number obtained from the SGK by submitting its contract. The accident notification is also made under this subcontractor number.

But that is not the end of it. Under Art. 12, the principal employer is jointly responsible with the subcontractor for the obligations the Law places on the employer. If the notification is not made, or is made late, the consequences may also affect the principal employer. The principal employer should therefore confirm with documentation that the notification has been made.

For a step-by-step walkthrough of the notification screens, see our article on SGK work accident e-notification.

The first 72 hours after the accident: division of tasks

In a subcontracted worker's work accident, most time is lost arguing about "who will do what". Write the following division of tasks into the contract and the emergency plan in advance:

1. First response: The first aider nearest the injured person responds, regardless of which company they work for. The site's emergency arrangements belong to the principal employer.
2. Preserving the scene: The principal employer closes off the scene and preserves the equipment and evidence. The subcontractor's team does not disturb the scene or remove materials.
3. Communication: The principal employer reports the accident within the same hour to the subcontractor's representative and to the OHS professionals.
4. Law enforcement and SGK: The subcontractor notifies law enforcement immediately and the SGK within three working days, and gives a copy of the notification document to the principal employer.
5. Gathering witnesses and documents: Witness statements, the work permit, training and health records and equipment inspection reports are gathered on the first day. For how to take statements, see our article on the work accident report and witness statements.
6. Joint investigation: Within the first week, both parties' OHS specialists and, if necessary, workplace physicians hold a joint investigation meeting.

Our article on what to do after a work accident also provides guidance on general post-accident steps.

The principal employer's role in the investigation

Art. 14/1 of Law No. 6331 requires the employer to keep a record of all work accidents and to carry out the necessary investigations and prepare a report. In a subcontractor employee's accident, this obligation concerns both employers: the subcontractor investigates for its own employee and its own work, and the principal employer for its own site and its coordination duty.

The issues the principal employer should look at in the investigation follow from the duties the legislation gives it:

• Supervision of the risk assessment: Under Art. 15 of the Risk Assessment Regulation, the principal employer supervises subcontractors' risk assessment work, integrates it with its own, monitors whether measures are implemented and ensures that non-conformities are corrected. The investigation should ask whether the risk that caused the accident was in the subcontractor's assessment and whether the principal employer noticed this.
• Coordination: Under Art. 23 of Law No. 6331, employers sharing the same work area implement measures in coordination and inform each other. Did the work of another nearby team affect this risk before the accident?
• Information: Art. 6/1-d of Law No. 6331 requires the employer to inform employees coming from other workplaces to work at its workplace, and their employers. Was the injured person informed about site-specific risks?
• OHS committee: In a principal employer–subcontractor relationship lasting more than six months, the principal employer ensures cooperation and coordination between committees (Art. 22/2). The accident should be put on the agenda of the relevant committee meeting.

The investigation should not close with the conclusion "worker carelessness". A contractor accident investigation should get to the root cause: why was this method chosen, why was the permit issued on these terms, why was there no supervision? For methods, see our article on root cause analysis methods.

The possibility of shared fault: how is responsibility divided?

In a subcontractor employee's accident, responsibility usually cannot be placed on one party alone. Two separate legal relationships are involved:

• The SGK's right of recourse: Under Art. 21 of Law No. 5510, if the accident resulted from the employer's intent or from conduct contrary to OHS legislation, the SGK recovers the payments made to the employee from the employer. Because of the joint responsibility in Art. 12, the principal employer may also be involved in this process.
• The employee's compensation claim: Art. 2 of Labour Law No. 4857 provides that the principal employer is jointly responsible with the subcontractor towards the subcontractor's workers for obligations arising from the law and the employment contract in relation to that workplace.

In these cases, fault ratios are usually determined through expert examination. Where fault falls is often determined by whose control the hazard was under:

The table is not a legal opinion but a preliminary assessment tool. But it gives a clear message for prevention on site: gaps the principal employer leaves in areas under its own control and in coordination come back to it as fault in the subcontractor's accident. For the general framework of the division of duties, see our article on OHS when working with subcontractors.

What to prepare before an accident: contract and file

To be able to reach the right information at the time of an accident, the following records should be held by the principal employer before work begins:

1. The subcontractor number the subcontractor obtained from the SGK and its employees' employment start notifications. At construction workplaces, the employment start notification is submitted on the day the insured person starts work at the latest (Law No. 5510, Art. 8).
2. Employees' training certificates, fitness-for-work reports and, where necessary, vocational qualification certificates.
3. A copy of the subcontractor's risk assessment and emergency plan given to the principal employer.
4. A clause in the contract requiring accidents, near misses and dangerous situations to be reported to the principal employer on the same day and the SGK notification document to be shared.
5. A joint accident investigation procedure: who will take part, how the scene will be preserved, how the report will be shared.

We list in detail which documents to request in our article on OHS documents to request from subcontractors. For the place of this arrangement on construction sites, see our construction sector page, and for administrative fine items, the OHS administrative fines tool. As part of its OHS specialist services, Bursa Sistemer sets up the subcontractor supervision and joint investigation arrangement on behalf of the principal employer; when you receive our services as a subcontractor, we keep your records in a form ready to present under the main company's supervision.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the principal employer responsible if the subcontractor does not report the accident?

Under Art. 12 of Law No. 5510, the principal employer is jointly responsible with the subcontractor for the obligations the Law places on the employer. It is therefore in the principal employer's interest to confirm with documentation that the notification was made on time.

Under which SGK registration is the notification made?

The subcontractor reports its employees with the special number assigned to it within the principal employer's workplace file. The accident notification is also made by the subcontractor under this subcontractor number, where the insured person is registered.

Who investigates a subcontracted worker's accident?

Both employers. The subcontractor investigates for its own employee and work, and the principal employer for its own site, its coordination duty and its obligation to supervise the subcontractor's risk assessment. The soundest approach is a joint investigation meeting.

Can the principal employer be found at fault for the accident?

Yes. If there are deficiencies in matters under the principal employer's control, such as the safety of common areas, the coordination of simultaneous work or the supervision of the subcontractor's work, part of the fault may fall on it; fault ratios are usually determined through expert examination.