The workplace evaluation is regulated in §5 ASchG. This paragraph obliges employers to identify and assess hazards and to define and document measures.
§5 ASchG Assessment of working conditions
(1) The employer shall determine which occupational health and safety measures are required by assessing the hazards associated with the employees' work.
(2) The employer shall carry out the assessment according to the type of activities. In the case of similar working conditions, the assessment of a workplace or activity is sufficient.
(3) A hazard may arise in particular from
- the design and furnishing of the workplace and the workplace,
- physical, chemical and biological effects,
- the design, selection and use of work equipment, in particular working materials, machines, devices and systems, and how to handle them,
- the design of work and production processes, work sequences and working time and their interaction,
- inadequate qualification and instruction of employees,
- mental stress at work.
Legal provisions on evaluation in Austria:
The obligation to evaluate mental workload has been explicitly enshrined in the Austrian Occupational Health and Safety Act (ASchG) since 2013. It is also highlighted as a special evaluation obligation in Section 68 (1) of the ASchG.
Employee Protection Act (ASchG, Federal Law Gazette 450/1994):
§ 4 (Hazard identification and determination of measures)
§ 5 (Documentation)
§ 7 (Principles of risk prevention)