Must employers have offices cleaned? ArbStättV and hygiene 2026

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It is Monday morning, just before eight, and the office manager of an engineering firm in Essen is making the rounds. In the kitchen, the mugs from Friday are still sitting there; the soap dispenser in the men’s toilet is empty. In the corridor, the managing director asks whether cleaning could be reduced from three to two days a week – purely a cost issue. Two weeks later, a complaint from the works council lands on the desk, citing the Workplace Regulation.

Conversations like these are part of our daily routine. We are Kleibrink Glas- und Gebäudereinigung GmbH, based in Gladbeck, a family business since 1983, now run by the second generation. We look after offices, medical practices, law firms and commercial properties in the Ruhr area – from office cleaning through ongoing regular cleaning to practice cleaning. Frequencies there are often the result of historical convention: set at some point, never reviewed.

This article sorts out what is prescribed and what is left to interpretation: what ArbStättV requires, the role of ASR and DGUV rules, which intervals have proven effective and who is liable. We are a professional cleaning company, not a law firm – this text is not a substitute for legal advice.

What the Workplace Regulation actually prescribes

Anyone looking for a sentence in the Workplace Regulation (ArbStättV) such as „offices must be cleaned twice a week“ will come up empty. The regulation sets out protective objectives; it is the employer who decides how to achieve them. Central to this is § 3a(1) ArbStättV: workplaces must be designed and operated so that risks to safety and health are avoided as far as possible. „Operated“ is the key word: it does not mean the condition on day one, but the ongoing operation including cleaning. § 3 ArbStättV additionally relates the risk assessment under the Occupational Safety and Health Act to the workplace.

The annex is more specific: point 1.5 requires surfaces that can be cleaned to the required standard, point 1.8 safe and usable routes of travel. Point 4.1 covers sanitary facilities, point 4.2 break rooms. The cleaning obligation therefore exists, but it is outcome-oriented: it is not the interval that is prescribed, but the result. This is both flexible and inconvenient: in a dispute, the question is whether the frequency was sufficient.

ASR A4.1 and the cleaning of sanitary facilities

The Technical Rules for Workplaces (ASR) bridge the gap between regulation and practice. They are not a regulation in themselves, but they carry a rebuttable presumption: those who comply with them satisfy the ArbStättV; those who deviate must demonstrate an equivalent solution. The most important rule is ASR A4.1 „Sanitary facilities“: toilet, wash and changing rooms must be kept in a hygienically satisfactory condition and cleaned on every working day. This includes what is often overlooked:

• Hand-washing products and a means of drying hands
• An adequate supply of toilet paper, without having to ask
• Functioning ventilation to prevent moisture
• Waste bins that are emptied regularly

ASR A1.3 governs safety signage: a floor that has been wet-mopped must display the warning sign „Warning: slip hazard“ while it is drying – after a fall, this determines the liability question. In addition, DGUV Regulation 1 requires measures and instruction, and DGUV Rule 108-003 deals with floors with a slip hazard.

Where biological agents are present – medical practices, clinical waste – the Biological Agents Regulations apply: risk assessment, protection level, personal protective equipment, operational instructions, instruction. Sanitary cleaning usually falls under protection level 1; in medical practices, protection level 2 may apply. For chemicals, the Hazardous Substances Regulations apply.

Cleaning intervals: what is customary and what is mandatory

Because the regulation does not specify frequencies, a justifiable determination is needed. The following values have proven effective in offices – a guide, not a legal requirement. The first two points are non-negotiable.

• Toilets and washrooms: every working day, with checks where usage is heavy
• Pantry, break room: every working day, including sink and waste
• Reception, meeting rooms: every working day to three times a week
• Corridors, stairwells, lift: two to five times a week
• Office rooms, waste bins, floors: one to three times a week
• Door handles, light switches: daily where there is public access, otherwise weekly
• Glass doors, partitions: weekly to monthly
• Radiators, skirting boards: monthly to quarterly
• Light fittings, ventilation grilles, blinds: once to twice a year
• Deep cleaning of floors, carpets: annually, otherwise every two years
• Windows, glass façades: two to four times a year as window cleaning

In medical practices, the hygiene plan governs the frequencies: treatment rooms cleaned on every working day with surface disinfection, documented separately. Find out more in our guide How often should an office be cleaned?.

On the cost side, here is an industry benchmark: hourly rates for commercial regular cleaning typically range from approximately €31 to €48 gross (including 19% VAT; net €26 to €40) – these are industry figures, not our prices. A site survey will show what your property costs; see Office cleaning: costs and pricing factors.

Who is liable for inadequate hygiene?

Responsibility lies with the employer and cannot be delegated – only the execution can be transferred. The Occupational Health and Safety Act permits the transfer to reliable, competent persons, but the duties of selection, organisation and supervision remain with the employer. Whoever commissions a service provider and does not check in for two years has merely shifted the risk.

In practice, three levels of risk are at stake. Regulatory: the occupational safety authority can issue orders; violations are administrative offences subject to fines. Civil law: if someone slips on a freshly mopped, unmarked floor, the issue is the duty of care and damages – and who can prove when the floor was cleaned and marked. Internally, the works council has co-determination rights on health and safety.

A special case is leased premises: the tenant’s own space is almost always the tenant’s responsibility; stairwells and external areas are covered through service charges. This is secondary under the Workplace Regulation – the employer remains responsible for the workplaces of their employees; persistently dirty common areas should be reported to the landlord in writing. Less well known is the principal’s liability: if engaged subcontractors do not pay the sector minimum wage, the principal may be held liable.

In-house cleaning staff or an external service provider?

Both options are permissible. An in-house cleaner knows the building, but the workload is underestimated: on top of the wage under the framework collective agreement for building cleaning – whose minimum wage is above the statutory minimum – come employer’s social security contributions, cover, registration with the occupational accident insurance association, equipment, hazardous substances register and annual instruction. Cover in particular is the sticking point: if the cleaner is absent for three weeks, the building is left unattended.

A service provider brings cover arrangements, public liability insurance and occupational safety responsibility for its staff – for this, a clear schedule of services is needed. When comparing providers, it is worth looking at:

• Are services described by room group and frequency, or only „as needed“?
• Who supplies consumables – soap, paper, bin liners?
• How are cover and points of contact arranged?
• Are the employees permanently employed, or is the work passed on to subcontractors?
• Do public liability insurance and instruction records exist?
• How are key handover, alarm systems and confidentiality arranged?

For many businesses, a hybrid approach makes sense: regular cleaning by a service provider, small day-to-day tasks handled in-house. We work this way in Essen, Bochum and the wider Ruhr area – service area approximately 50 kilometres around Gladbeck. We use exclusively permanently employed staff at collective agreement wages, without subcontractors, and are fully covered by public liability insurance.

What a legally compliant cleaning concept includes

A cleaning concept is not a document to file away, but the one that demonstrates you have fulfilled your obligations. The following elements should be included:

• Room register: all rooms with area, use and floor type
• Frequency plan: which task in which room at which interval
• Link to risk assessment: slip hazard, hand-contact surfaces, hygiene waste
• Hazardous substance documents: safety data sheets, register, operating instructions
• Hygiene plan in medical practices, with separation of cleaning and disinfection
• Responsibilities: who commissions, inspects and authorises special cleanings
• Access and data protection: keys, alarm code, confidentiality
• Quality assurance: inspection with report and complaints procedure
• Records: proof of service, notes on special cleanings
• Contractual terms: duration, notice period, price adjustment for collective wage

The most effective approach is a regular walkthrough: two people, the frequency plan, thirty minutes. After that, you know whether the intervals still fit. Properties change – five employees become twelve, and a concept from 2019 no longer describes the building of today. And once more: we cite sections for orientation – the binding assessment of your individual case belongs in the hands of employment law or your statutory accident insurance association.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the employer obliged to have offices cleaned?

The regulation does not specify a fixed interval but requires operation without risk to safety and health. For sanitary and break rooms, a hygienically satisfactory condition is explicitly required. A cleaning obligation therefore exists, the scope of which is determined by the risk assessment.

Does the workplace toilet need to be cleaned every working day?

ASR A4.1 requires a hygienically impeccable condition and regular cleaning for sanitary rooms; in practice this means every working day. Where there is public access, an interim check is added. Anyone who deviates must provide a justification.

Can employees be required to clean the office themselves?

This depends on the agreed duties – an administrative clerk is not a cleaning staff member. Rinsing one’s own cup is unproblematic; cleaning the sanitary facilities is not. If cleaning becomes a fixed task, instruction and personal protective equipment are required.

How often do office floors need to be cleaned?

There is no fixed requirement. High-traffic areas are typically cleaned every working day to three times a week; dedicated office rooms one to two times per week. Usage, floor type and weather conditions are decisive.

What are the consequences of inadequate hygiene?

Breaches of the ArbStättV are administrative offences; the authority can issue orders and impose fines. More common are civil claims following a slip on a wet-mopped floor without warning signs. Reliable documentation is decisive in the event of a dispute.

Does the cleaning need to be documented?

Outside regulated areas such as medical practices, there is no obligation to sign off on every cleaning. However, the risk assessment must be documented, and hygiene measures form part of it. In case of doubt, you must be able to demonstrate that you have fulfilled your obligations.

Questions or a quote?

Would you like to know whether the cleaning frequencies at your property are still appropriate, or do you need a quote? We will visit you, inspect the areas and prepare a service plan. The on-site visit is free of charge; you can reach us by phone Mon–Fri 10:00–18:00, and we reply to emails within 48 hours on working days.

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