This article explains the legal basis of accident insurance as well as its setup and administration in Personio Payroll. 

What is statutory accident insurance? 

The statutory accident insurance is a separate branch of social security in Germany. Their carriers, the professional associations and the accident insurance funds, are divided by industry. Basically, all employees in Germany are legally insured against accidents, with the employer bearing the contributions exclusively. These are collected annually outside of the payslip. 

Accident insurance aims to protect employers from compensation claims in the case of work-related accidents, commuting accidents and occupational diseases. Benefits include preventive care, rehabilitation and financial compensation for injured employees and their surviving dependants.

Accident insurance is covered by the German Social Security Code VII. The employer receives information about which institution is responsible for the coverage from the Regional Association of the Statutory Accident Insurance Institutions. Since 01.01.2023, companies have been using a new 15-digit company number.

Purpose and benefits of accident insurance

Statutory accident insurance offers a wide range of benefits and serves important purposes to ensure that both employees and employers are protected. Its main areas of responsibility are:

Who is insured?

In accordance with § 2 (1) No. 1 SGB VII, all employees covered by § 7 (1) SGB IV are insured in the statutory accident insurance. as well as other social insurance groups such as: 

• People in vocational or professional training or development 
• Employees in marginal employment
• People responding to accidents, and blood and organ donors
• Volunteers
• School and university students, and children attending day-care (preschool, private or public day-care)
• Farmers, farming contractors, and their spouses or partners

Businesspeople who are not automatically covered by statutory accident insurance can take out voluntary insurance in accordance with § 6 SGB VII. This applies to:

• businesspeople and their spouses or partners, 
• Self-employed people in corporations or partnerships, as well as 
• certain volunteers. 

Voluntary insurance can only be taken out on application. It begins at the earliest on the day the application is received by the responsible employers' liability insurance association and ends if a contribution is not paid.

Financing and contribution calculation

The funds of the accident insurance come exclusively from contributions of the employers. Voluntary insured persons are the only exception who participate in the financing themselves. The contribution calculation is regulated in § 153 SGB VII and consists of:

• the working wages of the employees (up to the maximum annual earnings limit)
• the financial requirement of the carrier for the past fiscal year (levy amount)
• the danger class and hazard tariff point of the company

The maximum annual earnings limit is individually determined by each accident insurer and is actual between €84,840.00 and €120,000.00 per insured people and year.

Risk rate

Accident insurance contributions are calculated based on the risk level of the industry. The risk rate in accordance with § 157 SGB VII:

• Is a tool for determining the risk of accidents and the resulting contributions.
• Is valid for a maximum of six years in accordance with § 157 (5) SGB VII to ensure regular adjustments in line with current developments.

The meeting of representatives from the employers' liability insurance associations uses risk rates to define risk rate positions (Gefahrentarifstellen/GTS) and risk classes (Gefahrenklassen). These then represent different levels of risk and help to stagger the contributions. 

Risk classes 

Risk classes compare the relative accident risks between individual industries. A risk class of 10 may mean, for example, that the same salary is subject to double the contribution compared to a risk class of 5.

Review assessment notice

Employers should review their assessment notice regularly, as it sets out the relevant risk rate position and risk class. Changes to a company's purpose may affect the assessment and therefore the accident insurance contributions. Employers must immediately notify the employers' liability insurance association of any changes.

Income statement

Employers must submit an annual salary statement to the competent employers' liability insurance association according to § 165 SGB VII. This statement is the basis for calculating the accident insurance contribution. Since 2017, salary statements have been transmitted digitally via the social security reporting portal or payroll accounting software. 

Submission deadline: No later than February 16 of the following year

Required data for the wage statement:

• Company registration number of the accident insurance provider
• Employer's company number
• Employees' salaries that are subject to contributions
• Hours worked by employees
• Number of employees

Further information on the wage statement can be found in the section further down. 

Annual accident insurance report 

Since 01.01.2016, employers have been required to file an annual accident insurance report for each employee who is subject to mandatory insurance, stating reporting reason "92" in accordance with § 28a (2a) SGB IV. The annual report is created and submitted via electronic master data retrieval via the social security reporting portal or certified payroll accounting software. In the process, the risk rate positions that are relevant for calculating accident insurance contributions are confirmed.

Further information on the UV annual report can be found further down.

Parameters of the accident insurance annual report

• Master data retrieval: from 1 November at the earliest for the following year
• Submission deadline: by February 16 of the following year
• Recipient: Employees' health insurance funds, which forward the reports to the German Federal Pension Insurance (Deutsche Rentenversicherung)

Required data for the annual report

• Calendar year of mandatory accident insurance (reporting period)
• Employer's company number
• Company registration number of the relevant accident insurance provider
• Employee's salary subject to contributions
• Assignment to the respective risk rate position

This information serves as a basis for audits by the German Federal Pension Insurance.

Setting up accident insurance with Personio Payroll

General

Personio Payroll supports you in communication and documentation with your accident insurance provider. For this, enter the master data of your company and your accident insurance carrier, assign the salary tariff positions to the employees, and maintain the necessary information in the employee profile. Based on this, Personio Payroll annually generates and submits the wage statement and the UV annual report to the relevant accident insurance carrier. 

Accident insurance carriers store (master data retrieval)

Before you register the accident insurance carrier, ensure that the following information is available: 

1. Navigate to the payroll > manage > legal entity area and check the company number and the address of the corresponding legal entity
2. Then go to payroll > manage > official contact person and check the data of the stored person. 
3. Navigate to the payroll > manage > social security area and check the company number (BBNR) of the legal entity as well as the company number of the payroll department (BBNRAS), if they differ. 

Have you checked all the data, can you perform the master data retrieval in the next step and assign the hazard tariff points to the employees.

To retrieve the master data, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the area payroll > manage > accident insurance. 
2. Select the corresponding legal entity and the current billing year. 
3. Click on Add accident insurance for [Year]. 
4. Select the appropriate accident insurer from the list. 
5. Enter the 15-digit Company Number (UNRS) and the 5-digit PIN you received from your accident insurance carrier. The PIN authenticates the communication with the carrier. 
6. Finally click on add 

These details are compared with the central data exchange platform of the accident insurance with every submission. The accident insurance carrier reports deviations back for review and correction.

Note
 If the responsible hazard tariff office changes during the year, the accident insurance carrier will notify you directly. In this case, a re-fetch of master data is necessary.

Assign toll stations

As soon as your accident insurance carrier has reported the risk tariff points (GTS), assign them to your employees as follows:

1. Navigate to the area payroll > manage > accident insurance. 
2. Select the corresponding legal entity and the current billing year. 
3. Switch to the tab Hazardous locations.  
4. Mark the corresponding employees you want to edit.
5. Click on Edit selection. 
6. Enter the period of validity, select the corresponding accident insurance carrier and the relevant risk tariff office. 
7. Click on Save changes. 

This assignment must be complete before the first UV annual report of the respective year. For multiple subcompany, perform this step individually for each legal entity.

Update employee profiles

When creating a new employee, enter the following details in the Personal info tab in the Personio Payroll section:

The calculation method for the hour calculation can be the following options: 

1. Is-work hours: Based on the time tracking 
2. Working hours: The contractually agreed hours
3. Worker guideline value: A predefined full-time equivalent, updated annually by the accident insurance carrier. This corresponds to the average actual working hours of a full-time people in the commercial sector, not the hourly number agreed upon in the collective agreement. Part-time employment, new hires, departures, and interruptions are taken into account on a pro-rated basis.

If required information is missing, Personio displays a warning in the payroll. We recommend completing the details by the end of the year to ensure a correct wage statement and a correct UV annual report.

Transfer accident insurance data during interim implementation

If you switch to Personio Payroll during a calendar year, the previous accident insurance data from your previous payroll software will be transferred in the year-to-date import. 

For this, you will find the corresponding fields in the provided Excel table under Group 6 - accident insurance. 

Manage accident insurance in Personio Payroll

General

After a successful master data retrieval, Personio displays the data in the table, the Remove field is grayed out under the actions. For example, if the PIN of your accident insurance provider changes, you can customize it at any time.

Year-end change with Personio Payroll

We recommend checking annually during the year-end maintenance whether a new master data retrieval is necessary. The retrieval is possible between November 1st and February 16th of the following year and particularly concerns:

1. the update of the carrier data, if they have changed
2. the retrieval of hazard tariff stations and hazard classes for the new year
3. the assignment of hazard tariff positions to employees
4. the review of accident insurance relevant information in the employee profile

Documents of the accident insurance 

UV wage proof

The UV wage statement is the annual contribution statement with which the employer reports to their accident insurance carrier the salaries and work hours of all employees subject to insurance that are relevant for the contribution calculation. It is to be distinguished from the monthly contribution invoice, which is charged separately and independently of the payroll statement.

To view the UV wage statement in Personio Payroll, follow these steps: 

1. Navigate to the Payroll > Compliance area. 
2. Change to the month January of the following year for which the salary statement is to be created.
3. Filter by the category accident insurance wage statement.
4. Click on Show details. 

Legal Basis and Deadline

The basis of the contribution statement is § 165 SGB VII in connection with § 28a Abs. 2a SGB IV (Assessment basis "92"). The UV annual report must be received by the responsible accident insurance carrier within the first six weeks of the year, but no later than February 16 of the following year.

How does Personio Payroll create the UV annual report?

Personio Payroll automatically creates and submits the UV annual report with the approval of the January payroll run. A prerequisite for this is that you have previously performed the master data retrieval and assigned the risk tariff locations to the employees.

Contents of the report

The report aggregates the salaries and work hours of all employees subject to accident insurance, broken down by the respective hazard tariff area. The specific reporting format (e.g., aggregation of salary and work hours, work hours only, or employee count only per hazard tariff unit) is determined by your accident insurance carrier during registration and communicated to Personio Payroll automatically.

Who will not be considered?

An employee is not included in the UV annual report if:

• the profile is explicitly marked as "not subject to accident insurance"
• the stored person group key does not correspond to 108, 111, 143 or 900,
• the employee is not taken into account in the German payroll
• the employee who left in a previous, already completed reporting year, or
• No day subject to social security insurance exists for the employee in the reporting period.

Note
If an employee leaves during a still-running contribution year, they will continue to be included in the contribution statement until their termination date.

Subsequent amendments

Does a retroactive recalculation affect the accident insurance relevant values of an employee, does Personio Payroll automatically cancel the original contribution statement and create a new contribution statement with the updated values.

Submission to the accident insurance carrier

The submission is made electronically to the responsible accident insurance carrier (the professional association). A separate contribution statement is required during offboarding from Personio Payroll: All fees and work hours up to the last processed billing month are reported here.

Annual accident insurance report

The UV annual contribution statement (submission reason "92") is the annual, personal contribution statement with which the employer reports the wages subject to contribution in the accident insurance for each insured employee to the collection office. It is to be distinguished from the UV wage statement: The wage statement is sent as a bundle to the accident insurance carrier and forms the basis for the contribution calculation, while the UV annual report is submitted to the relevant health insurance fund for each employee and serves as the basis for audits by the German Pension Insurance.

To view the UV annual report in Personio Payroll, follow these steps: 

1. Navigate to the Payroll > Compliance area. 
2. Change to the month January of the following year for which the salary statement is to be created.
3. Filter by the category SV-contribution statement
4. Click on Show details. 

Legal Basis and Deadline

The basis of the contribution statement is § 28a (2) and (2a) SGB IV in connection with § 10 DEÜV (Submission basis "92"). The UV annual report must be received by the responsible collection office no later than February 16th of the following year. If the deadline falls on a Saturday or Sunday, it ends on the next business day. In the event of insolvency or complete cessation of the company, the contribution statement must be submitted with the next payslip, at the latest within six weeks.

How does Personio Payroll create the UV annual report?

Personio Payroll automatically creates and submits the UV annual report with the approval of the payslip in January.

For whom is the UV annual report created?

For every person who was compulsorily insured in the statutory accident insurance in the past calendar year, an annual UV report with payment reason 92 must be submitted. This applies regardless of the other social security reports.

Special rules apply to some employee groups. The following table shows when a UV annual report is required and when it is not.

Employers who are members of an agricultural professional association and for whose contribution calculation the labor value is not applied do not submit an UV annual report.

Contents of the UV annual report

The contribution statement contains for each employee subject to insurance the calendar year of the insurance obligation in the accident insurance (reporting period), the company number of the employer, the operating number of the responsible accident insurance carrier, the contribution-liable salary of the employee, and their assignment to the respective hazard tariff unit. The reporting period is always from January 1st to December 31st of the calendar year, regardless of the actual period of employment. 

Subsequent amendments

Does a retroactive recalculation affect the accident insurance relevant values of an employee, does Personio Payroll automatically cancel the original contribution statement and create a new contribution statement with the updated values. For each employee and calendar year, exactly one UV annual report is submitted.

Submission to the collection office

The submission is made electronically to the data reception center of the health insurance company responsible at the time of submission (collection office). This forwards the contribution statement to the data center of the German Pension Insurance, where it serves as the basis for operational audits. If no competent collection office can be determined at the time of submission, the contribution statement goes to the last known collection office.