Why conduct legal compliance audits?

Compliance with environmental and occupational health and safety legislation is becoming increasingly important. In a legal management system, checking compliance with these obligations is a sub-step of the court-proof organization and thus contributes to minimizing liability.

The environmental, energy and safety management standards ISO 14001, EMAS, ISO 50001 and ISO 45001 also require a regular review and assessment of compliance with legal regulations. In addition, owners, corporate headquarters and other stakeholders increasingly want to know about the status of legal compliance.

Our offer

We take on your legal compliance audits with our experienced EHS legal compliance experts, who know and can interpret the legal provisions in the EHS sector precisely.
If required, we can also include a “legal compliance organization check” in the legal compliance audit, in which the status of your legal management system is assessed and specific measures to minimize liability risks are defined.
The often extremely complex approval situation, particularly in Austria and Germany, requires a great deal of experience in order to be able to assess the legal compliance status. We always take a risk-based approach and focus more on the aspects that are actually critical in terms of liability.
At the client’s request, we also assess the respective liability risk of any deviations identified.
Flexibility in audit scope, audit depth and reporting
If required, we also carry out legal compliance audits in English or at foreign locations with the involvement of national partners.
On request, we can also combine the legal compliance audit with other management system audits (e.g. in accordance with ISO 14001, ISO 45001)
We agree the scope and depth of an audit with the client in advance. coordinated.
After the audit, a report with a defined scope is prepared and presented on request.

Advantages of a legal compliance audit

Clear picture for management of legal compliance status and corresponding liability risks
Assurance to stakeholders that all relevant regulations are complied with
A legal compliance audit can be used as part of a due diligence audit
Minimization of the liability risk for managers, as legal compliance audits are considered part of a court-proof organization or the corresponding control and monitoring obligation of managing directors and responsible officers in accordance with §9 VStG
Compliance with the standard requirements in accordance with point 9.1.2 of the ISO 14001, EMAS, ISO 45001 and ISO 50001 standards with regard to the assessment of legal conformity

Get in touch with us

We are happy to take on your legal compliance audits.
Our many years of experience with legal compliance audits and legal management systems as well as our state accreditations as environmental auditors, safety experts and engineering consultants for technical chemistry guarantee that your legal compliance audit will be highly informative and recognized.

Special legal compliance audit: Audit in accordance with §82b GewO

Pursuant to Section 82b of the Trade, Commerce and Industry Regulation Act (GewO) 1994, every owner of a commercial establishment in Austria that is subject to licensing must inspect it every 5 years (6 years in the case of a simplified licensing procedure) to ensure that it is

the approval notices,
the regulations otherwise applicable to the system under commercial law,
complies with the applicable regulations pursuant to § 356b GewO (e.g. water law) and
is subject to Section 8a concerning the control of major-accident hazards.

Minimize your liability risks

Pursuant to Section 82b of the Trade, Commerce and Industry Regulation Act (GewO) 1994, every owner of a commercial establishment in Austria that is subject to licensing must review it every 5 years (6 years in the case of a simplified licensing procedure) to ensure that it is

Legal Compliance Audit - durchgeführt von Experten | risksafe ESG

the approval notices,
the regulations otherwise applicable to the system under commercial law,
complies with the applicable regulations pursuant to § 356b GewO (e.g. water law) and
is subject to Section 8a concerning the control of major-accident hazards.

Requirements for the audit

The owner of the approved operating facility must arrange for the inspection in good time without having been requested to do so by the authority. The owner of an installation is the person who has the actual power of disposal over the installation, e.g. owner, tenant or leaseholder. The inspection may be carried out by the owner or company employees themselves, provided they are professionally qualified to do so. In addition, accredited bodies, state-authorized institutions, civil engineers and tradesmen (within the scope of their powers) are entitled to carry out the test.

The test must be documented in a
test certificate
which must be accompanied by full documentation of the inspection, in particular stating the scope and content of the inspection. In the event of any deviations from the agreed condition, the inspection report must be sent to the authority without being requested to do so, together with proposals for remedying the defects. The scope of the §82b audit is not easy to interpret in legal terms, which means that the audit is often carried out inadequately. This results in a non-negligible liability risk.
liability risk
as the responsibility for correct implementation always lies with the owner of the operating facility.

Our offer

With our many years of experience, we can carry out your §82b inspection.

Due to our qualification as an engineering office, we are authorized to carry out the inspection. Thanks to our many years of experience and the feedback we have received from the authorities, we guarantee that the inspection is carried out correctly, thereby minimizing your liability risk.

Common errors in the §82b check:

Parts of the business premises that have not been approved or have been modified subject to approval are not identified and therefore remain unapproved, contrary to the provisions of the GewO.
Only the conditions of the official decision are checked for compliance and not the conformity of the operating facility with the approved condition.
The check for compliance with the approved status only extends to the decision findings and not to the negotiation documents, submission documents and plans.
The inspection for compliance with the other applicable trade law regulations only focuses on the recurring inspections of work equipment and other systems and not on all relevant trade law regulations. In any case, this includes all ordinances to the Industrial Code, such as the ordinances on limiting the emission of air-polluting substances for various industries, Ordinance on the Storage of Flammable Liquids (VbF), Aerosol Packaging Storage Ordinance, Refrigeration Plant Ordinance, Industrial Accident Ordinance, Elevator Safety Ordinance, Machine Safety Ordinance, Personal Protective Equipment Safety Ordinance.
The regulations to be applied in accordance with § 356b GewO are not checked (e.g. employee protection, water law, boiler plant law).
The report does not contain complete documentation of the audit, in particular the scope and content of the audit.

This is how you benefit from working with us:

You can focus on your core business and leave the §82b inspection in professional hands.
We use our experience to identify all defects and therefore reduce your liability risk. During the audit acc. Defects determined in accordance with §82b GewO are exempt from punishment in accordance with the provisions of §82b. It is therefore important to proceed carefully during the inspection and identify all defects.
Due to our qualification as an engineering office, we are authorized to carry out the inspection.
High acceptance of our test reports by the authorities thanks to many years of experience and expertise.