Obligations of the employer
Basically:
According to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the employer is responsible for the health and safety of his employees at the workplace. This also includes setting up an ergonomic workplace. You should therefore contact your employer with your wish for an ergonomic office chair, such as the Aeris Swopper or Aeris 3Dee. Our experience shows that: Many employers, as part of their responsibility for the health of their employees and in connection with qualified health operational management, are also prepared to invest in ergonomics at the workplace in order to increase the performance and motivation of their employees and to reduce sick leave and disability costs.
Funding by cost units
Exceptions:
Under very specific conditions, the following institutions assume or subsidise the costs of purchasing an orthopaedic chair (arthrodesis chair) for the workplace in individual cases:
1. German pension insurance (with proof of 15 years of employment subject to compulsory insurance)
The personal and insurance law requirements according to §§ 10, 11 SGB VI must be met, e.g. proof of 15 years of insurance. There must be no reason for exclusion according to § 12 SGB VI, e.g. you must not be a civil servant or pensioner.
One of the following physician-certified diagnoses must be present:
- ankylosing spondylitis
- Scoliosis with a Cobb angle > 40°.
- Kyphoscoliosis with a Cobb angle > 40°.
- Hip and knee arthrodesis
- Girdlestone hip
- Spondylodesis.
2. federal employment agency (if less than 15 years of employment subject to compulsory insurance)
3. employers' liability insurance associations (following an accident at work or on the way to work)
4. integration office (for civil servants and students)
5. health insurance companies
Application to the cost unit
You must apply for occupational rehabilitation benefits (benefits for participation in working life) - such as orthopaedic office chairs. You can obtain the forms directly from the cost units, i.e. pension insurance, employment agencies, insurance offices, etc. You can submit the application to any of these cost units. There it will be checked and forwarded to the responsible office. All of the above-mentioned cost units also have corresponding advice centres. You will need the following documents for the application:
- Application form of the cost unit (e.g. here the Application form of the German Pension Insurance)
- Medical certificate from a specialist or the discharge report from the rehabilitation clinic. The certificate should state that you can only perform your job using an appropriate work aid: In order to receive an Aeris Swopper, the description should preferably be of a three-dimensionally movable, springy chair that can adapt to the movements of the body.
- Detailed job description
- Cost estimate from a qualified dealer
- Important. The application must be made BEFORE the purchase, otherwise the claim expires.
- It is also helpful to inform the cost unit that the Aeris Swopper with backrest and spring leg type Low (Swopper Work) complies with the European standard and DIN EN 1335 for office work chairs and therefore meets all the requirements of the employers' liability insurance association and the German pension insurance. As proof of suitability, you can enclose the TÜV certificate for the Aeris Swopper Work with your application.
Before purchasing or applying for the chair, make sure that your employer permits its use and that you are allowed to use it at your workplace. Because: The employer decides which work equipment is used in his company.
Tax deductibility
You can also include the cost of a new office chair in your income tax return. Under certain circumstances, this will then have a tax-reducing effect. Learn more >>
