VDU workstation and workplace glasses
Screen/workplace glasses
If you have visual problems when working on the monitor, you should first check the settings of your PC or monitor: In many cases - and not just for older employees - the display on wide-screen/high-resolution monitors is set slightly too small. You can find brief instructions on how to change the display size here. If you have any technical questions, please contact your IT manager.
In the case of visual complaints, but also e.g. headaches, burning eyes or neck complaints, it may be necessary to wear workstation-specific VDU/workstation glasses. Special visual aids for VDU workstations are generally only required with increasing age-related visual impairment (usually from around the age of 50). age-related visual impairment (usually from the age of 50), when the "everyday glasses / glasses for the elderly" (reading glasses or bifocals or varifocals) that are usually already in place no longer guarantee sufficient vision for screen work.
The employer will contribute to the cost of VDU/workplace glasses if the company doctor approves them in advance or determines that the necessary requirements are met.
This is done in accordance with the Ordinance on Occupational Health Care (ArbMedVV) if a corresponding examination has shown the need for this and existing visual aids are not sufficient.
As special screen/workplace glasses do not replace the 'everyday glasses' [e.g. for short-sightedness or astigmatism] that may be required 'in everyday life', the employer is not responsible for providing suitable personal everyday glasses. Everyday glasses may therefore have to be adjusted before the company medical examination or - if the required glasses are not yet available - the employee should have already purchased them. Any necessary or no longer suitable everyday glasses should therefore generally have already been adjusted before an appointment is made with the company doctor for an eye test.
Appointments for occupational health consultations and examinations are made via the functional diagnostics department.
Please note
- Please take note of the information sheet and, if applicable, bring any existing glasses, visual aids and your spectacle pass with you to the examination.
Information sheet: Display screen workstation glasses - To prepare for the examination, please bring the completed
VDU workstation description with you to the appointment:- Upper part: Please enter the necessary information here in preparation for the examination/consultation (if necessary, ask employees to take the necessary measurements). This information must then be confirmed by the supervisor.
- Lower part: The determination of the reaction by an optician will only take place after your appointment with the company doctor at . If the company doctor's consultation/examination reveals this, an additional ophthalmological examination may be necessary in individual cases (the costs for this are not covered by the employer).
Assumption of costs
With regard to the reimbursement of costs, please submit the invoice (together with the BAP workplace description, refraction determination by the optician and the company medical opinion) to the Human Resources Department, Section 1.2 (Aid Division), where you may also receive advance information on the assumption of costs (the amount depends on the spectacles required in the individual case).
Please note
The former VDU Workstation Ordinance (BildscharbV) has been out of force since Dec. 2016. In terms of content, this is now part of the 'Ordinance on Workplaces (Arbeitsstätten-Verordnung - ArbStättV)' - see Annex under No. 6'Measures for the design of VDU workstations'. Some of the information and forms provided here still refer to the former ordinance and have not yet been updated.
Further information
Computer workstation
The former Display Screen Equipment Ordinance (BildscharbV) is now part of the 'Ordinance on Workplaces(Arbeitsstätten-Verordnung - ArbStättV) .
If VDUs are used in a company, the employer is responsible under the Occupational Health and Safety Act for ensuring that the working conditions are assessed according to the following aspects:
- Visual hazards
- Physical problems of the employees
- Mental stress of the employees
The company doctors and occupational safety specialists support the employer in determining and assessing the working conditions and in implementing occupational safety measures. Specifically, this means designing VDU workstations in such a way that hazards do not arise in the first place.
Display screen equipment designed in accordance with current national standards can be regarded as sufficiently safe. All findings indicate that hazards and stresses associated with VDUs can generally be eliminated by improving the design of VDU work and the workplace.
For information on the design of your individual workplace (ergonomics, monitor settings, VDU glasses and legal regulations), please refer to the information leaflet 'Good vision in the office'.
If you have any questions during or after implementing the recommendations in the above information leaflet, the company medical service and/or the Occupational Safety Department of Heidelberg University can provide individual ergonomic advice on site.