Sufficient qualification of employees – whose responsibility?

When it comes to the qualification of employees, the first thing to consider is that they may already have qualifications from university or training, have to take care of these themselves and, if necessary, the operator is responsible for ensuring that employees have sufficient qualifications.

This assumption is incorrect: According to Section 27 Paragraph 1 No. 5 GenTSV, the project manager (PL) is responsible for the sufficient qualification and instruction of the employees responsible. It is widely known that the instruction of employees in the area of ​​responsibility of the PL is part of the responsibilities. The fact that the employees' sufficient qualifications are also part of this is not common practice. The sufficient qualifications of employees are therefore one of the so-called statutory duties of the PL. This statutory duty is transferred to the PL by law when they assume the position as PL. This means that it is no longer the employee or the operator who is responsible for ensuring sufficient qualifications, but the PL. The term "employee" is broadly defined. It certainly presupposes an employment relationship in the sense of a service contract, employment contract or contract (e.g. in the case of students funded by third parties). The sufficient qualifications of security personnel, maintenance personnel and cleaning personnel who do not have a separate employment relationship with the operator are not taken into account. However, this also includes pupils, students and other persons who carry out genetic engineering work, who are equivalent to employees pursuant to Section 3 No. 14 GenTG. Only through this definition can the plant manager's duty to qualify employees be limited to the extent that they must perform genetic engineering work in any case. A further obligation to provide further training for all employees in and around a genetic engineering facility cannot be justified.

What does it mean to be responsible for the sufficient qualifications?

The decisive point in time is certainly the time the Start of activity , but also a time during ongoing activities . This is therefore not a one-time obligation of the PL, but rather an obligation that continues throughout the implementation of the genetic engineering work (continuing obligation).

Since the PL can usually dismiss an insufficiently qualified employee or exclude them from genetic engineering work, the only option is to to provide further training . So what does further training mean? In any case, the PL cannot assume that someone has already learned certain techniques or work processes during their studies or training. According to Section 3 No. 8 of the TG, the PL is responsible for planning, managing and supervising genetic engineering work. If, when supervising genetic engineering work, they discover that employees are unfamiliar with certain techniques and work processes, they must at least ensure that the techniques/work processes are explained to them again in a qualified manner. They can do this themselves. With proper selection, instruction and supervision, they can certainly also have the task carried out by a third party, without thereby transferring responsibility for the qualifications of the employees.

If a person involved in genetic engineering does not abandon the procedures/work processes, the Further qualification thus unsuccessful, a corresponding investigation will certainly be carried out within the framework of Section 27 No. 7 and 9 GenTSV. notice to the Biological Safety Officer (BBS) and also to the operator.