The European Court of Justice gave its judgment in the German case (C-5/00), on February 7, 2002.
It considers that the German transposition of the framework directive is improper because it exempts employers with 10 or fewer employees from the duty to keep documents showing the results of the assessment of risks.

The consequences of this judgment exceed the only German case. Various national legislations relieve some categories of employers from the obligation to keep documents containing an assessment of the risks to safety and health at work.
It is the case of the Italian legislation which allows employers of family enterprises or who employ less than 10 workers, a kind of self-certification whereby they can state to have evaluated the risks without providing any written documentation on the contents of this evaluation.

• Reference: Case C-5/00, Commission v Germany