Occupational Health and Safety

Occupational health and safety is one of the most important areas of an employer's obligations. The legal basis is Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331 (İş Sağlığı ve Güvenliği Kanunu), which was modelled on the European Framework Directive 89/391/EEC and imposes a comprehensive obligation on the employer to ensure the health and safety of employees. As a rule, the Law applies to all public and private sector workplaces irrespective of the number of employees. Breaches may lead to substantial administrative fines and civil liability, while culpable breaches resulting in an occupational accident or occupational disease may, depending on the circumstances of the specific case, also give rise to criminal liability.

Contents

• Which workplaces are subject to occupational health and safety legislation?
• Which hazard classes does the Law distinguish?
• What are the employer's core obligations?
• When must an occupational safety specialist and a workplace physician be appointed?
• What is a risk assessment?
• What training and medical examination obligations apply?
• When must an occupational health and safety committee be established?
• What are the rights and obligations of employees?
• What rules apply at workplaces with several employers and on construction sites?
• What are the consequences of breaching OHS obligations?
• Conclusion

Which workplaces are subject to occupational health and safety legislation?

Law No. 6331 applies to all work and workplaces in the public and private sectors and to everyone working there, including apprentices and interns, irrespective of the size of the workplace or its field of activity. Only certain exceptions fall outside its scope, such as the armed forces and security units in specific duty situations, domestic services and self-employed persons working in their own name and for their own account without employing any employees.

The obligation to appoint an occupational safety specialist and a workplace physician for workplaces in the low-hazard class with fewer than 50 employees, which had initially been postponed several times, has also been in force since 2025. In these workplaces, the employer or the employer's representative may, after completing the training prescribed by the legislation, carry out OHS services other than health surveillance personally; services may also be obtained from Joint Health and Safety Units (Ortak Sağlık ve Güvenlik Birimleri, OSGB) or Employee Health Centres (Çalışan Sağlığı Merkezleri, ÇASMER). As a result, the core OHS obligations today bind, as a rule, all employers.

Which hazard classes does the Law distinguish?

Depending on their activities, workplaces are divided into three hazard classes under the relevant communiqué: low-hazard, hazardous and very hazardous. The classification is based on the NACE code of the main activity and determines the scope of many obligations – for example the certificate class (A, B or C) required for the occupational safety specialist, the minimum monthly working time of the specialist and the physician, the intervals of medical examinations, the renewal intervals of the risk assessment (two, four or six years) and the frequency of OHS training. The correct classification should be checked when commencing operations and whenever the activity changes.

What are the employer's core obligations?

The employer is obliged to take all measures necessary for the safety and health of employees, to provide the necessary tools and equipment and to adapt the measures to changing circumstances. The main obligations are as follows:

• Preventing risks at source; assessing and combating risks that cannot be avoided
• Carrying out, documenting and updating the risk assessment
• Organising occupational health and occupational safety services
• Informing employees and training them regularly
• Providing suitable personal protective equipment and supervising its use
• Organising emergency, fire-fighting, first aid and evacuation arrangements and designating the teams in charge
• Notifying the Social Security Institution (SGK) of occupational accidents within three working days after the accident and of occupational diseases within three working days from the date on which the employer learns of them
• Electing or appointing employee representatives, one in workplaces with between two and fifty employees and an increasing number depending on the number of employees

Delegating tasks to external service providers or competent persons relieves the employer organisationally; however, it does not remove the obligations and responsibilities arising from the Law. The cost of OHS measures may not be passed on to employees.

When must an occupational safety specialist and a workplace physician be appointed?

The employer may appoint an occupational safety specialist or a workplace physician from among its employees holding the required qualifications and certificates, or may obtain these services from authorised Joint Health and Safety Units (OSGB) or Employee Health Centres (ÇASMER). In workplaces in the low-hazard class with fewer than 50 employees, the employer or the employer's representative, provided that he or she has completed the training prescribed by the legislation, may personally carry out the tasks assigned to the occupational safety specialist or the workplace physician, with the exception of pre-employment and periodic examinations and tests, without separately appointing such persons. Appointment and service contracts relating to OHS professionals must be duly approved via İSG-KATİP.

Subject to the exception described above, the employer is obliged to appoint an occupational safety specialist and a workplace physician according to the hazard class and the number of employees of the workplace, and, in workplaces in the very hazardous class with ten or more employees, also other health personnel. The specialist must hold a certificate appropriate to the hazard class; the minimum monthly working time per employee of the specialist and the physician also varies by hazard class. Where a full-time workplace physician has been appointed, the separate appointment of other health personnel is not mandatory. The specialist and the physician must notify the employer in writing of any deficiencies they identify; there is an obligation to notify the Ministry in situations where the employer does not take measures and which require immediate suspension, or which present an urgent and life-threatening danger such as fire, explosion, collapse, chemical leakage and the like.

What is a risk assessment?

The risk assessment is the core of preventive OHS. The employer is obliged to identify the hazards at the workplace systematically, to analyse and evaluate the risks arising from them, to determine protective measures in accordance with the hierarchy of measures and to monitor their implementation. Groups requiring special policies, such as young, older, pregnant, breastfeeding and disabled employees, must be given particular consideration. The assessment is documented and renewed at least every two years in very hazardous workplaces, every four years in hazardous workplaces and every six years in low-hazard workplaces – and, in addition, it is updated without waiting for these periods to expire in the event of significant changes and after occupational accidents, occupational diseases or near-miss incidents. Failure to carry out any risk assessment at all may lead to an administrative fine and, in certain sectors, even to the suspension of work.

What training and medical examination obligations apply?

Under the Regulation on the Procedures and Principles of Occupational Health and Safety Training of Employees dated 2 April 2026, every employee, including apprentices and interns, receives practical, face-to-face induction training of at least two hours before actually starting work. Basic training is completed as soon as possible after starting work and in any event within three months; the initial basic training amounts to at least 8, 12 and 16 lesson hours in low-hazard, hazardous and very hazardous workplaces respectively. Basic training is repeated at least once a year in very hazardous workplaces, once every two years in hazardous workplaces and once every three years in low-hazard workplaces; refresher training amounts to at least eight lesson hours in all classes. Additional training is given in the event of a change of duties or workplace, equipment or technology; refresher information is given before the return of an employee who has been absent from work for more than six months; and incident-specific additional training is given before the return to work after an occupational accident or occupational disease. At the end of the basic training, a measurement and evaluation is carried out and a score of at least 60 out of 100 is required. Training is documented, its cost may not be charged to the employee and training time counts as working time. In addition, pre-employment and periodic medical examinations are carried out; in hazardous and very hazardous workplaces, a medical report stating that the employees are fit for the work they will perform is mandatory before they start work. As a rule, these reports are obtained from the workplace physician; in low-hazard workplaces with fewer than 50 employees, they may also be obtained from public healthcare providers, family physicians or ÇASMER. The nature of the work and the risk assessment – for example exposure to hazardous substances, work at height or night work – may require additional health surveillance and shorter examination intervals.

When must an occupational health and safety committee be established?

An occupational health and safety committee is established in workplaces with fifty or more employees where permanent work lasting more than six months is carried out. The committee consists of the employer or the employer's representative, the occupational safety specialist, the workplace physician, the person responsible for human resources/personnel/social affairs or for administrative and financial affairs, the civil defence specialist (if any), a foreman/master/chief master and the employee representative; where there is more than one employee representative, the chief representative. As a rule, the committee meets at least once a month; however, it may be decided that it meets once every two months in hazardous workplaces and once every three months in low-hazard workplaces. It evaluates accidents and near-miss incidents, plans training and monitors the implementation of measures; the employer implements the committee's decisions that comply with OHS legislation.

What are the rights and obligations of employees?

Employees are obliged to comply with OHS rules, to use work equipment and protective equipment in accordance with their intended purpose, not to endanger their own health and safety or that of other employees, and to report any hazards they identify without delay. At the same time, they have effective protective rights: in the event of a serious and imminent danger, they may request the committee or the employer to establish the situation and may refrain from working until the necessary measures have been taken; during this period, their rights arising from the employment relationship are preserved. Where the serious and imminent danger is unavoidable, the employee may leave the workplace or the dangerous area and go to the designated safe place without following this procedure. If the measures are not taken despite the request, employees working under an employment contract may terminate their contracts in accordance with the statutory provisions to which they are subject; severance pay (kıdem tazminatı), however, arises only if the relevant statutory conditions, in particular a length of service of at least one year, are met.

What rules apply at workplaces with several employers and on construction sites?

Where several employers share the same working area, they inform each other and the employee representatives about workplace risks and measures and coordinate the prevention of occupational risks; in places such as business centres, office buildings, industrial zones or estates, this coordination is ensured by the management. In a principal employer/subcontractor relationship, each employer is responsible towards its own employees; in addition, the principal employer supervises and coordinates the OHS activities of the subcontractor and is jointly liable with the subcontractor under the Labour Law. Where several employers or subcontractors will be present in construction work, a health and safety coordinator is appointed and a health and safety plan is prepared before work begins. The employer cannot escape its responsibility merely by engaging a subcontractor (taşeron).

What are the consequences of breaching OHS obligations?

Breaches of OHS obligations are sanctioned by administrative fines that are updated every year; for certain breaches the amount of the fine increases according to the hazard class and the number of employees, and for certain continuing violations it is imposed again each month. Taking into account the nature of the life-threatening danger and the risk that may arise from it, work may be suspended in whole or in part by decision of a board composed of three labour inspectors. In the event of an occupational accident or occupational disease, claims of the persons concerned for material and non-material damages as well as recourse claims of the Social Security Institution may arise; in addition, if the requirements of personal fault and causation are met, the responsible natural persons may bear criminal liability for negligent injury or negligent homicide. Documentation is important; however, formal documentation alone is not sufficient: it must also be possible to prove that the measures were actually implemented, monitored and supervised.

Conclusion

Occupational health and safety is a continuous and comprehensive employer obligation that goes far beyond the appointment of specialist personnel; although tasks and services may be delegated, the employer's responsibility arising from the Law remains. Risk assessment, training, health surveillance and emergency organisation must actually be operated and documented as a living system; in the event of an accident or an inspection, both the records and the effectiveness of implementation and supervision are significant in the assessment of administrative, civil and criminal liability.

Investors are advised to set up their OHS organisation in a structured manner when commencing operations, to review the determination of the hazard class, to regulate coordination with subcontractors expressly in the contracts and to supervise implementation in practice.

GEMS Schindhelm advises companies on the implementation of OHS obligations, the legally compliant design of internal processes and documentation, and the defence against liability and criminal risks relating to occupational accidents. This article is intended for general information purposes only and does not constitute a legal opinion or legal advice; each dispute must be assessed separately in light of the specific circumstances of the case and the legislation in force.