Regarding Occupational Health and Safety Obligations

The obligations specified in Article 38 of the Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331 have been put into practice as of 31.12.2024 for workplaces with less than 50 employees and classified as less dangerous.

The liabilities that must be fulfilled within the scope of Article 6 of the relevant law and the administrative fines to be applied in case of non-compliance with the obligations pursuant to Article 26 are given in the continuation of our bulletin.

According to the relevant law, employers have many obligations to provide occupational health and safety training, to conduct risk assessments, to provide the necessary tools and requirements to prevent risks, to inspect employees and workplace conditions, and to improve the current situation. In addition to these, Article 6 of the law explains that the following obligations must be fulfilled.

• The employer is obliged to appoint an occupational safety specialist and an occupational physician in the workplace. The employer may fulfill this obligation by obtaining services from joint health and safety units (“OSGB”) or by employing a part-time occupational physician and occupational safety specialist.
• The employer or the employer’s representative may carry out occupational health and safety services, except for recruitment and periodic examinations and examinations, provided that they complete the trainings announced by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.
• The employer is obliged to provide all kinds of tools and equipment, space and time that the persons assigned as occupational safety experts and workplace physicians need to fulfill their duties.
• The employer is obliged to ensure the coordination of those carrying out health and safety services and to fulfill the measures notified in writing by these persons and in accordance with the legislation.
• The employer is also obliged to inform the institutions and persons providing occupational health and safety services and their employees about the conditions of the workplace that may affect occupational health and safety.

 

Pursuant to Article 26 of the Law, the administrative fines to be imposed in case of failure to fulfill the above-mentioned conditions are as follows.

Obligation	Less Dangerous Workplaces with Less than 10 Employees	Less Dangerous Workplaces with 10-49 Employees	Less Dangerous Workplaces with 50+ Employees
6/1-a Not appointing an occupational safety specialist.	88.663 TL	88.663 TL	132.994 TL
6/1-a Not appointing a workplace physician.	88.663 TL	88.663 TL	132.994 TL
6/1-b Failure to provide tools, equipment and space for the fulfillment of the duties of the persons they assign for OHS services or the institutions and organizations from which they receive services.	26.557 TL	26.557 TL	39.835 TL
6/1-c Failure to ensure coordination among those carrying out OHS services.	26.557 TL	26.557 TL	39.835 TL
6/1-ç Failure to fulfill the measures notified in writing and in accordance with the legislation on occupational health and safety by the person they are assigned or the institutions and organizations from which they receive services.	17.686 TL	17.686 TL	26.529 TL
6/1-d Failure to inform the persons assigned, the organizations from which services are received, employees from other workplaces and their employers about OHS risks.	26.557 TL	26.557 TL	39.835 TL