OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY - CONSULTANCY SERVICES
Fines for not having a risk analysis carried out will be imposed on all businesses as of January 1, 2013, in accordance with the Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331 dated June 30, 2012.
regardless of the hazard class and the number of employees;
• RISK ANALYSIS / RISK ASSESSMENT
• EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN
• FIRE FIGHTING AND FIRST AID PLAN
• OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY BASIC TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION
THEY HAVE TO HAVE THEIR SERVICES DONE.
KALİTETÜRK Consultancy provides all the mandatory services listed above as a package and offers the necessary support. Those who do not conduct a risk analysis will face a penalty of 3,234 Turkish Lira for each month starting from the first month, in addition to a continuation penalty of 4,851 Turkish Lira for each month. The penalties will not be applied for the month in which the inspection is conducted but will be imposed retroactively from the date the law came into force.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND
OUR SECURITY SERVICES / CONSULTANCY SERVICE
As KALİTE TÜRK Consultancy; we provide the following services in your workplaces with our Occupational Safety Specialists and Engineers, each of whom is expert and experienced in their fields, certified by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, in order to contribute to the employees working in a safer working environment in line with the Labor Law and current legislation provisions.
By working in cooperation and coordination with the employer, all department employees within the workplace, occupational health and safety employee representatives, support staff and the Occupational Health and Safety Board;
To provide guidance and consultancy services to workers and employers in accordance with current legislation on Occupational Health and Safety.
Assigning an Occupational Health and Safety Specialist According to the Hazard Group of the Business and the Number of Employees,
Carrying out periodic technical controls and monitoring of the business,
Conducting field surveillance and controls of the business
Following up on legal regulations on the OHS side and providing necessary information.
Determining the hazards in the business and conducting risk assessment
Providing legally required OHS training
Establishing and keeping the Occupational Health and Safety Board active within the framework of legal obligations.
It covers monitoring and auditing whether occupational health and safety measures are followed and resolving any nonconformities.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY LAW NO. 6331
POWERS AND LIABILITIES IT IMPOSES
The Law on Occupational Health and Safety No. 6331, published in the Official Gazette dated June 30, 2012, numbered 28339, came into force as of January 1, 2013.
The purpose of this law is to regulate the duties, authorities, responsibilities, rights, and obligations of employers and employees to ensure occupational health and safety in workplaces and to improve existing health and safety conditions.
The Law on Occupational Health and Safety applies to all jobs and workplaces in both public and private sectors, regardless of their activities or the number of workers. It covers all employees, including employers, employer representatives, apprentices, and trainees.
The duties, authorities, and obligations of employers and employees are detailed in Article 4 of Law No. 6331.
Furthermore, Article 26 of the law stipulates administrative fines ranging from 1,000 TL to 80,000 TL for workplaces that fail to fulfill their obligations for each non-compliance.
**A – Employer's Obligations**
1 - General Obligations of the Employer
The employer is responsible for ensuring the health and safety of employees in relation to work, including:
a) Taking all necessary measures, including the prevention of occupational risks, providing training and information, organizing work, providing necessary tools and equipment, adapting health and safety measures to changing conditions, and improving the current situation.
b) Monitoring and supervising compliance with occupational health and safety measures in the workplace and ensuring that any non-compliance is corrected.
c) Conducting or commissioning a risk assessment.
d) Considering the employee's suitability for the job in terms of health and safety when assigning duties.
e) Taking necessary measures to prevent employees, other than those who have received sufficient information and instructions, from entering areas with life-threatening or special dangers. The use of external specialists or institutions does not exempt the employer from its responsibilities. Employees' obligations regarding occupational health and safety do not affect the employer's responsibilities. The cost of occupational health and safety measures shall not be reflected on the employees.
2 – Employer's Obligations Regarding Occupational Health and Safety Services
To provide occupational health and safety services, including efforts to prevent occupational risks and protect against them, the employer:
a) Appoints an occupational safety specialist, workplace physician, and other health personnel from among the employees. If there is no employee with the required qualifications, the employer may obtain these services, wholly or partially, from common health and safety units. However, if the employer has the required qualifications and the necessary certificate, they may undertake these services themselves, considering the hazard class and the number of employees.
b) Provides all necessary tools, equipment, space, and time to the appointed persons or the institutions providing services to fulfill their duties.
c) Ensures cooperation and coordination among those responsible for occupational health and safety services in the workplace.
d) Implements the measures communicated in writing by the appointed persons or institutions providing services in accordance with the relevant legislation on occupational health and safety.
e) Informs the appointed persons or institutions, employees coming to work from other workplaces, and their employers about any known or likely issues affecting the health and safety of employees.
It is not mandatory to appoint additional health personnel in workplaces where a full-time workplace physician is employed.
3 – Considerations and Obligations of the Employer in Risk Assessment
a) The situation of employees affected by specific risks.
b) The selection of work equipment, chemicals, and preparations to be used.
c) The layout and organization of the workplace.
d) The situation of groups requiring special policies, such as young, elderly, disabled, pregnant, or nursing employees, and women employees.
The employer determines the occupational health and safety measures to be taken and the protective equipment or devices to be used based on the risk assessment results.
The occupational health and safety measures to be implemented in the workplace, the working methods, and production techniques should enhance the protection level of employees in terms of health and safety and be applicable at every level of the workplace's administrative structure.
The employer ensures the necessary controls, measurements, examinations, and investigations to identify the risks that employees are exposed to in the working environment in terms of occupational health and safety.
4 – Employer's Obligations Regarding Emergency Plans, Firefighting, and First Aid
a) Evaluates possible emergencies in advance by considering the working environment, substances used, work equipment, and environmental conditions, determines possible and likely emergencies that may affect employees and the working environment, and takes preventive and limiting measures to mitigate their adverse effects.
b) Conducts the necessary measurements and evaluations to protect against the adverse effects of emergencies and prepares emergency plans.
c) Assigns sufficient personnel with the appropriate equipment and training in prevention, protection, evacuation, firefighting, first aid, and other matters, considering the workplace's size, specific hazards, the nature of the work performed, and the number of employees and other persons present. Ensures that they are always ready by providing equipment, training, and drills.
d) Makes the necessary arrangements to ensure contact with external organizations, especially in first aid, emergency medical care, rescue, and firefighting.
5 – Employer's Obligations Regarding the Recording and Reporting of Occupational Accidents and Diseases
a) Keeps records of all occupational accidents and diseases, conducts necessary investigations, and prepares related reports.
b) Examines incidents that occur in the workplace, which do not cause injury or death but result in damage to the workplace or work equipment or have the potential to harm employees, the workplace, or work equipment, and prepares related reports.
The employer must notify the Social Security Institution within the specified period in the following cases:
a) Occupational accidents within three business days following the accident.
b) Occupational diseases reported by healthcare providers or workplace physicians within three business days from the date they are informed.
Workplace physicians or healthcare providers refer cases with a preliminary diagnosis of occupational disease to healthcare providers authorized by the Social Security Institution.
6 – Employer's Obligations Regarding Health Surveillance
a) Ensures that employees are subject to health surveillance, considering the health and safety risks they are exposed to in the workplace.
b) Must ensure that employees undergo health examinations in the following cases:
1) At the time of employment.
2) In case of a job change.
3) Upon the employee's request after an occupational accident, occupational disease, or repeated absence from work due to health reasons.
4) At regular intervals determined by the Ministry, depending on the nature of the job and the hazard class of the workplace.
Employees working in workplaces classified as hazardous or very hazardous cannot be employed without a health report indicating that they are suitable for the job.
The cost of health surveillance and any additional costs arising from it shall be borne by the employer and shall not be reflected on the employee.
The confidentiality of health information is maintained to protect the privacy and reputation of employees undergoing health examinations.
**7 – Employer's Obligations Regarding Employee Information**
To ensure and maintain occupational health and safety in the workplace, the employer informs employees and employee representatives, considering the characteristics of the workplace, on the following topics:
a) Health and safety risks that may be encountered in the workplace, preventive and protective measures.
b) Their legal rights and responsibilities.
c) The persons assigned for first aid, emergency situations, disasters, fire fighting, and evacuation.
The employer:
a) Immediately informs all employees exposed or at risk of serious and imminent danger, as specified in Article 12, about the hazards, the measures taken, and those to be taken against the risks arising from them.
b) Provides necessary information to the employers of employees coming to work from other workplaces to ensure they receive the information specified in the first paragraph.
c) Ensures that supporting personnel and employee representatives have access to information obtained from risk assessment, occupational health and safety-related protective and preventive measures, measurements, analysis, technical controls, records, reports, and inspections.
**8 – Employer's Obligations Regarding Employee Training**
a) The employer ensures that employees receive occupational health and safety training. This training is provided, in particular, before starting work, in case of a change in workplace or job, when work equipment changes, or when new technology is applied. The training is renewed and repeated regularly, as appropriate, according to new and emerging risks.
b) Employee representatives receive special training.
c) In jobs classified as hazardous and very hazardous, those who are required to have vocational training cannot be employed unless they document that they have received training related to the job.
d) Additional training is provided to employees who have had a work accident or contracted an occupational disease before they start work again, covering the causes, preventive measures, and safe working methods. Employees who have been away from work for more than six months for any reason receive refresher training before being reinstated.
e) Employees coming from other workplaces to work in workplaces classified as hazardous and very hazardous cannot be employed without a document proving they have received training containing sufficient information and instructions about the health and safety risks they will face in the job.
f) The employer in a temporary employment relationship ensures that employees receive the necessary training against occupational health and safety risks.
g) The cost of the training provided under this article cannot be charged to the employees. The time spent in training is considered working time. If the duration of the training exceeds the weekly working hours, this time is considered overtime or extended working hours.
**9 – Employer's Obligations Regarding Employee Consultation and Participation**
The employer provides employees, or, in workplaces with two or more employee representatives, to the authorized trade union representatives or employee representatives, if any, the following opportunities for consultation and participation:
a) Ensuring their opinions are obtained, the right to make proposals is granted, and their participation in discussions on occupational health and safety matters is facilitated.
b) Obtaining their views on the implementation of new technologies, the selection of work equipment, and the impact of the working environment and conditions on employees' health and safety.
The employer ensures that the opinions of support staff and employee representatives are obtained in advance on the following matters:
a) The appointment of a workplace physician, occupational safety specialist, and other personnel for first aid, fire fighting, and evacuation duties, whether from within the workplace or from external services.
b) Determining the protective and preventive measures to be taken and the protective equipment to be used after conducting a risk assessment.
c) Preventing health and safety risks and carrying out protective services.
d) Informing employees.
e) Planning the training to be provided to employees.
The rights of employees or employee representatives to apply to the competent authority due to insufficient measures taken in the workplace for occupational health and safety or during an inspection cannot be restricted.
**10 – Employer's Obligations Regarding Employee Representatives**
Considering the risks in different parts of the workplace and the number of employees, the employer appoints the following number of employee representatives by election among the employees or by assignment if no election is possible:
a) One representative in workplaces with two to fifty employees.
b) Two representatives in workplaces with fifty-one to one hundred employees.
c) Three representatives in workplaces with one hundred one to five hundred employees.
d) Four representatives in workplaces with five hundred one to one thousand employees.
e) Five representatives in workplaces with one thousand one to two thousand employees.
f) Six representatives in workplaces with more than two thousand employees.
If there is more than one employee representative, the chief representative is selected by election among the employee representatives. Employee representatives have the right to make suggestions to the employer and request necessary measures to eliminate the source of danger or reduce the risk caused by the hazard. Their rights cannot be restricted due to their duties, and the employer must provide the necessary opportunities for them to fulfill their duties. If there is an authorized trade union in the workplace, the union representatives also serve as employee representatives.
**11 – Employer's Obligations Regarding the Occupational Health and Safety Committee**
1) In workplaces with fifty or more employees and where continuous work lasting more than six months is carried out, the employer forms a committee to work on occupational health and safety issues. The employer implements the decisions of the committee in accordance with occupational health and safety legislation.
2) In cases where there is a primary employer-subcontractor relationship lasting more than six months:
a) If separate committees have been formed by the primary employer and the subcontractor, the primary employer ensures cooperation and coordination in the conduct of activities and the implementation of decisions.
b) If a committee has been formed by the primary employer, the subcontractor, who does not need to establish a committee, appoints a representative authorized by proxy to ensure coordination.
c) If the primary employer does not need to establish a committee, they appoint a representative authorized by proxy to ensure cooperation and coordination with the committee formed by the subcontractor.
d) If the total number of employees of the primary employer and the subcontractor, who do not need to form a committee, exceeds fifty, a joint committee is formed by the primary employer and the subcontractor, with coordination provided by the primary employer.
3) If there are multiple employers in the same work area and multiple committees have been formed by these employers, they must inform each other of the decisions of their committees that may affect each other's operations.
**B – Employees' Obligations**
1) Employees are obliged not to endanger their own health and safety or the health and safety of other employees affected by their actions or work, in line with the training they receive on occupational health and safety and the employer's instructions on this matter.
2) Employees' obligations in line with the training and instructions provided by the employer are as follows:
a) To use machinery, devices, tools, equipment, hazardous substances, transport equipment, and other production tools in the workplace in accordance with the rules, to use safety equipment correctly, and not to remove or change it arbitrarily.
b) To use and maintain the personal protective equipment provided to them correctly.
c) To immediately notify the employer or employee representative of any serious and imminent danger to health and safety encountered in the workplace, and any deficiencies in protective measures.
d) To cooperate with the employer and employee representative in rectifying the deficiencies and non-compliance identified by the competent authority during inspection.
e) To cooperate with the employer and employee representative in ensuring occupational health and safety within their area of responsibility.