One of the prohibitions imposed by the Occupational Health and Safety Code No. 6331, which is the fundamental law determining the rules for occupational health and safety in workplaces in Türkiye, is the “prohibition on the use of addictive substances” for workers.
Accordingly, it is prohibited to come to the workplace drunk or under the influence of drugs and to use alcoholic beverages or drugs in the workplace. This restriction is regarding the protection of occupational health and safety in the workplace.
The employer has the authority to determine in what cases, at what time and under what conditions alcoholic beverages can be consumed in the parts considered as annexes of the workplace.
However, the prohibition on the use of alcoholic beverages in the workplace is not applied to certain groups of employees due to the nature of the job or work they perform:
- Those who work in workplaces where alcoholic beverages are made and are assigned to inspect what is produced as a requirement of the job.
- Those who have to drink alcoholic beverages as a requirement of the job in workplaces where alcoholic beverages are sold or consumed in closed containers or openly.
- Those who have to drink alcoholic beverages with customers due to the nature of their job.
Employees other than the above-mentioned employee groups cannot be drunk or take drugs and addictive substances in the workplace, in the parts of the workplace annexes, including vehicles, gardens and lodgings, and cannot come to work drunk after using these products.
Failure to comply with this prohibition will give the employer the right to apply the sanctions defined in the law to employees in order to prevent possible risks related to occupational health and safety. It may also result in the termination of employment contract for just cause by the employer within the relevant articles of the Turkish Labor Code No. 4857.
