The Occupational Health and Safety Code No. 6331, which is the primary legislation of the Turkish occupational health and safety regime, is the fundamental law that determines the minimum health and safety conditions in Türkiye that must be present in workplaces.
One of the obligations brought by the Code No. 6331 is to record and report occupational accidents and occupational illnesses that occur in the workplace.
In this context, employers are obliged to keep records of all occupational accidents and occupational illnesses, conduct the necessary investigations into the form and root causes of accidents, and prepare reports on these.
According to the law, employers are obliged to investigate incidents that occur in the workplace but do not cause injury or death but cause damage to the workplace or work equipment or have the potential to harm the employee, workplace or work equipment (AKA near miss cases) and prepare reports on these.
Likewise, employers are obliged to notify the Social Security Institution within the specified period in the following cases:
- Workplace accidents must be reported by the employer within three working days of the accident.
- Healthcare providers or workplace physicians must report occupational diseases reported to them within three working days of learning about them.
- Workplace physicians or healthcare providers must refer cases in which they have made a preliminary diagnosis of occupational illness to healthcare providers authorized by the Social Security Institution.
In addition, healthcare providers are obliged to report occupational accidents reported to them, and authorized healthcare providers are obliged to report cases in which they have diagnosed occupational diseases to the Social Security Institution within ten calendar days at the latest.
Implementation of Administrative Fines
An administrative fine between 24,607 Turkish Lira and 73,821 Turkish Lira for the calendar year of 2024 will be imposed on employers who fail to fulfill their obligation to report occupational accidents and occupational illnesses to the Social Security Institution within three working days, depending on the hazard class and size of the workplace.
Likewise, employers who do not comply with the obligations regarding “keeping records of work accidents and occupational diseases, making the necessary investigations and preparing reports on them, investigating and preparing reports on incidents that occur in the workplace but do not cause injury or death but cause damage to the workplace or work equipment or have the potential to harm the employee, workplace or work equipment” will be subject to administrative fines between 18,452 Turkish Lira and 55,356 Turkish Lira for the calendar year of 2024, depending on the hazard class and size of the workplace.
