1.General Informing on Health Occupation and Safety Law

6331 numbered Health Occupation and Safety Law (HOS) entered into force on 01.01.2013 after its publishing in the 30.06.2012 dated 283339 numbered official gazette. The purpose of the law have stated in its Art.1 as following:

“Object of this law is to regulate duties, authority, responsibility, rights and obligations of employers and workers in order to ensure occupational health and safety at workplaces and to improve existing health and safety conditions”

HOS stipulated a transition process for the responsibility to assign occupational safety specialist, on-site doctor, other medical personnel (nurse, medical assistant, emergency medical technician and  those who have environmental health technician diplome and who have on-site nurse certificate) According to the HOS Art.38 regarding the enforcement

• For all public institutions and enterprises with more than 50 employees starting from 01.01.2013
• For enterprises where less than 50 workers are employed and which are classified as hazardous and very hazardous starting from 01.01.2014
• For public institutions and enterprises where less than 50 workers and which are classified as less hazardous starting from 01.07.2016

responsibility and obligation to employ  occupational safety specialist, on-site doctor and other medical personnel is brought into action.

2. Responsibility to assign occupational safety specialist in the workplace

• Employer shall hire a specialist with the occupational safety certificate in the workplace.
• Amongst the occupational safety specialists those who have c classed certificate may work in less hazardous class, who have b classed certificate may work in less hazardous and hazardous classes, who have a class certificate may work in all workplaces belonging to all hazard classifications.
• For workplaces requiring more than one occupational safety specialist, only one full time working occupational safety specialist with the certificate that matches to the hazard class of the workplace is adequate.

3. Occupational Safety Specialist Working Times

Workplaces shall consider the number of the employees and their working hours when they are determining the working hours of the occupational safety specialists. According to the “Regulation amending the regulation regarding the duty, authorization, responsibility and education of the occupational safety specialists” Art.6 occupational safety specialists shall work;

• Minimum of 10 minutes per employee for less hazardous classed workplaces
• Minimum of 20 minutes per employee for hazardous workplaces
• Minimum of 40 minutes per employee for very hazardous workplaces

4. Administrative fine:

According to the HOS Art.26/(b), for those employers who does not  charge the determined specialist, on-site doctor or other medical personnel administrative fine can be applied per every single person who is not charged by him and per every month that this breach  continues

According to the 6331 numbered Law Art.6/1-a and 26/1-b employers of the less hazardous workplaces, who fail to fulfill their responsibility of hiring an occupational safety specialist and on-site doctor, will be fined as follows:

In case the employer has;

• 10 employees per workplace, 6.511 TL for every month that breach continues
• 10-49 employees per workplace, 6,511 TL for every month that breach continues
• More than 50 employees per workplace, 9,766 TL for every month that breach continues

5. Conclusion

To sum up, in the light of the above information taking of all necessary precautions on time and hiring of the occupational safety specialist with necessary certificates, is advised.