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Who Can Be an Employee Representative?

To be an employee representative, the following qualifications must be met:

• Must be a full-time and permanent employee of the workplace
• Must have at least 3 years of work experience
• Must have completed at least secondary education

How Many Employee Representatives Should Be Elected?

The number of employee representatives to be appointed in the workplace varies according to the total number of employees in the company:

• In workplaces with 2 to 50 employees: 1 representative
• In workplaces with 51 to 100 employees: 2 representatives
• In workplaces with 101 to 500 employees: 3 representatives
• In workplaces with 501 to 1,000 employees: 4 representatives
• In workplaces with 1,001 to 2,000 employees: 5 representatives
• In workplaces with 2,001 or more employees: 6 representatives

Elections or Appointments?

According to the Occupational Health and Safety Law, employee representatives are appointed through elections. However, it is stated that appointments can be made in cases where elections cannot be held. This notification has clarified the circumstances under which elections cannot be held:

“In the absence of an authorized union at the workplace or if there are no candidates among the employees, the employer appoints a suitable person from among the employees.”

How Will Employee Representative Elections Be Recorded?

A record must be prepared regarding the election, indicating how many votes each candidate received. This record should include the signatures of the employer or their representative and the employees assigned to the election.

What Is the Term of Office for an Employee Representative?

Elections are held every 5 years. If the elected employee representative leaves the job for any reason before their term ends, the next candidate who received the most votes in the previous election is appointed as the employee representative.

Who Is the Health Personnel - Workplace Nurse?

It refers to the health personnel assigned to occupational health and safety services, certified by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

Who Can Be Health Personnel?

Nurses/health officers, ambulance and emergency care technicians, emergency medical technicians, environmental health technicians, and workplace nurses can be health personnel.

How to Become Health Personnel?

Individuals who complete the other health personnel training program and succeed in the exam conducted or arranged by the Ministry at the end of the training are issued a health personnel certificate.

What Are the Duties of Health Personnel?

• To work in accordance with the instructions of the workplace physician in planning, evaluating, monitoring, and directing occupational health and safety services, collecting data, and maintaining necessary records
• To assist the workplace physician during the physical examination
• To continuously monitor the general hygiene conditions in the workplace
• To participate in the organization of first aid services together with the workplace physician
• To take part in training on occupational health topics

What Is the Working Time for Health Personnel?

• In workplaces classified as low risk: At least 6 minutes per employee per month
• In workplaces classified as medium risk: At least 9 minutes per employee per month
• In workplaces classified as high risk: At least 12 minutes per employee per month.

You can find out how many hours of health personnel service your company needs monthly using the calculation tool on the North Marmara OSGB page.

Other health personnel provide services at the workplace for the duration specified in the contract. If a part-time employment contract is made with multiple workplaces, the time spent traveling between these workplaces is deducted from the weekly legal working hours.

A. Formation of the Risk Assessment Team:

The employer must establish a team for the risk assessment at the workplace, and this team should be informed. The team should consist of the employer or their representative, occupational safety experts, workplace physicians, employee representatives, support staff, and employees knowledgeable about hazard sources.

B. Collecting Information to Identify Hazards:

To identify hazards, information about the workplace's buildings, activities, production processes, equipment, materials used, waste management, and employees' duties and responsibilities should be collected. Additionally, records of employees' experiences, occupational diseases, and work accident reports should also be evaluated.

C. Identifying Hazards and Analyzing Risks:

In light of the collected information, physical, chemical, biological, and other hazards in the workplace are analyzed. This analysis should be conducted using methods that comply with international standards.

D. Risk Control Steps:

The following steps are taken to control risks:

• Planning: Risks are planned in order of importance.
• Determining Control Measures: Efforts are made to eliminate hazards; if not possible, risks are reduced to acceptable levels.
• Implementing Control Measures: Agreed-upon measures are implemented.
• Monitoring: The implementations are monitored, and deficiencies are corrected. If necessary, the process is repeated.

The workplace risk assessment must be renewed at specified intervals according to the hazard class within the framework of legal obligations. These intervals are:

• Very dangerous workplaces: Every 2 years
• Dangerous workplaces: Every 4 years
• Low dangerous workplaces: Every 6 years

However, in certain situations, the risk assessment must be renewed before these periods. Special situations include:

1. Relocation of the workplace or modifications to buildings,
2. Changes in technology, materials used, and equipment,
3. Changes in production methods,
4. Occurrence of work accidents, occupational diseases, or near misses,
5. Changes in regulations regarding threshold values for the working environment,
6. Based on measurement results of the working environment or health surveillance, if deemed necessary,
7. Emergence of a new hazard originating from outside the workplace.

Additionally, optional renewals can also be performed. In workplaces with high awareness of occupational health and safety, companies may prefer to conduct risk assessments frequently without any obligation. Especially in dynamic sectors like shipyards and construction, risk analyses can even be conducted on a monthly basis.