In brief
Under the Regulation on Occupational Health and Safety Services, OSGBs are authorised to provide services in the province where they are established and in the provinces bordering it; to provide services in any other province, they must open a branch there that meets the requirements. For work that must be carried out across several provinces, such as rail systems, roads and transmission lines, being authorised in one of the provinces where the work is done is sufficient. An OSGB based in Bursa can serve workplaces in Bursa and in Yalova, Kocaeli, Sakarya, Bilecik, Kütahya and Balıkesir.
Can an OSGB provide services in another province? The short answer
It can, but only in neighbouring provinces. Art. 12/5 of the Regulation on Occupational Health and Safety Services states: OSGBs (joint health and safety units) are authorised to provide services in the province where they are established and in the provinces bordering it; to provide services outside the bordering provinces, opening a branch in those provinces is mandatory, subject to meeting the requirements in the regulation.
The rule limits the OSGB’s authority, not the employer’s; but its consequences also directly affect the employer. An OSGB that provides services outside its service area may have its authorisation suspended, in which case the employer’s specialist and physician assignment falls through. That is why the question can an OSGB provide services in another province is one of the questions to ask before signing the contract. For a general definition of an OSGB, see our article what is an OSGB.
The components of the OSGB service region rule
The provision in the regulation consists of several parts. We have gathered them all in the table below:
| Situation | Rule | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Workplace in the province where the OSGB is established | Can provide services | Regulation Art. 12/5 |
| Workplace in a bordering province | Can provide services | Regulation Art. 12/5 |
| Workplace in another province | Only by opening a branch in that province that meets the requirements | Regulation Art. 12/5 |
| Work that must be carried out across several provinces, such as rail systems, roads and transmission lines | Being authorised in any one of the provinces where the work is done is sufficient | Regulation Art. 12/5 |
| Additional office in the same province | No branch may be opened without permission; a liaison office may not be opened in any way | Regulation Art. 12/6 |
| Authorisation certificate | Issued specifically for the address and trade name in the application; the same procedure is followed for a branch at another address | Regulation Art. 17/2 |
Two practical conclusions follow from the table. First, an OSGB saying “we have an office in your region” is not enough; that office must be a branch with its own authorisation certificate. Second, the OSGB must remain open and operating at the address for which it was authorised throughout the period it provides services, and an authorised person must be present there during daily working hours (Art. 12/7).
Note also that the rule was laid down for OSGBs. When you assign a specialist or physician directly as your own employee, the regulation contains no such provincial requirement.
Which provinces can a Bursa-based OSGB serve?
The provinces bordering Bursa are Yalova, Kocaeli, Sakarya, Bilecik, Kütahya and Balıkesir. A Bursa-based OSGB can therefore serve all 17 districts of Bursa and the workplaces in these six provinces without opening a branch:
| Province | Bursa-based OSGB | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Bursa (17 districts) | Can provide services | Province of establishment |
| Yalova | Can provide services | Yalova OSGB |
| Kocaeli | Can provide services | Kocaeli OSGB |
| Sakarya | Can provide services | Sakarya OSGB |
| Bilecik | Can provide services | Bilecik OSGB |
| Kütahya | Can provide services | Kütahya OSGB |
| Balıkesir | Can provide services | Balıkesir OSGB |
| Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara, Eskisehir, Manisa, Canakkale and others | Cannot without opening a branch | Not a bordering province |
Istanbul has no land border with Bursa, so Istanbul is not counted among Bursa’s bordering provinces. The rule works both ways: a workplace in Bursa can also obtain services from an OSGB established in Bursa or in one of these six provinces. An OSGB established in Istanbul, however, can serve a workplace in Bursa only through a branch authorised in Bursa.
Distance is not a legal limit, but it affects the visit pattern. The minimum monthly times per employee in the regulation are not affected by distance; a workplace in Kütahya or Balıkesir receives the same time as a workplace in Bursa. For workplaces in distant districts, visit days need to be scheduled at the start of the contract. You can see the times with the OHS obligation calculator tool.
Multi-site businesses: each workplace is assessed separately
The rule looks not at the company’s head office but at the province where the workplace is located. Every unit with a separate workplace registration at SGK is a separate workplace in this respect. For example, if a company headquartered in Bursa has a warehouse in Kocaeli and a retail store in Izmir:
- An OSGB in Bursa can be used for the Bursa head office and the Kocaeli warehouse.
- For the Izmir store, an OSGB established in Izmir or a province bordering Izmir, or an authorised Izmir branch of the Bursa OSGB, is required.
The same logic applies to construction sites. A construction site opened in another province and registered as a separate workplace is subject to the rule of its own province. The only exception is work that by its nature must be carried out across several provinces, as listed in the regulation, such as the construction, maintenance and repair of rail systems, roads and transmission lines; for this work it is sufficient for the OSGB providing the service to be authorised in any one of the provinces where the work is done. A factory’s warehouse in another province does not fall under this exception.
What happens if the rule is not followed?
Art. 22/3-ç of the Regulation provides for the authorisation certificate of the relevant head office or branch of an OSGB that provides services outside the address or provincial boundaries for which it was authorised to be suspended for six months. During the suspension the OSGB cannot exercise its powers under the regulation (Art. 22/2); if it is found to have made contracts or provided services while suspended, its authorisation certificate is cancelled outright (Art. 22/4-c). In the event of suspension or cancellation, the OSGB is responsible for the legal consequences arising from contracts made previously (Art. 22/7).
If you need to change your service provider, see our article on the OSGB change process for the steps.
Commonly confused situations
The region rule is misinterpreted in practice in a few situations:
- If the workplace relocates: If your workplace moves to a province outside the OSGB’s service area, the existing contract does not meet the rule for that workplace. You need to end the contract and set up a new contract on ISG-KATİP (the Ministry’s online OHS registration system) with a provider authorised in the new province; the termination is reported to the system within 5 working days. Relocation is one of the situations that require the risk assessment and emergency plan to be renewed before their period expires.
- Remote services and online training: The fact that some training can be delivered remotely or that reports are prepared electronically does not change the region rule. The rule looks at the province in which the workplace served is located.
- OSGBs set up by OIZs: Organised industrial zones (OIZs) can also set up OSGBs. These units are subject to the same regulation; the home and bordering province rule applies to them as well.
- The province where personnel live: The province where the specialist or physician lives is not decisive. What is decisive is the address for which the OSGB, or its branch, that has undertaken the service under the contract was authorised.
- Head office address versus workplace address: The address of the workplace to be served as reported to SGK is the basis, not the company’s head office address in the trade registry. A factory in Bursa belonging to a company headquartered in Istanbul can obtain services from an OSGB in Bursa or in a province bordering Bursa.
Region check before signing: four steps
- Ask for the authorisation certificate. Check which province the address on the certificate is in. The authorisation certificate is specific to the address; an office at another address requires a separate certificate.
- Compare your workplace’s province. If your workplace is not in the province on the certificate or in a province bordering it, ask the OSGB for the authorisation certificate of its branch in your workplace’s province.
- Discuss the visit plan. For distant districts and shift work, write the visit days and the arrangements for reaching you in an emergency into the contract.
- Approve the contract on ISG-KATİP. The contract is prepared in line with the template on ISG-KATİP and both parties approve it in the system within five days at the latest; work cannot start with an unapproved assignment. For details, see our article on ISG-KATİP contract approval.
We have gathered the other criteria to look at besides region when choosing an OSGB in our article on what to look for when choosing an OSGB. From its head office in Nilüfer, Bursa Sistemer OSGB provides occupational safety specialist and workplace physician services to workplaces in Bursa and the six bordering provinces.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an OSGB in Istanbul serve my workplace in Bursa?
Only if it has a branch that has obtained an authorisation certificate in Bursa. Istanbul does not border Bursa; an Istanbul-based OSGB without a branch serving a workplace in Bursa is in breach of the regulation.
Can an OSGB in Bursa serve Kütahya or Balıkesir?
Yes. Kütahya and Balıkesir border Bursa. An OSGB established in Bursa can serve workplaces in these provinces without opening a branch; the minimum service times remain the same regardless of distance.
We have workplaces in several provinces; can we work with a single OSGB?
Each workplace is assessed separately. If all your workplaces are in the province where the OSGB is established or in bordering provinces, a single OSGB is sufficient. For workplaces in other provinces, an OSGB authorised in those provinces, or an authorised branch of your OSGB in that province, is required.
Which OSGB do we work with on a road or rail project?
For work that by its nature is carried out across several provinces, such as the construction, maintenance and repair of rail systems, roads and transmission lines, it is sufficient for the OSGB providing the service to be authorised in any one of the provinces where the work is done.
A certified specialist matched to your hazard class: site inspections, approved logbook, training plan, annual plan and report follow-up.
Bursa SİSTEMER OSGB Technical Team — written from the field experience of our OHS specialists and workplace physicians. Legal information is valid as of the publication/update date; contact us for an assessment specific to your business.