What Are the Duties of a Workplace Physician?

Who is the workplace physician, and where do their duties come from?

Law No. 6331 defines the workplace physician as a physician authorised by the Ministry to work in the field of occupational health and safety and holding a workplace physician certificate. Article 6 of the Law gives every employer the obligation to assign a workplace physician; what the physician will do is listed in Article 9 of the Regulation on the Duties, Powers, Responsibilities and Training of Workplace Physicians and Other Health Personnel, published in Official Gazette No. 28713 of 20 July 2013.

Workplace physician duties are often thought of only as "carrying out pre-employment examinations". Yet the Regulation groups the duties under five headings, and examinations are only one of them. Under Law No. 7538, from 15 January 2025 pre-employment and periodic examination reports must as a rule be obtained from the workplace physician, which has made this duty even more important. We calculated how many minutes a month the physician works in our article on physician and specialist working times; this article explains how that time is filled.

Workplace physician duties: five headings and what they mean at work

The table also shows what to look at in an inspection or when assessing an OSGB (joint health and safety unit). If the documents in the last column are missing, some of the duties are not being carried out, even if the physician visits the workplace.

The guidance duty: what does the physician do outside the examination room?

The workplace physician's guidance duty is the duty that takes the physician onto the shop floor. The Regulation requires the physician to make recommendations to the employer on the planning of work, the substances used and the selection of personal protective equipment, and to investigate the fit between the work and the worker in terms of ergonomic and psychosocial risks, taking into account workers' physical and mental capacities. Continuously monitoring the general hygiene conditions of canteens, dining halls, dormitories, nurseries and breastfeeding rooms, changing rooms, showers and toilets, and advising on suitable drinking water and nutrition, also come under this heading.

The result of guidance is written. The physician reports to the employer in writing the measures that must be taken in relation to occupational health and safety and writes their findings and recommendations in the approved logbook (Art. 11/4). For example, a physician who sees recurring wrist complaints on a press line writes in the logbook that the height of the workstation should be adjusted and that task rotation should be introduced; the employer prepares an action plan based on this recommendation.

Health surveillance: the most visible duty

Under the heading of health surveillance, the Regulation gives the physician the following tasks:

• Informing workers about examinations and tests and obtaining their consent.
• Carrying out health surveillance of all workers, including night shifts.
• Repeating periodic examinations at least every 5 years in the less hazardous class, every 3 years in the hazardous class and every year in the very hazardous class; and at least every 6 months for child, young and pregnant workers. The physician shortens these intervals if they consider it necessary.
• Recording the results on the ANNEX-2 Pre-employment/Periodic Examination Form and keeping them at the workplace.
• When a worker receives a diagnosis or preliminary diagnosis of an occupational disease, repeating the examinations of others working in the same environment.
• Investigating whether there is a relationship between absences for health reasons and health hazards in the workplace, and if necessary planning measurements and submitting them for the employer's approval.
• After repeated sick leave, carrying out a return-to-work examination at the worker's request, and recommending a suitable task if their previous task is inadvisable.
• Checking the validity of the health reports of workers coming from subcontractors and temporary employment relationships.

Which tests are carried out is decided by the physician according to the risk assessment, not from a fixed list in the legislation; we explained this in detail in our article on periodic examinations and tests. For where a pre-employment report can be obtained, see our article on the pre-employment health report. We plan tests with authorised laboratories and health institutions.

When an occupational disease is suspected, the physician refers cases they have given a preliminary diagnosis to health service providers authorised by the SGK (Social Security Institution) (Art. 11/5). You can find which diseases count as occupational diseases, and with what liability periods, in our article on the list of occupational diseases.

Training, first aid and the annual plan

Under the training heading, the physician works on planning training in line with the legislation, and trains managers, committee members and workers on general health, hygiene, the harms of addictive substances, PPE and collective protection. The health topics group of basic training is the best-known form of this duty.

Organising first aid and emergency response services is also the physician's duty. The number of first aiders - one for every 20 workers in less hazardous, every 15 in hazardous and every 10 in very hazardous workplaces - and the 3-year validity of certificates set the calendar for this organisation; for the certification process, see our article on the first aid certificate.

At the end of the year, two documents carry the physician's signature: the annual work plan, prepared together with the OHS specialist and containing the following year's activities, and the ANNEX-3 annual evaluation report, containing the results of the year's health surveillance and OHS work. We explained how to prepare the plan in our article on the annual work plan.

The workplace physician's responsibilities and limits

The workplace physician's responsibilities are set out in Art. 11 of the Regulation. When carrying out their duties, the physician disrupts the normal flow of work as little as possible, and keeps confidential the employer's trade secrets and the information in the worker's personal health file. They are responsible to the employer they serve for their negligence.

Confidentiality is a subject employers often misunderstand. The employer learns whether the worker is fit for the job, but does not learn the diagnosis, test results or medication. That health information is confidential and that the cost of health surveillance cannot be passed on to the worker is also clearly stated in Art. 15 of Law No. 6331.

Assigning a physician does not remove the employer's responsibility either. Outsourcing does not remove the employer's obligation to ensure occupational health and safety; implementing the physician's written recommendations is the employer's job.

The 2026 base administrative fine for failing to assign a workplace physician is TL 111,263 per person and is repeated every month the breach continues; the fine for failing to have health surveillance carried out is TL 22,194 per worker. For workplaces in Bursa and the surrounding provinces, we carry out these duties under our workplace physician and health surveillance services. You can see the assignment time for your workplace with the OHS obligation calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a workplace physician do?

Under the Regulation, they carry out duties under five headings: guidance to the employer, taking part in the risk assessment, health surveillance including pre-employment and periodic examinations, training-information-records, and cooperation with the specialist, the committee and health institutions.

Does the workplace physician share workers' health information with the employer?

No. The physician is obliged to keep the information in the worker's personal health file confidential. The employer learns only whether the worker is fit for the job and any restrictions on their tasks.

Can the workplace physician stop work?

The physician does not stop work themselves; when they identify a life-threatening danger that is serious, unavoidable and requires urgent intervention, they apply to the employer for work to be stopped. If a life-threatening danger they reported in writing is not eliminated within a reasonable time, they make a written report to the provincial directorate.

How much time does a workplace physician work per month?

Per worker per month, they work 5 minutes in the less hazardous class, 10 minutes in the hazardous class and 15 minutes in the very hazardous class. One full-time physician is assigned for every 2000 workers in less hazardous, 1000 in hazardous and 750 in very hazardous workplaces.