In brief
Law No. 6331 requires employee representatives to be specially trained; the 2026 training regulation also provides for representatives to receive training on the matters they are assigned to, but sets no duration or certificate format. The representative can ask the employer for measures against hazardous situations and can access risk assessment and measurement records. Their rights cannot be restricted because they carry out their duties.
Employee representative training: what does the legislation say?
An employee representative who has been elected and whose record has been signed often cannot do the job until they have been trained. A representative who does not know what to ask in a risk assessment meeting, how to put a hazard to the employer in writing or which records they have the right to see goes no further than a name that signs. Employee representative training should therefore be planned immediately after the election.
The training has three layers of legal basis:
| Training | Legal basis | Duration | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic OHS training | 2026 training regulation Art. 8, 13 | Less hazardous 8, hazardous 12, very hazardous 16 lesson hours | The representative receives it like every worker |
| The representative's special training | Law No. 6331 Art. 17/2; Communiqué Art. 11/1; 2026 regulation Art. 20/2 | Not set in the legislation | Related to the matters they are assigned to |
| Joint training with committee members | Communiqué Art. 11/2 | Not set | An option in workplaces with an OHS committee |
Art. 17/2 of the Law is short and clear: "Employee representatives shall be specially trained." Art. 11 of the Communiqué (Official Gazette, 29 August 2013) governing the qualifications of representatives and the procedure for their election or appointment also states that the representative is specially trained on OHS matters and that in workplaces with a committee this training may be given together with committee members. The Communiqué refers to the training regulation in force at the time; that regulation was replaced on 2 April 2026 by the new training regulation. Under Article 20 of the new regulation, support staff and employee representatives receive training on the matters they will be assigned to.
We explained how the representative is elected and how many representatives are needed in our article on electing an employee representative. This article focuses on what comes after the election: training and rights.
What topics should the training cover?
Since the regulation links the subject of the training to the representative's duties, the content is derived from those duties. The programme below is a framework we recommend; the legislation does not set modules or durations.
| Module | Content | Recommended duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Roles and rights | The representative's powers, the duties of the employer, specialist and physician, the duty of confidentiality | 1 hour |
| 2. Taking part in risk assessment | The difference between hazard and risk, reading the workplace risk assessment, the scoring method, site observation | 2 hours |
| 3. Requesting measures and making suggestions | Describing a hazard, preparing a written request, following up the response | 1 hour |
| 4. Accidents and near misses | Incident reporting, taking part in investigations, root cause logic | 1 hour |
| 5. Serious and imminent danger | The right to refuse work and the procedure to follow | 0.5 hours |
| 6. Committee and communication | Preparing for committee meetings, collecting workers' views | 1 hour |
| 7. Workplace-specific risks | The main risks of each department, the emergency plan | 1.5 hours |
The programme can be shortened or extended according to the situations the representative will often face at the workplace. Using the workplace's own document for the risk assessment module is the most efficient approach; the representative will have read the document they will sign during training. The general steps of the assessment are covered in our article on how to carry out a risk assessment, and incident reporting in the near miss reporting system.
Employee representative training duration and representative certificate
Duration. The legislation sets no minimum or maximum for the duration of employee representative training. Determine the duration according to the size of the workplace, its hazard class and the representative's prior knowledge; the sample programme above is about eight hours. Training time counts as working time and its cost cannot be passed on to the worker; if training extends beyond weekly working hours, the excess is treated as overtime (Law No. 6331 Art. 17).
Certificate. The legislation defines no document type called an "employee representative certificate". What matters is that the training can be proven: topics, duration, date, the trainer's name and signature, and the participant's signature. The 2026 regulation requires training delivered under the regulation to be documented and kept in the worker's personnel file (Art. 24). We explained who can deliver the training in our article on who can deliver OHS training.
Renewal. The legislation does not set a renewal interval. In practice, repeat the training in three situations: when a new representative is elected, when there is a change at the workplace that significantly alters the risk assessment, and when the representative's area of responsibility expands.
Representative rights: requesting measures and access to information
The representative's rights are spread across the Law and the Communiqué. An overview:
- Requesting measures and making suggestions: The representative has the right to make suggestions to the employer to eliminate the source of a hazard or reduce the risk, and to request that the necessary measures be taken (Law 6331 Art. 20/3).
- Access to information: The employer ensures the representative has access to the risk assessment, protective and preventive measures, measurement, analysis, technical inspection, records and reports, and information obtained from inspections (Art. 16/2-c).
- Consultation: The representative's views are sought in advance on the assignment of the specialist and physician, risk assessment, determination of measures, informing workers and training planning (Art. 18/2).
- Serious and imminent danger: The worker applies to the committee or, if there is no committee, to the employer; the decision is notified in writing to the worker and the representative (Art. 13). Workers also report a serious danger immediately to the employer or the representative (Art. 19).
- Facilities: The employer provides the facilities the representative needs to fulfil their duties (Art. 20/4; Communiqué Art. 4/2). Time to attend meetings, a place to review documents and training are foremost among these.
The representative also has a duty to keep confidential any trade secrets and private information about workers learned in the course of their duties (Communiqué Art. 9/3).
How should a request be written? Verbal requests get lost. A simple request form should include the following fields:
- Date, department and location of the hazard
- Observed situation: attach a photo if available
- Possible consequence: who could it affect, and how?
- Proposed measure
- The employer's response, the person responsible and the deadline
- Close-out: a check that the measure has been implemented on site
In workplaces with a committee, open requests are also brought onto the committee's agenda. For how the committee works, see our article on how to set up an OHS committee.
Protection against loss of rights and dismissal
Dismissal of employee representatives is the topic representatives worry about most. The safeguards in the legislation are:
For workers covered by job security, that is, those with at least six months' seniority working under an indefinite-term contract in a workplace employing thirty or more workers, the employer must base termination on a valid reason (Labour Law No. 4857 Art. 18/1). If the termination is found invalid, the employer reinstates the worker within one month; if not, it pays compensation of at least four and at most eight months' wages (Art. 21).
Dismissing a representative because they requested measures, reported a hazard or applied to an inspector clearly conflicts with the Law's prohibition on restricting rights; it is hard to argue that such a termination rests on a valid reason. Termination for reasons unrelated to the role, however, is subject to the general rules of labour law. If the representative is also the workplace trade union representative, the safeguards in trade union legislation apply as well. In a specific dispute, a separate legal assessment should be made.
Restriction of rights is not only dismissal. Not inviting the representative to meetings, changing their shift because they wrote a request, or disadvantaging them in bonus calculations also fall under the same prohibition.
Practical checklist for the employer
- Are the election or appointment record and the announcement of the representative on file?
- Has the representative's special training been delivered, with topics, duration and trainer recorded?
- Is the representative on the risk assessment team, and do they sign the document?
- In workplaces with a committee, is the representative invited to meetings?
- Are the representative's requests received in writing, answered and followed through to close-out?
- Can the representative access measurement reports, records and inspection results?
- Are they given time and facilities for their duties?
- When the representative changes, is training for the new representative planned?
In our OHS training service, we prepare the employee representative's special training around your workplace's risk assessment and committee arrangements, and arrange the records in a form suitable for the personnel file. For the general framework of the 2026 regulation, see our article on the new OHS training regulation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many hours should employee representative training be?
The legislation does not set a duration; the Law requires the representative to be specially trained and the regulation requires the training to relate to the matters they are assigned to. Determine the duration according to the size and hazard class of the workplace; basic OHS training is separate and delivered in addition.
Is an employee representative certificate mandatory?
The legislation defines no document called an "employee representative certificate". What is mandatory is that the training is delivered and documented: a record containing the topic, duration, date, and trainer and participant signatures is kept in the personnel file.
Can an employee representative be dismissed?
Their rights cannot be restricted because they carry out their duties; dismissing them because they requested measures, reported a hazard or applied to the competent authority conflicts with the Law. Termination for reasons unrelated to the role is subject to the general rules of labour law and the job security provisions.
Can representative training be delivered outside working hours?
Time spent in training counts as working time. If training extends beyond weekly working hours, the excess is treated as overtime. Planning the training within working hours is therefore both easier and the right approach.
Induction, basic and refresher training in line with the 2026 regulation; on your premises, with examples from your own site and fully documented.
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.