In brief
A disabled employee’s fitness for work rests not on the disability rate but on comparing the real requirements of the job with the person’s abilities. Law No. 6331 lists disabled employees among the groups to be given special consideration in the risk assessment; Law No. 5378 makes reasonable accommodation mandatory in workplaces employing disabled people. In this article you will find a step-by-step path from job analysis to the emergency plan.
OHS for disabled employees starts with the job
The most common mistake in a placement decision is to look at the disability rate on the medical report and start with the question “what can this person not do?” From the point of view of OHS for disabled employees, the right question is different: what physical, sensory and cognitive requirements does this job actually involve, and which of them can the employee meet directly and which with a small adjustment?
An employee who cannot use one arm cannot work on a press requiring two-hand control. But the same person can work at the same level of safety as other employees at an assembly station with fixed guarding and one-handed controls. The assessment must therefore be specific to the person, specific to the job and in writing. The same disability rate can mean completely different abilities in two different people.
Legal framework: disability employment and OHS
From an OHS perspective, disability employment comes up in four texts:
| Basis | Provision | What it means for the employer |
|---|---|---|
| Law No. 6331 Art. 4/1-ç | When assigning tasks, the employee’s fitness for the job in terms of health and safety is taken into account | The placement decision rests on a written fitness assessment |
| Law No. 6331 Art. 10/1-ç | In the risk assessment, the situation of groups needing special policies, such as young, elderly, disabled, pregnant or breastfeeding employees, is taken into account | A separate assessment line is opened for the disabled employee’s job |
| Law No. 5378 on Persons with Disabilities Art. 3 and 14 | Reasonable accommodation is mandatory in workplaces employing disabled people; there can be no discrimination based on disability at any stage of employment, including healthy and safe working conditions | Adjustment is an obligation, not a favour |
| Labour Law No. 4857 Art. 30 | In private sector workplaces employing 50 or more workers, three per cent disabled workers are employed in jobs suited to their occupation and physical and mental condition | The quota is planned together with suitable job design |
Law No. 5378 defines reasonable accommodation as the necessary and appropriate modifications and measures needed in a particular case, which do not impose a disproportionate or excessive burden, to ensure that disabled people enjoy rights and freedoms on an equal basis with others. In practice, this concept is the legal basis for adjustments in OHS.
The physician’s role is also clear. Art. 9 of the Regulation on Workplace Physicians and Other Health Personnel lists invalids and disabled people among the groups requiring special policies. It requires the physician to monitor these groups closely, give them special consideration in the risk assessment and carry out the examinations needed for their placement in suitable work and issue a report.
Fitness-for-work assessment for a disabled employee: 5 steps
The fitness-for-work report concludes with the physician’s examination, but a good report starts on the floor, not in the examination room. We recommend carrying out the assessment in this order:
- Job analysis. The OHS specialist and the workplace physician write down the real requirements of the job: loads lifted and how often, time spent standing or sitting, hand and finger movements used, the visual and audible warnings of machines, reading needs, shift pattern, the route to the work position.
- Ability profile. Through examination, existing medical reports and, if necessary, a specialist physician’s opinion, the physician establishes what the person can do. The employee’s own experience is also part of this profile; often the most practical adjustment idea comes from the employee.
- Comparison. The job requirements and the ability profile are matched line by line. For each mismatch, three options are weighed: changing the way the work is done, adapting the equipment or transferring that part of the task to another employee.
- Entering it in the risk assessment. The risks remaining after adjustment are written as a separate line for the employee’s job in the risk assessment. For example, a hearing-impaired employee using a corridor used by forklifts may require visual warnings instead of horns and a dedicated pedestrian walkway.
- Report and monitoring. The physician completes the pre-employment examination in line with the ANNEX-2 form of the regulation; if necessary, fitness is made subject to written conditions. The assessment is renewed when the employee’s condition, the content of the job or the equipment changes.
We explained in detail who issues the pre-employment report in our article on the pre-employment health report.
Workstation adjustments: example table
Most adjustments do not require major investment; the real difficulty is defining the need correctly. The table below shows examples frequently found in production and office environments. The applicability of each line depends on the job analysis.
| Situation | At the workstation | In the surroundings and organisation |
|---|---|---|
| Wheelchair use | Height-adjustable bench, knee clearance, materials within reach | Threshold-free access, turning space, suitable toilet and ramp |
| Upper limb restriction | One-handed controls, spring balancer, part-holding jig | Weight and vibration of hand tools reassessed |
| Hearing impairment | Visual machine status indicator, visual alarm, written and illustrated instructions | Visual warnings in forklift and crane areas, separate pedestrian walkways |
| Visual impairment | High-contrast marking, enlarged screen, tactile markers | Fixed material layout, unobstructed corridors, adequate lighting |
| Learning difficulty | Step-by-step illustrated instructions, fixed work sequence | A supportive colleague, explaining changes in advance |
| Restriction due to chronic illness | Task allocation in line with conditions set by the physician | Decisions on lone working, work at height and night shifts made with the physician |
For a disabled employee working in an office, the adjustment principles in our guides on office ergonomics and working with display screen equipment are taken as the basis; the adjustment is built on top of them.
Accessible workplace: what is checked in buildings and annexes?
Annex 1, Art. 61 of the Regulation on Workplace Buildings and Annexes requires the necessary arrangements in workplaces with disabled employees to be made taking into account the TS 9111 and TS 12460 standards, particularly in the places where these employees work directly. Annex 4 of the Regulation on OHS in Construction Work repeats the same approach for construction sites and lists work positions, doors, passageways, stairs, showers, washbasins and toilets as the places where arrangements are made.
For an accessible workplace, ask these questions on a site walk:
- Is there an uninterrupted route from the entrance to the work position, the toilet, the canteen and the assembly area?
- Are doors heavy, are there thresholds, can the door handle be used with one hand?
- Do ramps and stairs have handrails, non-slip surfaces and contrasting step edges?
- Is the alarm both audible and visual; is it noticeable in places where the person is alone, such as the toilet?
- Are directional signs and health and safety signs at a readable height and contrast?
- Is the adapted route being blocked by pallets and stacks of material? Accessibility is set up once, but order is maintained every day.
Effect on the emergency plan
A disabled employee starting work directly affects the emergency plan. Art. 10/4 of the Regulation on Emergencies in Workplaces requires measures to ensure that elderly, disabled or pregnant employees, or children in a crèche, are escorted during evacuation. When updating the plan, address at least these four points:
- Alert: Will the employee be able to notice the alarm? For a hearing-impaired employee, a visual alarm or a vibrating alert method is planned.
- Escort: Who will help in an evacuation is specified by name; a back-up is defined for when this person is on leave or off shift.
- Route: The escape route the employee will use and their access to the assembly area are checked on site; if there is a chance they will remain on the floor, a safe waiting point and a method of informing the fire brigade are written into the plan.
- Drill: The adjustment is actually tested at the next drill; how long it took the escort to reach the employee is noted on the drill form.
We will cover personal evacuation plans separately; for the general framework, see our emergency plan guide and our emergency plan service.
Common mistakes
- Making the fitness-for-work decision based only on the disability rate and skipping the job analysis
- Making the adjustment but not entering it in the risk assessment and the emergency plan
- Passing the diagnosis and medical details on to the supervisor or team
- Installing a visual alarm in the office but forgetting the production area and toilets
- Not monitoring after placement; not renewing the assessment when the job or equipment changes
In our workplace physician service, the physician and the OHS specialist carry out the job analysis together and enter the adjustments in the risk assessment and the emergency plan. For businesses in Bursa and the surrounding provinces, you can also use the OHS calendar tool to track examination and renewal dates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a disabled employee work in a job in the hazardous class?
Being disabled does not in itself prevent working in a job in the hazardous or very hazardous class. The decision is made through a fitness-for-work assessment comparing the requirements of the job with the person’s abilities. In these jobs, no one can start work without a fitness-for-work report; the report is issued by the workplace physician.
How extensive should reasonable accommodation be?
The definition in Law No. 5378 gives the measure: changes that are necessary and appropriate and do not impose a disproportionate or excessive burden. In practice, most adjustments are limited interventions such as changing the work sequence, adjusting bench height or adding a visual warning.
Are periodic examinations of disabled employees carried out more often?
The frequency of periodic examinations is determined by the hazard class: at least every 5 years in less hazardous, every 3 years in hazardous and every year in very hazardous workplaces. The regulation provides for an interval of at most 6 months for child, young and pregnant employees; there is no separate period for disabled employees, but the physician may shorten the interval if necessary.
Is the risk assessment redone from scratch for a disabled employee?
No. The lines for the job the employee does and the relevant sections of the emergency plan are updated. Art. 10 of Law No. 6331 clearly requires the situation of groups needing special policies to be taken into account in the risk assessment.
What job is given to a disabled person employed under the quota?
Under Art. 30 of Law No. 4857, disabled workers are employed in jobs suited to their occupation and physical and mental condition. The same article requires priority to be given to people who became disabled while employed by the workplace; in this case, an adjustment assessment on return to work is particularly important.
A physician assigned for the time your hazard class requires: pre-employment and periodic examinations, fitness-for-work reports and health surveillance.
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.