How Is an Employee Representative Elected? Numbers and Duties

Who is the employee representative, and why is one mandatory?

The employee representative is the person who represents workers in taking part in occupational health and safety work, monitoring it, requesting measures and making suggestions. Art. 20 of Law No. 6331 obliges the employer to assign a certain number of representatives according to headcount. The election procedure is governed by the Communiqué on the Qualifications and Election Procedures of Employee Representatives for OHS.

The representative is the official channel through which knowledge from the shop floor reaches management. Risks that experienced workers know about but nobody writes down usually enter the risk assessment through the representative. Appointing a representative "on paper" therefore both leaves the obligation incomplete and lowers the quality of the risk assessment.

Number of employee representatives

The number of employee representatives is set out identically in Art. 20 of the Law and Art. 7 of the Communiqué:

When designating representatives, the employer takes care to ensure a balanced distribution, taking into account the risks and headcounts in different parts of the workplace. For example, in a two-shift metalworking plant with 180 workers, choosing all three representatives from the administrative building does not comply with this principle; departments such as machining, assembly and dispatch are expected to be represented.

Electing an employee representative step by step

Under the Communiqué, the rule is that if there is no authorised trade union at the workplace, the representative is determined by election from among the workers. All election-related work and procedures are carried out by the employer.

1. Call for candidates. The employer posts a notice at the workplace, allowing at least seven days for candidate applications.
2. Eligibility check. To be a candidate, a person must be a full-time permanent worker at the workplace, with at least 3 years of work experience and at least lower secondary education. In fixed-term or temporary work the first two conditions are not required; the experience condition is waived if there is no experienced candidate, and the education condition if there is nobody with sufficient education. An eligible worker cannot be prevented from standing.
3. Limit on the number of candidates. The number of candidates cannot exceed three times the required number of representatives. If there are more applications, candidates are determined on the basis of education, length of experience at the workplace and age, and announced within at most three days after the application period ends.
4. Voting. The election is held by a vote in which at least half plus one of the workers at the workplace take part; the vote is in principle secret. In shift-based workplaces, voting is organised so that all shifts can vote.
5. Result. The candidate or candidates with the most votes are declared representatives. In the event of a tie, the employer decides based on education, length of experience at the workplace and similar criteria.
6. Record. A record is drawn up showing which candidate won with how many votes; it is signed by the employer or their representative and the workers assigned to the election. The record and the signed list of those who voted are kept at the workplace until the next election.
7. Announcement. The employer announces the assigned representatives at the workplace.

If there is a union, or no candidates come forward

If there is an authorised trade union: The workplace union representatives are assigned as employee representatives (Law Art. 20/5). If the number of union representatives is below the required number, the missing representatives are assigned by the employer with attention to balanced distribution; if it is above, the assignment follows the authorised union's proposal. Eligibility conditions do not apply to union representatives.

If no candidates come forward: The employer makes an appointment from among eligible workers, taking care to ensure balanced distribution. If no worker meets the conditions, it ensures that a sufficient number of representatives from among the workers carry out the role.

If the union loses its authorisation or a new union becomes authorised, the employer ensures within thirty days that representatives carry out the role in line with the Communiqué's procedures.

Chief representative

In workplaces with more than one employee representative, the chief representative is determined by an election among the representatives; in the event of a tie, lots are drawn (Law Art. 20/2, Communiqué Art. 8/7). Under Art. 6 of the Regulation on OHS Committees, the committee includes the employee representative or, if there is more than one, the chief representative. When the committee is set up and how it works is explained in our OHS committee guide.

Employee representative duties and powers

Employee representative duties are spread across several parts of the legislation. An overview:

How the representative takes part in the risk assessment is explained step by step in our guide on how to carry out a risk assessment.

The rights of representatives and support staff cannot be restricted because of their duties; the employer provides the facilities they need to carry out their duties (Law Art. 20/4). Workers' obligation to inform the employer or employee representative immediately when they see a serious danger or a lack of protection (Art. 19) also makes the representative a natural reporting point. This role can also be used when setting up a near miss reporting system.

Training the representative

Art. 17/2 of the Law requires employee representatives to be specially trained. Art. 20 of the training regulation that entered into force on 2 April 2026 also states that support staff and employee representatives receive training on the matters they are assigned to. For the general framework of the new rules, see our article on the new OHS training regulation.

Sample election timetable and document set

The timetable below is an example based on the periods in the Communiqué; adapt the dates to your own shift pattern:

1. Day 1: The call for candidates is posted on noticeboards and announced to all shifts through shift supervisors. The notice states how many representatives will be elected, the eligibility conditions, and where and by what date to apply.
2. Day 8: The seven-day application period ends. Applications are checked against the eligibility conditions.
3. Day 11: If the number of candidates exceeds three times the required number, the candidate list determined by the education, experience and age criteria is announced by this date at the latest. If not, the list is still announced and the voting date is published.
4. Voting day: A separate voting time is set for each shift. Workers assigned by the employer are present at the ballot box; voters sign the attendance list.
5. Same day: Votes are counted and the record is drawn up and signed. If turnout did not reach half plus one of the workforce, the Communiqué's turnout condition has not been met; plan a new vote, and if the representative still cannot be determined by election, proceed to appointment.
6. Next day: The elected representatives are announced at the workplace. If there is more than one representative, they meet to elect the chief representative.

Documents from this process that should be kept on file: the call for candidates and its posting date, application forms, the announced candidate list, the signed list of those who voted, the election record, the announcement of representatives and, where applicable, the record of the chief representative election. The record of the training the representative received is also added to this file.

Common mistakes

• Appointing without holding an election. If there is no authorised union, appointment is made only when the representative cannot be determined by election. The election notice and result must be documented.
• Overlooking the turnout condition. At least half plus one of the workers must take part in the vote; if shifts are forgotten, this number may not be reached.
• Drawing up an incomplete record. Without vote counts and a signed attendance list, the election cannot be proven in an inspection.
• Not updating when the representative leaves. The next candidate must be appointed and announced in place of a representative who leaves.
• Not inviting the representative to meetings. A representative whose signature is missing from risk assessment and committee meetings is, in practice, not carrying out the role.

In our OHS specialist service, we prepare the election notice, record and announcement documents and plan the representative's participation in risk assessment and committee work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is an employee representative needed in a workplace with a single worker?

The Law requires one representative in workplaces with between two and fifty workers. Since the count starts at two workers, there is no obligation to have a representative in a single-worker workplace.

How many years does an employee representative serve?

Under the Communiqué, the election is valid for five years from its results. If the representative leaves during this period, the next candidate with the most votes in the previous election is appointed.

How is the chief representative determined?

In workplaces with more than one representative, the chief representative is determined by an election among the representatives themselves. If the votes are tied, the chief representative is determined by drawing lots. The chief representative represents the representatives on the OHS committee.

Can an employee representative be dismissed?

The Law states that the representative's rights cannot be restricted because they carry out their duties. They must not be treated unfavourably because of the role; termination of the employment contract for other reasons is subject to the general rules of labour law.