In brief
The annual work plan is the calendar of OHS activities to be carried out in the following year, prepared jointly by the OHS specialist and the workplace physician and submitted for the employer's approval. A good plan spreads training, workplace measurements, periodic inspections, drills, health surveillance and document renewals over the months according to the periods in the legislation, assigns a person responsible to each item and closes at year end with the annual evaluation report. In this article you will find a sample plan table for a metal workshop with 60 workers.
What is the annual work plan, and who prepares it?
The annual work plan is a calendar showing when, by whom and on what legal basis the occupational health and safety activities of a workplace will be carried out in the coming year. The obligation is set out side by side in two regulations:
- Regulation on the Duties, Powers, Responsibilities and Training of OHS Specialists Art. 9: the specialist prepares the annual work plan containing the OHS activities to be carried out in the following year together with the workplace physician.
- Regulation on Workplace Physicians and Other Health Personnel Art. 9: the physician prepares the annual work plan together with the OHS specialist; submits for the employer's approval the plan, which also includes preventive action plans for work accidents and occupational diseases, and follows up its implementation.
In short, the answer to who prepares the annual work plan is not one person: the specialist and the physician prepare it together, and the employer approves it. In workplaces with 50 or more workers where continuous work lasting more than six months is carried out, the OHS committee also prepares an annual report on the workplace's OHS situation, evaluates that year's work and presents its recommendations for the following year's programme to the employer. The committee's opinion should be taken as an input to the plan.
In workplaces buying services from an OSGB (joint health and safety unit), the OSGB keeps copies of the annual work plan and the annual evaluation report in its archive and hands all records over to the employer at the end of the contract (Regulation on OHS Services Art. 13/2).
The difference between the annual plan and the annual evaluation report
The two documents are often confused; one looks forward, the other back:
| Topic | Annual work plan | Annual evaluation report |
|---|---|---|
| Time direction | Next year | Last year |
| Content | Activities to be carried out, calendar, people responsible | Work carried out, results of workplace monitoring and health surveillance |
| Prepared by | Specialist and physician together | Specialist and physician in cooperation |
| Template form | There is no template in the legislation | Annex 2 of the OHS Specialists Regulation for the specialist, Annex 3 of the Physicians Regulation for the physician |
| When? | Before the year begins | After the year has closed |
The correct order is: first, last year's evaluation report is written, then the activities that could not be completed in that report and the needs that emerged are carried over to the next year's plan.
Contents of the annual OHS plan: which items should be included?
The backbone of the plan is the activities that the legislation ties to set periods. For each of the items below, look at the previous date and check whether it needs to be done this year:
- Training: Induction training (at least 2 hours, for every new worker), basic training (within 3 months at the latest of starting work) and refresher training (every year in very hazardous, every 2 years in hazardous, every 3 years in less hazardous workplaces; at least 8 hours). For details, see our guide to the 2026 training regulation.
- Health surveillance: Periodic examinations (every year in very hazardous, every 3 years in hazardous, every 5 years in less hazardous workplaces; at least every 6 months for pregnant, child and young workers).
- Periodic inspections: The periods in Annex III for equipment such as pressure vessels, lifting equipment, forklifts, electrical and fire installations and industrial racking; 6 months for construction scaffolding.
- Workplace measurements: Measurements such as noise, dust, chemicals and lighting, at the intervals set in the risk assessment.
- Emergencies: A drill at least once a year; renewal if the plan's renewal date is approaching.
- Document renewals: Risk assessment and emergency plan (2 years in very hazardous, 4 in hazardous, 6 in less hazardous workplaces), refresher of first aider certificates (within the 3 months before expiry).
- Committee meetings: Monthly if there is a committee; by committee decision, every two months in hazardous and every three months in less hazardous workplaces.
- Site inspections and monitoring: The specialist's and physician's monthly site walks, follow-up of actions from the risk assessment.
Besides the legislative calendar, the plan should also include activities arising from last year's accident and near miss records, measurement results and changes at the workplace (new machinery, a new department, relocation).
Sample annual OHS work plan
The example below has been prepared for a metalworking workshop in Bursa with 60 workers in the hazardous class. Under the legislation, this workplace requires at least 600 minutes (10 hours) of physician time and 1,200 minutes (20 hours) of specialist time per month; under the rule of 1 per 15 workers, the number of first aiders is 4. The dates are assumed based on the workplace's previous records.
| Month | Activity | Legal basis and frequency | Responsible |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Employer approval of the plan and entry in the approved logbook; submission of last year's evaluation report | Specialist and physician regulations Art. 9 | Specialist, physician, employer |
| February | Committee meeting; planning noise and dust measurements with an authorised laboratory | Committee; risk assessment | Committee, specialist |
| March | Refresher training group 1 (those whose last training was 2 years ago, at least 8 hours) | Hazardous: every 2 years | Specialist, physician |
| April | Periodic inspections of forklift, compressor tank and crane; committee meeting | Annex III: at most 1 year | Specialist, maintenance |
| May | Emergency drill with a fire scenario and drill form | At least once a year | Specialist, team leaders |
| June | Periodic examinations (workers whose 3 years are up); committee meeting | Hazardous: every 3 years | Physician |
| July | Inspections of the electrical installation and earthing, and of the fire installation | Annex III: at most 1 year | Specialist, maintenance |
| August | Entering measurement results into the risk assessment; committee meeting | Risk assessment | Specialist, physician |
| September | Refresher training group 2; certificate refresher for 2 first aiders (certificates expire in December) | Every 2 years; within the 3 months before expiry | Specialist, HR |
| October | Industrial racking inspections; 4-yearly renewal of the risk assessment; committee meeting | Annex III; hazardous: 4 years | Specialist, assessment team |
| November | Tabletop exercise with an earthquake scenario; evaluation of health surveillance results | Plan improvement | Specialist, physician |
| December | Annual evaluation report; draft of next year's plan; committee meeting | Specialist Annex 2, physician Annex 3 | Specialist, physician |
Induction training, pre-employment examinations and monthly site inspections are not written separately in the table because they recur every month; they should be added at the top of the plan under the heading "ongoing activities". To work out your own dates you can use the OHS calendar tool, and to calculate physician and specialist times, our guide to working times.
Steps for preparing the plan
- Close last year. Write the annual evaluation report; list the activities not completed and the reasons.
- Gather the dates. Put the dates of the last training, examinations, periodic inspections, measurements, drill, risk assessment and emergency plan, and the expiry dates of first aid certificates, into a single table.
- Extract the mandatory items. For each item, calculate the next mandatory date and mark those falling in the next year.
- Add needs-based items. Open actions in the risk assessment, measures arising from accident and near miss analyses, planned investments.
- Spread them over the months. Take into account peak production months, maintenance shutdowns and holiday periods. Timing periodic inspections to coincide with planned maintenance shutdowns, and the drill to a time close to a shift change, reduces lost working time.
- Assign responsibility and resources. Each row should state who will do it, who will approve it and, where needed, details of external services (laboratory, periodic inspection, training).
- Submit for approval and record it. Obtain the employer's approval, enter the plan in the approved logbook and keep a copy on file.
- Monitor every three months. Compare planned with actual; give new dates to activities that have slipped.
How is the annual plan entered in the approved logbook?
The approved logbook is a serial-numbered logbook, unique to each workplace, whose pages are made up of one original and two copies, in which the specialist's and physician's findings and recommendations are written. The specialist and physician write their activities and joint work in this logbook; preparing the annual work plan is among these duties. Findings and recommendations written in the logbook are deemed to have been notified to the employer, and the logbook is shown to labour inspectors on request.
We explained how an inspector reviews the plan during an inspection in our guide to labour inspections. For details of the items in the plan, see our guides on emergency drills and periodic inspection intervals.
Common mistakes
- Re-signing the same plan every year with only the date changed
- The plan consisting only of a training calendar, with no measurements, inspections or health surveillance
- No contribution from the physician to the plan; health surveillance items missing
- Using the phrase "during the year" instead of a person responsible and a date
- Approving the plan and filing it away without monitoring it during the year
In our OHS specialist service, we prepare the annual plan together with our workplace physician according to the dates drawn from your workplace's records, and follow it up throughout the year with quarterly monitoring meetings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who prepares the annual work plan?
The OHS specialist and the workplace physician prepare it together; the plan is submitted for the employer's approval. In workplaces with a committee, the committee's annual evaluation and recommendations are also reflected in the plan.
When should the annual work plan be prepared?
Since the plan covers activities to be carried out in the following year, it should be prepared and approved before the year begins. In practice, a draft is prepared in December and approved and entered in the logbook at the beginning of January.
Is there an official form for the annual plan?
No. A template form for the annual evaluation report is found in the annexes of the regulations, but there is no template form for the annual work plan. It is sufficient for the plan to contain the activities, dates, legal basis and persons responsible.
Does a small, less hazardous workplace also need an annual plan?
An annual plan is prepared in every workplace where a specialist and a physician are appointed. In a small workplace the plan will be shorter, but it must include the dates for training, examinations, drills and document renewals.
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.