OHS Committee Meetings and Decision Minutes

OHS committee meeting frequency

We explained who sits on the committee and in which workplaces it is mandatory in our article on how to set up an OHS committee. This article focuses on the committee's real work once it has been set up: the procedure for the OHS committee meeting and how decisions are written and followed up.

Under Art. 9/1-a of the Regulation on OHS Committees, the committee meets at least once a month. Taking the workplace's hazard class into account, the committee may decide to meet every two months in hazardous workplaces and every three months in less hazardous workplaces. There is no such flexibility for very hazardous workplaces.

Meeting less often is an option, not something that applies automatically: if a hazardous workplace is to meet every two months, this too must be recorded in the minutes by a committee decision. Meetings are held during daily working hours and time spent in meetings counts as working time (Art. 9/1-ç). Setting the year's meeting dates at the start of the year and entering them in the OHS calendar and the annual work plan prevents meetings being postponed because of production pressure.

OHS committee meeting agenda: the 48-hour rule

The agenda, place, day and time of the meeting are notified to the members at least 48 hours before the meeting; the agenda is set according to the order of importance of the issues (Art. 9/1-b). At every meeting, the chair or the secretary informs the committee about the decisions of the previous meeting and how they were implemented (Art. 9/1-g). Together, these two rules produce a fixed skeleton for the agenda.

A workable template for the OHS committee meeting agenda:

1. Opening, confirmation of the quorum.
2. Status of previous meeting decisions: closed, ongoing, overdue.
3. Workplace accidents, near misses and occupational diseases since the last meeting.
4. Written findings of the OHS specialist and the workplace physician; results of workplace measurements and health surveillance.
5. Changes: new machinery, new chemicals, a new line, relocating a department.
6. Training and drill schedule; safety plan for maintenance and repair work.
7. Suggestions from the worker representative and workers.
8. Reading of the decision summary.

Sending a short data pack with the agenda speeds up the meeting: a list of accidents and near misses, a status table of open decisions and a summary of any measurement reports. Members come to the meeting to make decisions, not to learn the information there.

Quorum and voting

The committee meets with an absolute majority of its full membership and decides by an absolute majority of those present. Abstentions are not allowed; in a tie, the chair's vote decides. If the quorum is not reached, this is recorded in minutes (Art. 9/1-d).

Example: A seven-member committee can meet with at least four members. If five members attend, three votes are needed to adopt a decision. Everyone present votes "yes" or "no"; there is no "abstain" option in the minutes.

Failing to reach a quorum is not a one-off mishap but a warning. The most common causes are a meeting time that does not fit the shift pattern, an agenda sent late, or members losing interest because they see decisions not being implemented.

How do you write committee decision minutes?

The minutes are signed by the chair and the members present at the meeting; signed decisions are deemed to have been notified to the employer and are kept in a dedicated file (Art. 9/1-e). The employer keeps the meeting minutes, accident investigation reports and the committee's inspection reports at the workplace for examination by labour inspectors (Art. 10).

The value of the minutes depends on how actionable the decisions are. A decision such as "that the necessary measures be taken" changes nothing. An actionable decision answers five questions: what will be done, where, who will do it, by when, and how will we know it is complete?

A sample set of committee decision minutes can consist of the following sections:

Common shortcomings in minutes are:

• Writing a summary of the discussion instead of a decision, so that the reader cannot tell what was decided.
• Writing "the relevant department" as the owner instead of a person.
• No deadline, or unmeasurable expressions such as "as soon as possible".
• Not recording the status of previous decisions at all, so that every meeting starts from scratch.
• Missing signatures from members present, or the minutes being opened for signature weeks later.
• Accidents and near misses never coming onto the agenda.

Reading out and having the minutes signed as soon as the meeting ends also prevents later disputes along the lines of "that is not how this decision was made".

Announcing and following up decisions

Decisions taken at the meeting are communicated to those concerned for action; those considered useful to announce to workers are posted in the workplace (Art. 9/1-f). Art. 22 of Law No. 6331 states that the employer implements committee decisions that comply with OHS legislation.

The most practical follow-up tool is a one-page decision tracking list: decision no., short description, owner, deadline, status and evidence. This list is the second agenda item at every meeting. For overdue decisions a reason is written and a new deadline is set; if the same decision is overdue three meetings in a row, the matter is brought separately to the employer. The proportion of decisions closed on time is a good indicator of the committee's effectiveness; for other indicators, see our article on OHS performance indicators.

The 2026 base administrative fine for failing to set up an OHS committee or failing to implement committee decisions is TL 44,443. Since workplaces required to have a committee have 50 or more workers, the increase applies: TL 66,664.50 in less hazardous, TL 88,886 in hazardous and TL 133,329 in very hazardous workplaces. For other items, see the OHS administrative fines tool.

Extraordinary committee meeting

After a fatal accident, an accident causing loss of limb or a serious workplace accident, or in important situations requiring special measures, any committee member may call the committee to an extraordinary meeting (Art. 9/1-c). In addition, under Art. 13 of Law No. 6331, when a worker applies to the committee to exercise the right to refuse to work, the committee meets urgently and makes a decision without waiting for the ordinary meeting schedule (Art. 8/1-ğ).

The agenda of an extraordinary committee meeting should be short and focused:

1. A brief account of the incident and initial findings.
2. Emergency measures taken and whether they are sufficient.
3. Appointment of the investigation team and a delivery date.
4. Whether a similar risk exists in other departments.
5. Information to be given to workers.

The minutes of an extraordinary meeting are also drawn up and signed under the rules for ordinary meetings. We explained how to record the scene and take witness statements after an accident in our article on workplace accident reports and witness statements. For the worker representative's role in the committee's work, see our article on electing the worker representative.

In companies with 50 or more workers in Bursa and the surrounding provinces, Bursa Sistemer attends committee meetings as a member under its OHS specialist service, prepares draft agendas and minutes and brings an up-to-date decision tracking list to every meeting.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often is an OHS committee meeting held?

The committee meets at least once a month. By committee decision, it may meet every two months in hazardous workplaces and every three months in less hazardous workplaces; a monthly meeting is mandatory in very hazardous workplaces.

What happens if not enough members attend the committee meeting?

The committee cannot meet without an absolute majority of its full membership. This is recorded in minutes and the meeting is rescheduled; the reasons should be addressed at the next meeting.

Who signs the committee decisions?

The minutes are signed by the chair and the members present at the meeting. Signed decisions are deemed to have been notified to the employer and are kept in a dedicated file.

Who can call an extraordinary committee meeting?

After a fatal accident, an accident causing loss of limb or a serious workplace accident, or in important situations requiring special measures, any committee member can call an extraordinary meeting. When a worker requests to refuse work, the committee meets urgently.