In brief
Following the Constitutional Court ruling, less hazardous workplaces with fewer than 50 employees are also obliged to assign an OHS specialist and a workplace physician; shops with 2–3 employees in the Covered Bazaar and the hans are included. In the historic bazaar, the main risks are fire that can spread quickly through adjoining shops and narrow shared escape routes. Emergency plans are prepared by each workplace and linked together under the coordination of the han and bazaar management.
Workplace safety for shopkeepers: what changed after the Constitutional Court ruling?
In Osmangazi’s historic trading quarter, which stretches from the Covered Bazaar (Kapalıçarşı) to Koza Han, and from Emir Han to the surrounding arcades, most shops work with two or three people: the shop owner, a journeyman and perhaps an apprentice. Many of these businesses operated for a long time without OHS services, because the obligation to assign a specialist and physician for less hazardous workplaces with fewer than 50 employees was postponed for years. Today, workplace safety is an obligation that cannot be postponed for these shops either.
This picture has changed. Constitutional Court ruling E.2024/54, K.2025/163 was published in the Official Gazette on 9 December 2025, and the postponement provision for these workplaces was unanimously annulled. There is no new postponement. This means that a jeweller, fabric seller, towel seller or restaurant in the bazaar is now also obliged to assign a specialist and physician under Art. 6 of Law No. 6331 on Occupational Health and Safety. For details of the ruling, see our article on OHS in workplaces with fewer than 50 employees.
There are three routes to workplace safety for shopkeepers:
| Option | For whom? | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Obtaining services from an OSGB | Every workplace | The contract is approved on ISG-KATİP by both parties within 5 days at the latest |
| The employer carrying it out personally | Less hazardous workplaces with fewer than 50 employees | Ministry training required; a declaration on ISG-KATİP; pre-employment and periodic examinations excluded |
| Obtaining services from a ÇASMER | Workplaces with a ÇASMER in their area | The Law lists this option alongside OSGBs |
ISG-KATİP is the Ministry’s online OHS registration system, an OSGB is a joint health and safety unit, and a ÇASMER is an employee health centre attached to the Ministry of Health. There is also a concession regarding health reports: less hazardous workplaces with fewer than 50 employees can obtain reports not only from the workplace physician but also from ÇASMERs, family physicians or other public healthcare providers (Art. 15/3).
Small business OHS obligations: times and documents
Most businesses in the bazaar are in the less hazardous class; however, a jeweller’s workshop doing manufacturing behind the shop, a dry cleaner or a restaurant with a kitchen may be in a different class. The class is determined by the activity code, not by guesswork; check it with the OHS obligation calculator tool.
Small business OHS obligations in the less hazardous class can be summarised as follows:
| Obligation | In the less hazardous class |
|---|---|
| OHS specialist time | At least 10 minutes per employee per month |
| Workplace physician time | At least 5 minutes per employee per month |
| Risk assessment | Renewed at least every 6 years and when changes occur |
| Basic OHS training | At least 8 class hours, within 3 months of starting work at the latest; refresher every 3 years |
| Induction training | At least 2 hours before starting work, face to face and practical |
| Periodic examination | At least every 5 years |
| First aider | 1 for every 20 employees |
| Emergency plan and drill | Plan renewed every 6 years; drill at least once a year |
An example: for a shop with 4 employees, the specialist time is 40 minutes a month, or 480 minutes a year; the physician time is 20 minutes a month, or 240 minutes a year. Art. 11/7 of the Regulation on Occupational Health and Safety Services allows monthly times to be combined within the same contract year in less hazardous workplaces with fewer than 50 employees. This means that instead of a short drop-in every month, a few full visits a year can be planned: one devoted to the risk assessment and emergency plan, one to training and one to health surveillance.
In the hans and the Covered Bazaar, the building itself is a risk factor
The Hans District in Osmangazi is one of the components of the “Bursa and Cumalıkızık: the Birth of the Ottoman Empire” site, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014. This value also has consequences for OHS: the buildings were not designed centuries ago for today’s use, and in listed buildings work such as opening a fire door, adding a staircase or rewiring is subject to permission under conservation legislation.
That is why, in the historic bazaar, the weight of measures shifts from structural change to how the business is run:
- Narrow, shared passageways: Goods spilling out in front of shops narrow the escape route.
- Upper-floor storerooms: The mezzanine or cell above the shop is often a storeroom full of flammable stock, reached by a single steep staircase.
- Electrical installations added later: Lines, multi-socket adaptors and extension cables added over the years are among the most common starting points for fires.
- Shared courtyard and roof: A fire starting in one shop can spread to neighbouring shops via the shared roof and timber elements.
Fire risk for bazaar shopkeepers: adjoining shops
Bazaar shopkeepers reduce fire risk with small but regular measures. Shops selling fabric, towels and textiles have a high fire load; jewellers’ workshops use open flames and gas cylinders for soldering and melting; tea stalls and small kitchens have cylinders and heaters.
A checklist that can be applied in every shop:
- Electrics: Multi-socket adaptors and extension cables are not used as permanent wiring. The residual current device and fuse box are in working order, and the area in front of them is clear.
- Heaters: Electric heaters are kept away from fabric and cardboard and unplugged when the shop closes. Gas cylinder heaters are not used indoors.
- Cylinders and open flames: Gas cylinders in a jeweller’s workshop stand upright and secured; the hose and regulator are checked regularly. The soldering and melting area is separated from flammable materials.
- Stock: Goods are not piled in front of the fuse box or the heater; a passage is kept clear in the upstairs storeroom.
- Extinguisher: An extinguisher suitable for the size of the shop and the type of fire is in a visible place near the door, and employees know how to use it. We explain how many are needed in our article on how many fire extinguishers a workplace should have.
- Closing: The person closing the shop checks that the heater, stove, iron and soldering iron are switched off.
Han shop emergency plan and shared escape
Every workplace, however small, prepares its own emergency plan. However, in a han or bazaar, a single shop’s plan cannot on its own resolve the shared corridor, staircase and assembly point. The Regulation on Emergencies in Workplaces addresses this situation explicitly:
- In business centres, office buildings and hans, industrial zones or complexes containing more than one workplace, the coordination of the emergency plans prepared by the workplaces is carried out by the management (Art. 17/2).
- In the workplaces at these locations, drills are carried out under the coordination of the management (Art. 13/4).
Practical steps in han shop emergency planning:
- Hold a meeting with the han or bazaar management; together, determine the shared exits, staircases and a single assembly point.
- Put in writing who is responsible for fire detection, extinguishers and emergency lighting in shared areas.
- In your shop’s plan, show your own escape route together with the shared route within the han.
- Make sure that han doors locked at night can be opened from the inside if someone is working inside.
- Take part in the joint drill; agree on a method of communication with neighbouring shops (phone group, announcement).
We discussed in detail how plans are linked together in shared buildings in our article on the emergency plan in a shared building. For other risks in shops and retail businesses, see our article on OHS in supermarkets and shops.
How do bazaar shopkeepers work with an OSGB?
Bursa Sistemer OSGB’s head office is in the neighbouring district of Nilüfer, at Kale Plaza in the Üçevler neighbourhood. For businesses in the bazaar and hans, we plan a small number of efficient visits by combining occupational safety specialist and physician times within the contract year, and we carry out emergency plan work together with the han management. For other types of business in the area, see our Osmangazi OSGB page, and for topics specific to shops and offices, see our office and retail sector page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an OSGB mandatory for a shop with 2 employees?
Following the Constitutional Court ruling, less hazardous workplaces with fewer than 50 employees are also obliged to assign a specialist and physician. This service can be obtained from an OSGB or a ÇASMER. If the employer or their representative completes the Ministry’s training, they can carry out the service themselves by submitting a declaration on ISG-KATİP; pre-employment and periodic examinations are excluded from this.
Does every shop in a han prepare a separate emergency plan?
Yes, every employer prepares a plan for its own workplace. The Regulation on Emergencies requires the coordination of these plans and the drills in office buildings and hans to be carried out by the management. The shared exit and assembly point are determined together.
Who issues health reports for shopkeepers’ employees?
In less hazardous workplaces with fewer than 50 employees, reports can be obtained not only from the workplace physician but also from ÇASMERs, family physicians or other public healthcare providers.
Can I make alterations to my shop in a historic han for fire safety?
In listed buildings, alterations are subject to permission under conservation legislation. First prioritise measures that do not require permission: electrical arrangements, heater and cylinder use, stock layout, extinguishers and the closing check. If structural change is needed, plan it together with the han management and the relevant institutions.
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.