In brief
A person working from home is still their employer’s employee; Art. 12 of the Regulation on Remote Working requires the employer, according to the nature of the work, to provide OHS information, give the necessary training, ensure health surveillance and take safety measures for the equipment it provides. A home office risk assessment becomes practical with a checklist completed by the employee and an equipment handover record. Under the September 2026 amendment, for hybrid working, the days to be worked at the workplace and remotely must be set in the contract.
Remote working safety: the legal framework
Half of the accounts team works from home three days a week; the software team is fully remote. Are these employees outside the scope of OHS because they do not come to the office? No. Remote working safety rests on three texts:
- Art. 14 of Labour Law No. 4857 defines remote working and requires the employer, taking into account the nature of the work, to inform the remote worker about OHS measures, give the necessary training, ensure health surveillance and take safety measures for the equipment it provides.
- The Regulation on Remote Working (Official Gazette 10.03.2021, No. 31419) repeats this obligation in Article 12 and sets out detailed rules on the contract, equipment, costs, data protection and communication.
- Law No. 6331 is the general framework for risk assessment, training and health surveillance obligations for all employees, including remote workers.
Article 13 of the regulation also states that some work cannot be done remotely: work involving, processing or handling waste of hazardous chemicals or radioactive substances, and work with a risk of exposure to biological agents. In practice, working from home is therefore limited to office work.
The employer’s four obligations
The obligations in Article 12 of the regulation are applied “taking into account the nature of the work”. For an employee doing office work, their practical equivalent is as follows:
| Obligation | In practice | Record to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Information | Home office set-up, screen work, electrical and fire safety, breaks and working hours, reporting accidents and health problems | Signed information form or electronic acknowledgement |
| Training | Induction training and basic OHS training; topics specific to remote working | Record, distance learning system logs, test result |
| Health surveillance | Pre-employment and periodic examinations; eye assessment according to display screen use | Examination form, physician assessment |
| Safety of equipment provided | Suitability and maintenance of equipment such as the computer, monitor, chair and charger | Handover list, fault and replacement records |
Under Article 7 of the regulation, unless otherwise agreed in the contract, the employer provides the materials and work tools needed to do the job. If equipment is provided, a written list showing its value on the date of delivery is given to the employee. Article 6 requires the necessary arrangements in the workspace to be made before work starts and how the cost of these arrangements will be covered to be determined jointly by the worker and the employer. It is useful to read these two articles from an OHS perspective: if a need such as an ergonomic chair or a second monitor emerges in the risk assessment, who will provide it should be written in the contract.
How is a home office risk assessment carried out?
An employee’s home is not a place that can be walked around and inspected like a workplace; the inviolability of the home and the protection of personal data draw a line here. A home office risk assessment therefore relies on a self-assessment carried out with the employee instead of a site walk at the workplace:
- Checklist: The employee fills in a list prepared for the work area. The list covers headings such as desk and chair, monitor height and distance, lighting and glare, use of sockets and extension cables, cable management, room temperature and ventilation, and fire detection and escape.
- Photo or short video call: With the employee’s consent, a photo of the work area only, or a short video call, makes the list easier to interpret. Images are personal data; they are used only for this purpose and a retention period is set.
- Specialist assessment: The OHS specialist reviews the list and informs the employee in writing of what needs to be corrected. Frequent findings: working for hours on a laptop at the dining table, multi-socket adaptors plugged into one another, the screen facing a window.
- Common risks line: The common risks of remote workers are added to the workplace risk assessment as a separate section. For the structure of an example office risk assessment, see our article on an office risk assessment example.
- Renewal: The list is filled in again when the employee moves house, changes equipment or reports a health problem.
In remote working, psychosocial risks also stand out alongside physical risks: unlimited availability, isolation, a blurred end to the working day. Article 10 of the regulation requires the method and times of communication to be determined jointly by the worker and the employer; this is also a means of limiting the expectation of availability outside working hours. For details, see our article on psychosocial risk factors.
Training for remote workers
The 2026 OHS training regulation sets the training method according to the hazard class of the workplace:
- Induction training: Given to every employee before they start work, for at least 2 hours, face to face and hands-on. For an employee who will work fully remotely, this training is also planned face to face; holding it in the office on the first day is a practical solution.
- Topic groups 1–3 of basic training: General, health and technical topics can be delivered remotely, face to face or blended.
- Topic group 4 (job- and workplace-specific risks): Can be delivered remotely in less hazardous workplaces; it is delivered face to face in hazardous and very hazardous workplaces. Look at the class of the workplace to which the remote worker belongs.
- Distance learning system: Log-ins and log-outs, completion rates and assessment results are recorded; the system must prevent fast-forwarding, skipping and closing the window.
Basic training is completed within 3 months at the latest after starting work. Training taken remotely also counts as working time (Law No. 6331 Art. 17); the employee should not be expected to complete training outside working hours, in the evening at home. Under Art. 5/6 of the 2026 regulation, training time exceeding weekly working hours counts as overtime. A section specific to remote working, such as home office set-up and how to fill in the checklist, can be placed within topic group 4.
Equipment, display screen equipment and health surveillance
Most people working from home spend the whole day in front of a screen. The rules on working with display screen equipment arise from the nature of the work at home just as in the office; for break arrangements and eye examinations, see our article on working with display screen equipment, and for setting up the work area, our article on office ergonomics.
Health surveillance does not change because of remote working: a pre-employment examination is carried out and periodic examinations are planned according to the hazard class of the workplace (at least every 5 years in less hazardous workplaces). The physician may shorten the interval for an employee who works at a screen for long periods and reports musculoskeletal or vision complaints. How and to whom the remote worker will report a health complaint should be clearly written in the information provided.
Hybrid working raises two separate practical issues. The first is that shared desks in the office should be adjustable; an employee who sits at a different desk every day must be able to adjust the chair and monitor to suit themselves each time. The second is the emergency arrangement: to carry out a headcount in an evacuation, it must be known who is in the office that day. Office days written in the contract make this easier.
For office businesses in Bursa and the surrounding provinces, in our OHS specialist and risk assessment services we prepare the home office checklist and add the common risks of remote workers to the assessment. For topics specific to office businesses, see our office and retail page, and to see your specialist and physician hours, the OHS obligation calculator tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a risk assessment mandatory for a person working from home?
Yes. Law No. 6331 requires a risk assessment for all employees, and Art. 12 of the Regulation on Remote Working provides for the employer to take OHS measures according to the nature of the work. In practice, this is done with a home office checklist filled in by the employee and an assessment by the specialist.
Can OHS training for remote workers be given online?
Partly. Induction training is given to every employee face to face and hands-on. Topic groups 1–3 of basic training can be delivered remotely; topic group 4 is delivered remotely in less hazardous workplaces and face to face in hazardous and very hazardous workplaces.
Does the employer provide home office equipment?
Under Article 7 of the regulation, unless otherwise agreed in the contract, the employer provides the necessary materials and work tools. How the cost of arrangements in the workspace will be covered is determined jointly by the worker and the employer under Article 6.
What needs to be in writing for hybrid working?
Under the September 2026 amendment, the days on which the worker will work at the workplace and remotely, and the working hours, are set in the employment contract. This information is also used to know who is in the office in an emergency.
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.