In brief
Law No. 6331 applies to all public and private workplaces and to all employees regardless of their status. As the provision postponing the appointment of specialists and workplace physicians for public institutions was annulled by the Constitutional Court, this obligation now covers public institutions too. Institutions may obtain the service from their own certified staff, from an OSGB, from revolving-fund organisations of the Ministry of Health or from ÇASMER (public employee health centres); planning is done separately for each SGK workplace.
Occupational health and safety in public institutions: who is covered?
Under Art. 2 of Law No. 6331 on Occupational Health and Safety, the Law applies to all work and workplaces in the public and private sectors and to all employees, including apprentices and interns, regardless of the field of activity. The Law defines an employee as a natural person employed in a public or private workplace regardless of their status under their own special laws (Art. 3). In other words, civil servants, contract staff and workers in a municipality, and teachers, administrative staff and support staff in a school, are protected by the same law. Occupational health and safety in public institutions is therefore planned according to the workplace, not the status of the staff.
The activities the Law excludes are limited. The activities of the Turkish Armed Forces, general law enforcement and the National Intelligence Organisation (except workplaces such as factories, maintenance centres and sewing workshops), and the response activities of disaster and emergency units are excluded (Art. 2/2). For example, a municipal fire brigade's response to a fire is excluded; but the workshop, vehicle maintenance and training activities in the fire station building are covered.
How did the Constitutional Court ruling change public sector OHS?
Articles 6 and 7 of the Law, which govern the appointment of specialists, workplace physicians and other health personnel, were postponed for years for public institutions (except employees within the scope of the repealed Art. 81 of Labour Law No. 4857) and for less hazardous workplaces with fewer than 50 employees (Art. 38/1-a-1). Each time, the postponement date was pushed back by a new law.
By its decision of 22.07.2025, E.2024/54, K.2025/163, the Constitutional Court annulled the date governing this postponement; the decision was published in the Official Gazette on 09.12.2025. As no new postponement has been made, public institutions are now also obliged to appoint specialists and physicians. We described its effect on private less hazardous workplaces with fewer than 50 employees in our article on obligations for less hazardous workplaces.
Where can public institutions obtain the service?
Public institutions have routes available that differ from those of private employers. You can compare the options as follows:
| Route | Basis | Point to note |
|---|---|---|
| Appointment from their own certified staff | Law No. 6331 Art. 6/1-a and Art. 8/7 | Done alongside the person's main duties, observing the set working time |
| Appointment of certified staff from another public institution | Law No. 6331 Art. 8/7 | Requires the staff member's consent and the senior manager's approval |
| Service from an OSGB | Law No. 6331 Art. 6/1-a, 6/2 | Institutions covered by Public Procurement Law No. 4734 obtain it within the framework of that Law |
| Revolving-fund organisations of the Ministry of Health | Law No. 6331 Art. 6/2 | Direct procurement of the service is possible |
| ÇASMER | Law No. 6331 Art. 6/1-a; Regulation on OHS Services Art. 4 | An authorised unit under the Ministry of Health |
| The manager taking it on personally | Law No. 6331 Art. 6/1-a; Regulation Art. 14/6 | Only in less hazardous workplaces with fewer than 50 employees; examinations excluded |
For appointments from their own staff, the Law also provides for an additional payment: the institution receiving the service pays the appointed staff member, for every hour worked, an additional amount equal to the indicator figure of 200 multiplied by the civil servant salary coefficient; appointments exceeding 80 hours a month are not taken into account in this payment, provided they remain within daily working hours (Art. 8/7).
There is also a flexibility specific to the public sector in Art. 14/2 of the Regulation on Occupational Health and Safety Services: in private workplaces, the calculated mandatory time may not be divided between more than one person; public institutions and organisations are exempt from this prohibition. This allows institutions with more than one certified staff member to share the time.
Municipal OHS: multiple workplaces, different hazard classes
The most common mistake in municipal OHS planning is treating the municipality as a single workplace. A municipality's service building, public works sites, vehicle maintenance workshop, parks and gardens teams, slaughterhouse, and water and sewerage facilities may be under different SGK (Social Security Institution) workplace registrations and in different hazard classes. The hazard class is determined by the main activity carried out at each workplace; we explained how to find it in our article on how to find out your hazard class.
This structure has three practical consequences:
- The time calculation is done per workplace. For example, for a unit with 120 employees in the hazardous class, the minimum monthly time is 120 × 20 = 2,400 minutes (40 hours) for the specialist and 120 × 10 = 1,200 minutes (20 hours) for the physician. You can use the OHS obligation calculator for your own workplaces.
- The specialist's certificate class also varies by workplace. A class A certificate is required in very hazardous workplaces, at least class B in hazardous and at least class C in less hazardous workplaces (Art. 8/5).
- Other health personnel are additionally appointed in very hazardous workplaces with ten or more employees (Art. 6/1-a).
Municipal companies are not public institutions but legal entities under private law; private employer rules apply to them. The OHS service for cleaning or security staff working under a service procurement contract is provided by the contractor; the institution, as an employer sharing the same work area, ensures coordination (Law No. 6331 Art. 23).
Workplace safety in schools: what to look at?
When workplace safety in schools is mentioned, student safety is often all that comes to mind; but the subject of Law No. 6331 is the school's employees. The headings that stand out in a school's risk assessment are:
- The risks to staff working in the boiler room, kitchen and canteen.
- Laboratory chemicals and the benches in the workshops of vocational schools.
- Building age, escape routes, earthquake and fire scenarios, and emergency teams.
- Risks specific to teachers, such as voice use, standing for long periods and violence.
- Work at height and electricity in maintenance, repair and cleaning work.
In a school in the less hazardous class with fewer than 50 employees, monthly times can be combined within the same contract year; for example, a school with 45 employees needs 225 minutes a month for the physician and 450 minutes for the specialist. In these schools, a manager or deputy who has completed the training announced by the Ministry and who is involved in managing the workplace and regularly present there may also take on the service; pre-employment and periodic examinations are outside this scope. For the situation of students in vocational education, see our article on students in vocational education and OHS.
Step-by-step planning for a public institution
- Workplace inventory: List all of the institution's SGK workplace registrations, addresses and activities.
- Headcount: Count all employees at each workplace, including civil servants, contract staff and workers; apprentices and interns are not included in the time calculation (Art. 6/4).
- Hazard class: Determine the class of each workplace according to its main activity.
- Time and staff calculation: Calculate the times for the specialist, physician and, if necessary, other health personnel; workplaces exceeding the threshold for full-time appointment need to set up a workplace health and safety unit.
- Choice of source: Consider together the options of your certified staff, appointments from other institutions, an OSGB, a revolving-fund organisation or ÇASMER.
- Tender or appointment: If the service is to be procured, start the Law No. 4734 timetable early.
- ISG-KATİP: For internal appointments, the appointment document in ISG-KATİP (the Ministry's online OHS registration system) is drawn up and approved within five days at the latest; for appointments to another institution, the appointed persons also approve it. When procuring from an OSGB, the contract is approved by both parties within five days at the latest (Regulation Art. 14/3-c and 14/5). For details, see our article on ISG-KATİP contract approval.
- First tasks: Risk assessment, emergency plan, employee training and the health surveillance timetable.
Art. 131/1-b of the Regulation on the Protection of Buildings from Fire assigns fire safety inspections of public buildings to the head of the institution or the person or committee they appoint, the district governor and the inspectors of the relevant ministry. Combining these inspections with OHS work in the emergency plan makes the job easier.
Bursa Sistemer OSGB plans OHS specialist and workplace physician services for public institutions in Bursa and the neighbouring provinces in line with the institution's tender and ISG-KATİP processes. For choosing between an OSGB and internal appointment, our article on in-house specialist or OSGB also offers guidance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are public institutions obliged to appoint a specialist and a workplace physician?
Yes. The provision postponing this obligation for public institutions was annulled by Constitutional Court decision E.2024/54, K.2025/163, published on 09.12.2025. As there is no new postponement, public institutions must also make the appointments in Art. 6 of Law No. 6331.
Can the public workplace physician be the institution's own doctor?
Staff of the institution holding a workplace physician certificate may be appointed in their own institution, alongside their main duties and observing the set working time. Appointment to another public institution requires the staff member's consent and the senior manager's approval; in both cases, the appointment is approved through ISG-KATİP.
Can municipalities obtain services directly from an OSGB?
Institutions covered by the Public Procurement Law obtain services from an OSGB within the provisions of that Law. Services can be obtained directly from revolving-fund organisations of the Ministry of Health. The contract is approved by both parties in ISG-KATİP within five days at the latest.
Can a head teacher run the OHS service personally?
Only in schools with fewer than 50 employees in the less hazardous class, provided they complete the training announced by the Ministry. Even then, pre-employment and periodic examinations and tests remain outside this scope and must be carried out by a physician.
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.