OHS in Seasonal Tourism Businesses in Mudanya

OHS for seasonal tourism staff: how the season works in Mudanya

In Mudanya, the restaurants along the seafront, the cafés around the Güzelyalı pier and the boutique hotels within the historic fabric of Tirilye expand their staff within a few weeks in summer; the OHS obligations for seasonal tourism staff have to be squeezed into those same few weeks. The district has no organised industrial zone; its economy is carried by tourism, food and drink, olives and construction. Most businesses are small and medium-sized, and some seasonal workers are students or people doing the job for the first time.

For a seasonal hotel worker or a seaside restaurant waiter, the problem is not the number of obligations but the lack of time. When the season opens, recruitment, training, examinations and hygiene certificates are squeezed into the same week, and the first gap usually appears in training. This article sets out a pre-season timetable for businesses in Mudanya and ways to reduce risks in the first weeks. For our general service arrangements in the district, see our Mudanya OSGB page.

Pre-season timetable: from recruitment to the first shift

The first four rows of the timetable are tasks that must be done "before starting work". Planning them together once the season's staff is known, instead of leaving them to the day of recruitment, reduces both the cost and the chance of something being missed.

Tourism season health report: from whom, and when?

Under Art. 15 of Law No. 6331 on Occupational Health and Safety, the worker's health examination is carried out at recruitment; in hazardous and very hazardous work, a worker cannot start without a fitness-for-work report. Reports are obtained from the workplace physician. Less hazardous workplaces with fewer than fifty workers may also obtain the report from ÇASMER (workers' health centres), family physicians or other public healthcare providers. The hazard class of your activity code determines which route applies to you; check it using the steps in our article on how to find your hazard class. For report options, see our article on where to get a pre-employment health report.

The Regulation on Hygiene Training also applies to food and drink and accommodation businesses. In workplaces within its scope, a person without a hygiene training certificate issued by institutions under the Ministry of National Education (MEB) may not be employed; the training lasts at least 8 hours and the certificate remains valid as long as the person continues to work in the service. The same regulation also provides that people with a disease transmissible through food, diarrhoea or open or infected wounds on visible areas may not work in these workplaces until they document that they have recovered. For details, read our article on the hygiene training certificate.

If there are seasonal workers under 18, their working hours and the jobs they may do are further restricted; periodic examinations of child and young workers are carried out at least every 6 months. For the rules, see our article on child and young workers.

Summer season staff training: what should be covered in two hours?

The 2026 training regulation defines induction training as training given to everyone, including apprentices and interns, before they start work, lasting at least 2 hours, delivered face to face and in practice, and documented with a record. This training does not count towards basic training hours. Two hours is a short time; instead of a general presentation, it should focus on the job the worker will do on the first day:

• Kitchen: Using and carrying knives, hot oil and fryers, combi oven doors, where the LPG valve is and what to do in case of a leak, opening the cold room from the inside.
• Service: Carrying trays, stairs and terrace steps, clearing up broken glasses and plates, hot plates and drinks.
• Housekeeping: Not mixing cleaning chemicals, gloves, protecting the back when making beds; for details see risks for hotel housekeeping staff.
• Pool and technical: Storage and dosing of pool chemicals are done only by trained people; see pool chemicals and chlorine gas.
• For everyone: Escape routes, assembly point, location and use of fire extinguishers, how to report accidents and near misses.

Basic training, on the other hand, is completed within 3 months of starting work at the latest; it is at least 8 class hours in less hazardous and at least 12 in hazardous workplaces. In a three-month season, if this training is left to the end of the season, the worker will have gone through the riskiest period untrained. Schedule basic training in the first weeks of the season.

Two rules make things easier for returning workers: For a worker changing workplace in the same job, only topic 4 of basic training (risks specific to the job and workplace) is repeated. A worker who worked with you last season and has had a break of more than 6 months is given refresher training on topic 4. For how to structure the training, see our article on the induction training programme.

Risks arising from inexperience

New starters are more exposed to accidents than workers who know the job: they do not yet know the workplace, the equipment or where the danger will come from. In tourism, the busiest days of the season coinciding with the first weeks and long working hours are added to this. Practices that reduce this risk:

1. Pairing: Every new worker works in the same shift and department as an experienced worker in the first week.
2. Gradual tasks: Jobs such as fryers, slicing machines and chemical dosing are not given from the first day; the worker first watches, then does them under supervision.
3. Short refreshers: In five-minute talks at the start of the shift, a cut or slip from the previous day is shared.
4. Working hours control: Long and consecutive shifts increase fatigue, and fatigue increases cuts and burns. The break arrangement should be in writing for busy days.
5. Heat: Signs of heatstroke are monitored in workers in the kitchen and serving outdoors; see heatstroke signs and response.

For the general framework of the topic, read our article on accident risk among new starters.

Seaside restaurant safety: a checklist before the season opens

• Have LPG cylinders and hoses been checked? Are cylinders kept in a well-ventilated place rather than in basements and unventilated stores?
• Have the hood and filters been cleaned? Kitchens serving more than 100 people need an automatic extinguishing system in the hood (Regulation on the Fire Protection of Buildings, Art. 57/1); this system and portable extinguishers are inspected once a year.
• Are electrical connections on the terrace and the beach protected against water and moisture, and are extension cables running across walkways?
• Are wet floors and pier and terrace steps marked against slipping?
• Is there a lidded box for broken glass and a dustpan at every station?
• Has the number of first aiders been recalculated for the season's staff? One first aider is required for every 20 workers in less hazardous and every 15 in hazardous workplaces.
• Have the teams in the emergency plan been updated with the new staff, and do new workers know the assembly point?

For other obligations specific to restaurants and hotels, see our articles on OHS in restaurants and cafés and OHS in hotels. We run the pre-season training programme as part of OHS training and the on-site checks through our OHS specialist service. For topics specific to the service sector, see our office and retail sector page, and to track training and examination dates, our OHS calendar tool.

Frequently Asked Questions

What training should a seasonal worker receive before starting work?

At least 2 hours of face-to-face, practical induction training, documented with a record. This training does not replace basic training; basic training is completed within 3 months of starting work at the latest.

Do seasonal staff working for three months need basic training?

Yes. Basic training is completed within 3 months of starting work at the latest; a short season does not remove this obligation. Scheduling the training at the start of the season ensures workers are trained during the busiest period.

Where do waiters and cooks get a tourism season health report?

The report is obtained from the workplace physician. Less hazardous workplaces with fewer than fifty workers may also obtain it from ÇASMER, a family physician or other public healthcare providers. Diseases preventing work under the Regulation on Hygiene Training are also assessed separately.

Should staff who worked last summer be trained again this year?

If the break is longer than 6 months, refresher training on risks specific to the job and workplace is given. Repeating the whole of basic training depends on the refresher intervals set by hazard class: every 3 years in less hazardous and every 2 years in hazardous workplaces.