Labour Inspector Visits: Process and Preparation

How does an inspection start? Programmed and complaint-based inspections

Preparing for a labour inspector's visit starts with understanding where the inspection comes from. Under Art. 24 of Law No. 6331 on Occupational Health and Safety, monitoring and inspection of the Law's application are carried out by the Ministry's labour inspectors authorised to inspect occupational health and safety. In these inspections, Arts. 92, 93, 96, 97 and 107 of Labour Law No. 4857 apply.

In practice, an inspection reaches a workplace in two ways:

Programmed inspection: The Ministry runs planned inspection programmes in certain sectors or on certain topics (e.g. textiles, food, facilities with a major industrial accident risk) and publishes general evaluation reports on them. If your workplace is in a sector covered by the programme, you may be selected for inspection without any incident having occurred.
Inspection and investigation following a complaint, report or accident: An employee's application, a report or a work accident can trigger an inspection. Art. 93 of Law No. 4857 states that inspectors are obliged not to disclose the names and identities of workers from whom they take information and statements, or who apply to them or make a report.

The Law gives the inspector the authority to see, investigate and examine the installations and arrangements relating to workers' lives, health and safety at any time (Law No. 4857, Art. 92). So do not assume the inspection will be announced in advance; preparation is not something done when news of an inspection arrives, but every day.

How does inspection day proceed?

The course of the inspection varies according to the size of the workplace and the reason for the inspection; however, the following steps are usually seen on site:

Arrival and introductions: The inspector shows their identity card and asks to speak with the employer or the employer's representative.
General information: Questions are asked about the number of employees, the line of business, the shift pattern, subcontractors and how the OHS service is provided.
Document request: The inspector lists the documents they want to examine. Some may be requested immediately and some later.
Site walk: Production areas, warehouses, escape routes, electrical panels, chemical stores and welfare areas are visited.
Interviews with employees: The inspector may speak with employees alone and ask about the training they have received, the assembly point and PPE.
Recording findings: Findings are entered in a record or report; the employer or their representative may be asked for information and a statement.

Inspectors are obliged to carry out their duties with as little disruption as possible to the normal flow of work and to keep the workplace's professional secrets and commercial information confidential (Law No. 4857, Art. 93).

Documents requested in an inspection

The documents the inspector looks at in the file, with their legal basis and the most common gaps:

Document	Basis	Common gap
Specialist, physician and, if required, DSP (other health personnel) appointments approved on ISG-KATİP (the Ministry's online OHS registration system)	Law No. 6331, Art. 6	Delayed contract approval, hours not matching the number of employees
Risk assessment	Law No. 6331, Art. 10	No employee representative on the team, pages not initialled, not updated after a change
Emergency plan, team appointments, drill form	Law No. 6331, Art. 11	Last drill more than a year old
Training records and induction training records	Law No. 6331, Art. 17	Induction training not documented, refresher training dates overdue
Pre-employment and periodic examination records	Law No. 6331, Art. 15	Starting work in hazardous jobs without a fitness-for-work report
Approved logbook	Regulation on OHS Services, Art. 7	Findings not signed by the employer, recommendations not followed up
Periodic inspection reports	Work Equipment Regulation, Art. 7	Overdue inspection, no EKİPNET registration number on the report
Workplace exposure measurement reports	Law No. 6331, Art. 10	Measurement not made or not repeated after a change
Vocational training certificates	Vocational Training Regulation, Art. 7	Certificates missing from the personnel file
PPE issue records	PPE Regulation	No issue record, PPE not suited to the job
Work accident records and SGK notifications	Law No. 6331, Art. 14	Missing the 3-working-day notification deadline
OHS committee decisions (50 or more employees)	Law No. 6331, Art. 22	Meetings not held regularly

The Regulation is clear on the approved logbook: the employer must show the approved logbook whenever the labour inspectors authorised to inspect request it, and the employer is responsible for having the logbook signed and kept properly (Regulation on OHS Services, Art. 7/5). For the ISG-KATİP process for appointments, see our contract approval guide, and for the document rules of the risk assessment, our risk assessment guide.

What does the inspector look at on site?

If the document in the file and the situation on site do not match, the document does not protect you. The points examined most during the site walk are:

Whether machine guards are in place and emergency stop buttons work
Whether escape routes and emergency exit doors are clear, and whether evacuation plans are up to date
Electrical panel covers, cable layout and earthing
Forklift and pedestrian traffic, racking layout
Chemical labels, storage conditions and accessibility of safety data sheets
Work at height and scaffolding arrangements
Whether employees actually use PPE
Welfare areas, first aid supplies and the inspection dates of extinguishers

The questions asked in interviews with employees are also predictable: "Have you had OHS training, and when?", "Where do you assemble in an emergency?", "What would you do if an accident happened on this machine?", "Did you have a medical examination when you started?" Employees being able to answer these questions comfortably shows that training has really been given far more convincingly than the signatures in the file.

The employer's role on inspection day

The obligations and correct conduct of the employer or the employer's representative on inspection day can be summarised as follows:

Provide information and documents without delay. Under Art. 92 of Law No. 4857, employers are obliged to attend when called by inspectors, to give statements and information, to bring and show the necessary documents and evidence, and to provide every facility.
Inform the OHS specialist and the workplace physician. Having them answer technical questions prevents wrong or incomplete information being given.
Do not coach employees. Art. 96 of Law No. 4857 prohibits coaching workers whom inspectors consult, forcing them to conceal the truth, and treating them badly because they gave a statement.
Keep your own notes. Note which documents were requested, which areas were visited and what findings were made.
Read the record before signing. If you are asked to sign a record, read it carefully; add your explanation in writing for any finding you disagree with.

After the inspection: fines, objections and stop-work orders

Administrative fine. Fines under Law No. 6331, other than those relating to work accident and occupational disease notification, are imposed with stated reasons by the provincial director of the Turkish Employment Agency (Art. 26/2). Some 2026 base amounts:

Breach	2026 base amount
Not appointing a specialist or physician	111,263 TL per person; every month the breach continues
Not carrying out a risk assessment	66,725 TL; 100,119 TL for every month the breach continues
Not having measurements or inspections carried out	33,326 TL
Not providing health surveillance	22,194 TL per employee
Not providing training	8,980 TL per employee

For amounts other than those calculated per employee, the increase rates in Art. 26/3 apply according to the workplace's number of employees and hazard class; for example, in a very hazardous workplace with 50 or more employees the base amount is increased by 200%. If you want to calculate for your own workplace, you can use our OHS administrative fines tool.

Under the Law on Misdemeanours, an administrative fine for which no separate payment period is set in its own law is paid within one month of notification; if paid within this period a 25% discount applies, and paying does not remove the right to object (Art. 17/6). An application against the decision can be made to the criminal court of peace within 15 days of notification; if the deadline is missed, the decision becomes final (Art. 27).

Stop-work order. If a life-threatening danger is found in buildings and annexes, working methods or work equipment, work is stopped in part or all of the workplace until the danger is removed. In very hazardous mining, metal and construction work, in workplaces where hazardous chemicals are used or where there is a possibility of a major industrial accident, failure to carry out a risk assessment is also a reason for stopping work (Law No. 6331, Art. 25/1). The process works as follows:

A board of three labour inspectors may decide within two days of the finding; in urgent cases the inspector who made the finding stops the work until the board decides.
The decision is implemented by the local governor through the law enforcement authorities within 24 hours, or on the same day in urgent cases.
The employer may object to the labour court within 6 working days of implementation of the decision; the objection does not suspend implementation, and the court gives a final decision within 6 working days.
When the deficiencies have been remedied and notified to the Ministry in writing, an examination is carried out within 7 days at the latest.
During the stoppage, the employer pays employees their wages or gives them other work without reducing their wages.

If work is stopped, no separate administrative fine is imposed for the act that caused the stoppage (Art. 26/4).

Labour inspection preparation checklist

ISG-KATİP appointments approved and hours appropriate to the number of employees
Risk assessment and emergency plan renewal dates not overdue
A drill held within the last year and the form completed
Training, examination and periodic inspection dates in the calendar
A record showing that findings in the approved logbook have been followed up
Vocational training certificates and PPE issue records in the personnel files
The site consistent with what is written in the documents

Carrying out these checks at least once a year with an inspector's mindset turns a real inspection into an ordinary day. For businesses preparing for a car manufacturer's supplier audit, our supplier OHS audit guide offers a similar perspective. In our OHS specialist and risk assessment services, we keep this file up to date together with you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the labour inspector give notice before an inspection?

Do not rely on it. Art. 92 of Law No. 4857 gives inspectors the authority to see and examine arrangements relating to workers' health and safety at any time. Prepare so that you are open to inspection at any moment.

Is the name of a complaining employee disclosed to the employer?

No. Under Art. 93 of Law No. 4857, inspectors are obliged not to disclose the names and identities of workers who apply to them or make a report. In addition, the employer is prohibited from treating workers who give statements badly.

How do you object to an administrative fine?

An application is made to the criminal court of peace within 15 days of notification of the fine. Paying the fine within one month gives a 25% discount and does not remove the right to object.

Can a stop-work order be challenged?

Yes. The employer may object to the competent labour court within 6 working days of implementation of the order. The objection does not suspend implementation; the court hears the objection with priority and decides within 6 working days.