In brief
Art. 13 of Law No. 5510 limits occupational accidents to five cases: time spent at the workplace, work carried out on behalf of the employer, being sent outside the workplace on duty, time set aside for breastfeeding, and travel to and from work in a vehicle provided by the employer. An accident in a staff shuttle is therefore an occupational accident; an accident while commuting in one's own car or on public transport is not covered by these clauses. The employer notifies the police of an occupational accident immediately and the SGK within 3 working days at the latest.
Why do the cases counted as occupational accidents matter?
When an employee is injured, one of the first questions is "Is this an occupational accident?" The answer determines the obligation to notify the SGK (Social Security Institution), the employee's rights such as temporary incapacity benefit, the workplace's accident records and whether the risk assessment needs to be renewed. In terms of social insurance law, the cases counted as occupational accidents are listed one by one in Art. 13 of Law No. 5510. In this article we explain those five cases with concrete examples and clarify the limits for travel to and from work, the most disputed subject.
Two definitions should not be confused. Under Art. 3 of Law No. 6331 on Occupational Health and Safety, an occupational accident is an event occurring at the workplace or because of the conduct of work that causes death or renders the body mentally or physically disabled. This definition is the framework for prevention work. Notification to the SGK and insurance rights, however, are assessed according to the cases in Art. 13 of Law 5510.
Law 5510 Article 13: the five cases counted as occupational accidents
Under the Law 5510 Article 13 definition, an occupational accident is an event that occurs in one of the following cases and renders the insured person physically or mentally disabled immediately or later:
| Clause | Case in the Law | Concrete example |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | While the insured person is at the workplace | Slipping and falling in the changing room before the shift starts; being burned in the canteen |
| (b) | Because of work carried out by the employer; for a self-employed insured person, because of the work they carry out | Being injured while doing installation work at a customer's site |
| (c) | During time spent without doing their actual work because of being sent outside the workplace on duty | An accident on the road or while waiting during a business trip |
| (d) | For a breastfeeding female insured person, during the time set aside for nursing | Being injured on the way to the crèche or in the nursing room during nursing leave |
| (e) | While travelling to and from the place of work in a vehicle provided by the employer | A traffic accident involving the staff shuttle |
The list is exhaustive; for an event to count as an occupational accident, it must fall into at least one of these five cases. Where necessary, the SGK's authorised officers or labour inspectors may carry out an investigation to decide whether an event reported to the Institution counts as an occupational accident.
Time at the workplace: breaks and annexes
Clause (a) is the broadest, because the concept of "workplace" is not limited to the production area. Under Art. 11 of Law 5510 and Art. 2 of Labour Law No. 4857, places attached to the workplace and annexes such as rest, nursing, eating, sleeping, washing, examination and care, physical or vocational training areas, yards and offices, as well as vehicles, also count as part of the workplace.
For this reason, all of the following examples fall within time spent at the workplace:
- A burn or slip in the canteen or tea room during a rest break,
- A fall in the changing room, shower or workplace yard before or after a shift,
- An incident during an examination in the workplace infirmary,
- Being struck by a vehicle while walking in the factory car park.
Under Art. 68 of Law 4857, rest breaks do not count as working time; however, the criterion in Law 5510 is not "working" but "being at the workplace". If the break is spent inside the workplace or its annexes, it falls within clause (a). Situations such as leaving the workplace entirely during a break to go on a personal errand are assessed according to the circumstances of the event; in disputed cases, the final say lies with the SGK and, where necessary, the courts.
Work outside the workplace and accidents on business trips
Work carried out on behalf of the employer
Clause (b) covers situations where the event occurs not at the workplace but elsewhere because of work carried out by the employer. A technician doing installation at a customer's site, an engineer taking measurements on a construction site, a driver delivering products or a sales representative visiting a dealer is protected by this clause. The criterion is not the location of the event but that the work being done is the employer's work.
The same clause also applies to self-employed insured persons working on their own account: an event experienced by a self-employed person, such as a tradesperson or company partner, because of the work they carry out also counts as an occupational accident. For businesses with field teams the practical conclusion is this: the risks at a customer's site are also a subject of your risk assessment, and the rules the team will follow at that site must be known before setting out.
Accidents on business trips
Clause (c) covers an employee being sent outside the workplace on duty and uses the expression "time spent without doing their actual work". This expression is broad enough to cover the journey to the place of duty, transfer and waiting times, and accommodation for the duty. The time during which the actual work is done at the place of duty already falls within clause (b), i.e. an event arising from work carried out by the employer.
Practical recommendations:
- Make the assignment in writing, with the date, route and place of duty specified.
- Decide in advance on the vehicle and driver to be used on the business trip; plan the break pattern on long journeys.
- Make sure teams who will work at a customer's site are aware of the risks and rules at that site.
Is an accident in a staff shuttle an occupational accident?
Yes. Clause (e) explicitly counts an event occurring while travelling to and from the place of work in a vehicle provided by the employer as an occupational accident. Whether the shuttle belongs to the employer or is operated by a shuttle company the employer has contracted does not change this result; what is decisive is that the vehicle is provided by the employer.
Shift shuttles are common in the OIZs (organised industrial zones) of Bursa and the surrounding provinces. Every accident on the shuttle route is therefore both an occupational accident notification and a prevention matter: driver fatigue, vehicle maintenance, seat belt use and the safety of drop-off points should be included in the risk assessment.
Accidents while commuting: own vehicle and public transport
The key expression in clause (e) is "in a vehicle provided by the employer". An accident suffered by an employee while travelling to and from work in their own car, on a motorcycle, by bicycle, on foot or by public transport is not covered by this clause; the text of the Law mentions only a vehicle provided by the employer.
However, another clause may come into play during travel to and from work. For example, if the employer sent the employee directly to a customer's site in the morning without coming to the workplace, that journey may be assessed under (c) as being sent outside the workplace on duty. For this reason, saying "it happened on the way to work" does not by itself determine the outcome; what matters is the purpose of the journey and on whose instruction it was made.
Breastfeeding time and nursing leave
Clause (d) counts as occupational accidents events experienced by a breastfeeding female insured person employed under a contract of service during the time set aside under labour legislation for nursing her child. Under Art. 74 of Law 4857, female employees are given a total of one and a half hours of nursing leave per day to breastfeed children under one year old; the employee herself decides between which hours and in how many parts this time will be used, and it counts as working time. An event that occurs during nursing leave in the workplace's nursing room or on the way to or from the crèche falls within this clause. For other provisions concerning pregnant and breastfeeding employees, see our article on pregnant and breastfeeding employees.
What should the employer do after an accident?
Even if it is not yet clear under which clause the event will be assessed, do not miss the notification deadline; under Art. 14 of Law 6331, the obligation to record and investigate lies with the employer in every case. We described what to do in the first hours, protecting the scene and additional training with a timeline in our article on the first 72 hours after an occupational accident. If the event develops into an illness, see our occupational disease guide for the distinction. For the notification fine and other amounts, you can use our OHS administrative fines tool.
In our OHS specialist service, we investigate the root cause of the accident and also add risks outside the workplace, such as shuttles and business trips, to the risk assessment. For areas with heavy shift shuttle traffic, see our Bursa OSB page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an accident in a staff shuttle an occupational accident?
Yes. Art. 13/e of Law 5510 counts an event occurring while travelling to and from the place of work in a vehicle provided by the employer as an occupational accident. Whether the shuttle belongs to the employer or is operated by a company the employer has contracted does not change the result.
If I have an accident while driving to work in my own car, is it an occupational accident?
An accident while travelling to and from work in your own vehicle or on public transport is not covered by clause (e). However, if the employer sent you to a place of duty without coming to the workplace, the event may be assessed as being sent outside the workplace on duty.
Is an accident in the canteen during a rest break an occupational accident?
Annexes such as the canteen, rest area and changing room count as part of the workplace. For this reason, an event during a break spent at the workplace or its annexes is an occupational accident under the case "while at the workplace".
Is an incident in a hotel during a business trip an occupational accident?
Art. 13/c of Law 5510 also covers time spent without doing their actual work by an employee sent outside the workplace on duty. Travel, waiting and accommodation for the duty fall within this expression; the specific circumstances of the event are assessed separately in the SGK's examination.
Within how many days must I notify an occupational accident?
The police are notified immediately and the SGK within three working days after the accident at the latest. If the accident happened in a place outside the employer's control, the period starts from the date the accident became known.
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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.