Turkish Labor Law
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Gradually increasing unfortunate industrial accidents have made the safety of workplaces a current issue in the country, and important changes under way in the field of Occupational Health and Safety.
The Draft on “Amending the Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331” had been submitted to Grand National Assembly of Turkey after discussions in the parliamentary committee on September 2014, and is expected to come into force in the upcoming days. The high point of the Draft is provisions aimed to ensure workers’ complete abidance to their obligations laid down in the above mentioned Law No. 6331
Additional Paragraph
Violation of Occupational Safety by employee will be deemed a just cause on behalf of Employer to terminate the contract. Employer might, after 3 written warnings, dismiss the worker without a severance pay if violation is repeated.
With Article 2 of the Draft the following paragraph has been added to Law No. 6331 as paragraph (3)
“(3) despite written warnings, violation of the obligations stipulated in this article by employees working under an employment contract provides a just cause on behalf of employer to terminate the employment contract in accordance with Article 25 of the Labor Act No. 4857.”
3 Warnings are Needed
For terminating the employee’s contract in line with the above mentioned additional paragraph (3), employee should be warned at least 3 times. Accordingly, in case of employee’s not using personal protective equipment, removing the safety devices fitted to machinery and apparatus, violating the rules of occupational safety employer will be entitled to break the employment contract after 3 warnings of such conducts.
Pursuant to Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331, Article 19 under the title of Workers’ Obligations;
“ARTICLE 19 – (1) Employees are obliged to take care of their own safety and health and that of other employees affected by their acts or doings at work in line with their training and the instructions related to occupational health and safety given by employer.
(2) Employees’ obligations, in accordance with their training and the instructions given by their employer are as follows:
a) make proper use of machinery, apparatus, tools, hazardous material, transport equipment and other means of production; use safety devices fitted to such instruments correctly and refrain from changing or removing them arbitrarily,
b) protect and make correct use of the personal protective equipment supplied to them,
c) immediately inform the employer or the workers’ representative in case of encountering a serious and immediate danger to safety and health in the machinery, apparatus, tools, facilities and buildings, or of observing any shortness in the measures of precaution,
d) cooperate with the employer or workers’ representative to resolve any deficiency or infringement of rules in workplace detected by the competent authority of inspection,
e) cooperate with the employer or workers’ representative to ensure occupational health and safety of employees within their field of activity.”
Upon enactment of the Draft, violation of the provisions laid dawn in Article 19 by employee despite written warnings can be used as a just cause to terminate the employment contract by employer in accordance with Article 25 of the Labor Act No. 4857.
Source: Datassist
