Employment Law Series · 4 of 8
Textile production combines machinery, chemicals, dust, noise, repetitive movements and fire hazards. Occupational health and safety is a practical prevention duty, not just a file of signed documents. Breaches can lead to administrative, civil or criminal consequences where the relevant conditions are met.
Law No. 6331 has broad public- and private-sector coverage, including apprentices and trainees, but contains express exceptions. An ordinary textile workshop employing even one worker is not generally exempt merely because it is small. A self-employed person with no employees requires a different scope assessment.
1. Hazard classification
Workplaces are classified as less hazardous, hazardous or very hazardous under the current classification communiqué. The principal activity actually performed is decisive; the NACE code and registration must correctly reflect it. Weaving, clothing manufacture, dyeing and finishing should not all be assigned the same class just because they belong to textiles.
Check the exact activity, current six-digit code and classification list. A wrongly registered low-risk code does not remove duties arising from the true operation. The class and employee count affect professional service requirements and other measures.
2. Risk assessment
Article 10 requires the employer to carry out or arrange risk assessment. It is a continuing process supported by a workplace-specific document, rather than a generic template purchased once.
- Identify hazards, including machinery, substances, work organisation and affected groups.
- Assess the likelihood and severity of harm.
- Choose preventive controls, prioritising elimination and collective protection over personal protective equipment alone.
- Document responsibilities, measures and implementation.
- Review at the legally required intervals and when changes or events trigger reassessment.
Relocation, equipment or method changes, accidents, occupational disease and new information can require partial or full renewal according to the regulation. Having a document does not excuse failure to implement its measures.
3. Safety professionals and health surveillance
Article 6 requires the appropriate assignment or procurement of qualified safety and occupational-health services. Where suitable personnel are unavailable, authorised external service options include joint health and safety units (OSGB) and authorised employee-health centres (ÇASMER) under the current framework. An employer personally holding the required qualifications may undertake the applicable tasks.
There is also a conditional route for employers or representatives in less-hazardous workplaces with fewer than fifty employees who complete the prescribed training. It excludes entry and periodic medical examinations and tests; it is not a blanket exemption for every small textile factory. Check actual classification, qualifications, service duration and authorised assignment. Outsourcing does not remove the employer's responsibility.
Health surveillance applies at the statutory stages, including entry and relevant changes. Workers in hazardous or very hazardous jobs cannot start without a report confirming fitness for that work. Different rules identify who may issue reports for qualifying small, less-hazardous workplaces. Health costs cannot be passed to workers and medical information must remain confidential.
The employer must also arrange trained and suitably equipped support personnel for first aid, fire response and evacuation in the required numbers. Workplace representatives, coordination and a safety committee where its conditions apply must not be overlooked.
4. Training
Under Article 17, training is provided before work begins and when the job, workplace, equipment or technology changes. It is adapted to new risks and repeated as required. Additional training applies after occupational accidents or disease; refresher requirements also address prolonged absence.
Document the actual training, content, duration, trainer and participation according to the current regulation and delivery method. A signature alone does not prove effective instruction. Required training is at the employer's expense, counts as working time and may engage additional-hour rules if it exceeds weekly hours. Missing training may affect fault assessment, but no fixed fault percentage follows automatically.
5. Textile risks and prevention
- Machinery: guards, emergency stops, safe maintenance procedures and inspection records for sewing, cutting, knitting and weaving equipment.
- Chemicals: safety data sheets, substitution where feasible, proper storage, ventilation, exposure controls and suitable protection.
- Dust: assessment and required measurements, effective extraction and cleaning, and appropriate health surveillance.
- Noise: evaluate and measure exposure; implement technical and organisational controls and hearing protection under the relevant thresholds.
- Ergonomics: suitable workstations, seating, lifting arrangements and rest planning for repetitive work.
- Fire: assess fabric, fibre and chemical storage; keep escape routes usable and provide the detection, suppression and emergency arrangements required for the actual building and activity. Not every workplace has identical equipment obligations.
6. Employee rights and duties
Under Article 13, workers facing serious and imminent danger can request a determination and preventive measures from the safety committee, or the employer where there is no committee. The body must decide promptly and document the decision. Where the request is upheld, workers may refrain from working until measures are taken, preserving pay and other rights.
Where serious and imminent danger is unavoidable, workers need not wait for that procedure before leaving the workplace or hazardous area for the designated safe place. Their rights cannot be restricted for doing so. Failure to take requested measures may also give rise to termination rights under the applicable law; the conditions must be examined separately.
Workers must follow lawful training and safety instructions, use equipment and protective devices correctly, avoid endangering others and report hazards. Their duties do not transfer the employer's prevention responsibility to them.
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Official sources
Law No. 6331: Articles 2, 4, 6, 9–13, 15–19 and 22. Ministry of Labour guidance. Applicable risk assessment, training, service and hazard-classification regulations must be read for the actual workplace.
Reviewed on 27 October 2026. General information about Turkish law; technical measures require competent workplace-specific assessment. Turkish statutory texts govern.