The pre-employment health report documents that an employee is medically fit for the job they will perform, and it is issued by the occupational physician. Its legal basis is Article 15 of Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331. The article obliges the employer to keep employees under health surveillance and to arrange examinations at hiring, on job changes, on request after absence due to an occupational accident or disease, and at regular intervals.
This article clarifies the three points employers most often confuse. Who may issue the report, which tests are requested and when the report is renewed.
Who issues the report?
The law is clear. Employees who will work in hazardous and very hazardous jobs cannot start work without a health report confirming they are fit for the job, and these reports are obtained from the occupational physician. The only exception is low hazard workplaces with fewer than 50 employees, where the report may also be obtained from public health providers or family physicians.
In practice this means that a general health certificate from a hospital does not replace the pre-employment report for a factory, construction site or workshop. The report must carry the signature of the occupational physician who knows the workplace hazards and evaluates the employee's job. The format is not free either. The EK-2 Pre-Employment and Periodic Examination Form annexed to the regulation on occupational physicians and other health personnel is used.
Which tests are requested?
The law does not list tests. It leaves the decision to the occupational physician, who evaluates the job and the exposures involved. The most common set in the field consists of four tests. Chest X-ray, audiometry, pulmonary function test and complete blood count. The scope widens with exposure.
- Audiometry leads in noisy jobs, chest X-ray and pulmonary function testing in dusty jobs.
- Chemical and heavy metal exposure calls for biological monitoring in blood and urine.
- Food jobs add hygiene screening, work at height adds ECG and eye examination.
- Display screen work adds vision screening, and drivers are tested for vision and hearing.
How long is the report valid?
The legislation defines no separate validity period for the pre-employment report. Renewal follows the periodic examination rule and depends on the hazard class. At least every five years in the low hazard class, every three years in the hazardous class and every year in the very hazardous class. The occupational physician may shorten these intervals.
- A new examination is required when the employee moves to a different job or a department with different exposures.
- After an occupational accident or disease, an examination is performed on return to work at the employee's request.
- A report obtained at another workplace is not automatically valid, because it does not cover the hazards of the new workplace.
Confidentiality and retention
Examination results are the employee's personal health data. The employer sees only the conclusion of fit, fit with conditions or unfit, while the medical findings stay with the occupational physician. Personal health files are kept for at least 15 years after the employee leaves. For work with carcinogens and mutagens the period rises to 40 years.
How does the process run at the workplace?
Sending employees to a hospital one by one during mass hiring or periodic rounds costs working days. The mobile health unit completes all tests at the workplace and delivers the results as a file ready for the occupational physician's EK-2 assessment. Single pre-employment examinations are also available by appointment at our fixed centre in Ankara.
Share your headcount and hazard class and we send the test scope and schedule in writing the same business day.