This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at Meslek Hastalığı: Tespit, Bildirim ve Tazminat.
A workplace accident happens in a moment and has witnesses. An occupational disease develops over years — and by the time the person falls ill they have often left the job.
That difference changes everything: how it is established, how it is notified, the time limits, and the proof.
What an Occupational Disease Is
An occupational disease is a temporary or permanent illness or disability arising from the nature of the work the insured person performs, or from the conditions in which it is performed.
It differs from a workplace accident in two respects: there is no sudden event, and the effect accumulates over time. Hearing loss from working in noise, lung disease from dust, skin or respiratory conditions from chemical exposure are typical.
Which illnesses count, and the conditions attaching to each, are listed in the legislation. An illness not on the list can also be recognised, but the causal link must then be separately established.
How It Is Established
An assertion is not enough; it must be established by the Social Security Institution:
- The insured person or the employer applies to the Institution.
- The Institution refers the person to an occupational disease hospital or an authorised health facility.
- A medical board report is issued, determining the connection with the work and any degree of incapacity.
- The Institution's health board decides whether it is an occupational disease.
An adverse decision may be challenged; if the challenge fails, an action for a declaration may be brought in the labour court.
When It Emerges After Leaving
This is the question asked most often, because occupational diseases usually show themselves after the employment has ended.
The statute deals with it through the concept of the liability period: where the illness emerges within a defined period after leaving the work, it still counts as an occupational disease. That period is set separately for each type of illness.
If the period has passed, the right is not lost entirely, but proving the connection with the work becomes harder and the Institution must assess it separately.
For that reason, people in higher-risk work should keep their periodic health reports: old records showing the course of the illness become the strongest evidence in any later file.
The Duty to Notify
The employer must notify the Institution within the statutory period of learning of the occupational disease. Failure attracts an administrative fine and may result in the Institution recovering its payments from the employer.
The employer's failure does not remove the insured person's rights: they may apply to the Institution directly.
The employer also has occupational health and safety duties — carrying out risk assessment, providing protective equipment, running periodic health screening. Breach of those duties is at the centre of the assessment of fault in a compensation claim.
What Rights Arise
From the Institution: treatment costs, temporary incapacity benefit, permanent incapacity income, and income for dependants on death.
Against the employer: pecuniary damages for losses the Institution does not cover, loss of earnings from reduced working capacity, and non-pecuniary damages. Close relatives may also claim non-pecuniary damages.
The employer's liability rests on fault; but because the health and safety duties are wide, proving the absence of fault is not easy. The apportionment of fault in the expert report drives the amount of the award.
Time Limits and Documents
The limitation period for compensation claims runs from the point at which the loss and the person responsible became known. The critical point is this: that moment is usually the date the final report was served, not the date the first symptoms appeared.
Documents to file:
- The Institution's decision establishing the disease and the medical board report
- The employment history and the list of workplaces
- The workplace risk assessment and any environmental measurement reports
- Periodic health examination records
- Treatment records and expense invoices
Mediation is generally a condition of the action in employment disputes; but claims for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages arising from workplace accidents and occupational diseases fall outside it and may be brought directly.
These cases are usually decided on records built up over time. The pre-employment examination, periodic screening results and the hospital records of the first complaints are the strongest evidence of the connection with the work.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does an occupational disease differ from a workplace accident?
An accident happens in a moment; a disease develops over time. That changes the method of establishing it, the notification periods and the proof.
I fell ill after leaving the job. Do I still have a claim?
If it emerged within the liability period set for that illness, it counts as an occupational disease. If the period has passed, the connection with the work must be separately proved.
Is mediation compulsory for these claims?
No. Claims for damages arising from workplace accidents and occupational diseases are outside compulsory mediation.
The Institution rejected my application. What can I do?
Challenge the decision and, if that fails, bring an action for a declaration in the labour court.
When does the limitation period start?
When the loss and the person responsible become known — in practice usually the date the final medical report was served.