This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at İş Kazası: Bildirim, Tazminat ve İşverenin Sorumluluğu.
A workplace accident is not only something that happens on the premises: events occurring because of the work carried on by the employer, while the employee is sent elsewhere on duty, and during travel to and from work in transport provided by the employer, all count (Act No. 5510, art. 13). The notification periods are short — the employer must notify the Social Security Institution within three working days.
Workplace accidents carry the heaviest legal consequences of any employment event, and the loss on the employee's side usually comes from not knowing how the process works. This guide covers what qualifies, the notification periods, the heads of compensation and the ten-year limitation period.
What Counts as a Workplace Accident
Article 13 of Act No. 5510 defines it broadly. It covers an event occurring:
- while the insured person is at the workplace;
- because of the work being carried on by the employer, or — for a self-employed insured person — because of the work they carry on;
- while an employee is sent elsewhere on duty, during time spent away from their main work;
- during the time allowed to a nursing mother to feed her child;
- during travel to and from the place of work in transport provided by the employer.
The definition is therefore not limited by the physical boundaries of the workplace. An accident in the company shuttle, an incident in another city while on duty, and a heart attack suffered at work can all fall within it.
What is required is that the event arose from a sudden external cause and that the insured person suffered physical or mental harm.
Notification Periods
Employer's notification. The employer must notify the police immediately and the Social Security Institution within three working days of the accident.
Failure to notify carries an administrative fine and may also result in the Institution recovering from the employer the temporary incapacity benefit paid up to the date of notification.
Employee's notification. If the employer does not notify, the employee may notify the Institution directly. An employer declining to report an event as a workplace accident is a common problem in practice.
The route is then clear: an action in the labour court for a declaration that the event was a workplace accident. That declaration is the precondition for every other right.
What to do at the time: when you present at hospital, state that this was a workplace accident — the record matters; photograph the scene; take the witnesses' details; and ask for a police report to be drawn up.
| Point | Period / scope |
|---|---|
| Employer's notification to the police | Immediately |
| Employer's notification to the Social Security Institution | Within 3 working days |
| Insured person's own notification | 3 working days, where the employer has not notified |
| Temporary incapacity benefit | Paid by the Institution |
| Permanent incapacity income | By reference to the loss of earning capacity |
| Income for dependants on death | Spouse, children, parents |
| Compensation claim | Labour court |
| Mediation | Not a condition of the action for accident compensation |
Payments made by the Institution are set off against compensation; non-pecuniary damages are not subject to that set-off.
What Social Security Provides
- Temporary incapacity benefit for the period of medical rest;
- Permanent incapacity income where the loss of earning capacity in the occupation is at least ten per cent;
- Income for dependants and a funeral benefit on death;
- health services, and the cost of prostheses and equipment.
These benefits are independent of a compensation claim against the employer — but they are set off in the calculation. The capitalised value of the income awarded is deducted from the pecuniary damages.
For that reason the petition should ask the court to obtain the Institution's file.
Bringing a Compensation Claim
The employer's liability rests on its occupational health and safety duties. Act No. 6331 imposes wide obligations: to carry out risk assessment, to provide training, to supply personal protective equipment and to supervise.
The heads of compensation are:
- Pecuniary damages for permanent incapacity, calculated on the disability rate, age, wage and life expectancy tables;
- losses suffered during the period of temporary incapacity;
- treatment and care costs;
- non-pecuniary damages, for the employee and, in cases of serious bodily harm, for close relatives;
- on death, damages for loss of financial support and funeral expenses.
The apportionment of fault is decisive. The court obtains an expert report on fault from a panel including an occupational safety specialist. Where the employee is at fault the damages are reduced — but because the employer owes duties to instruct and supervise, the employee's share is usually limited.
The disability rate is established by a report from the Council of Forensic Medicine or a university hospital.
The Limitation Period
Compensation claims arising from a workplace accident are treated as claims for breach of contract and are subject to a ten-year limitation period, running as a rule from the date the loss became known.
Where the event also constitutes an offence — negligent injury or negligent killing — the longer criminal limitation period may apply.
One procedural point matters: claims for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages arising from workplace accidents and occupational diseases fall outside compulsory mediation. The action is brought directly in the labour court.
Because the sum cannot be fixed at the outset, the usual method is to bring a partial claim and then, after the expert report, make a single increase of the claim under art. 109/4 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
The Institution's right of recourse should also be kept in mind: it may recover from the employer, in proportion to fault, what it has paid to the insured person.
The most critical moment in these files is the first hospital presentation: state that the event was a workplace accident and make sure it goes on the record. If the employer does not notify, you can notify the Institution yourself and, if necessary, bring an action for a declaration that it was a workplace accident. Mediation is not a condition of these actions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an accident in the company shuttle a workplace accident?
Yes. Events during travel to and from the place of work in transport provided by the employer count as workplace accidents.
What if my employer does not report it?
You may notify the Social Security Institution directly and, if necessary, bring an action in the labour court for a declaration that the event was a workplace accident.
What is the notification period?
The employer must notify the police immediately and the Institution within three working days of the accident.
I receive an income from social security. Can I also claim compensation?
Yes. The claim is independent of the benefits, but the capitalised value of the income awarded is set off against the pecuniary damages.
What is the limitation period?
Ten years as a rule. Where the event constitutes an offence, the longer criminal limitation period may apply.