The responsibilities and obligations of office physician under the provisions of the law no.6331.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the responsibilities and musts of health specialists in context of The Law of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) (Act No. 6331). The occupational health and safety is crucial for both employers and employees. It is considered that the occupational health and safety is an indicator to understand the wealth of the countries. The new Law of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), which was entered into force in 2012, imposes new duties and responsibilities on public administrations and private sectors. Forming completeness with previous laws and regulation regarding OHS, the new law establishes a regulatory framework that has yielded remarkable results. In Turkey, it has taken a long time to develop a concept of occupational health specialists. The profession of occupational health specialist attained a legal status as a job through a series of regulations after long-termed discussions regarding its composition. Consequently, critical duties and responsibilities of OHS services, which have a great importance for labor force, have been entrusted to occupational health specialists. Besides their medical profession, occupational specialists are also trained on occupational health and safety. Therefore, they have critical roles to sustain OHS in working places. Turkey has had legislative, institutional and practical experiences on OHS for more than 80 years. Nevertheless, it failed to meet standards and norms of European Union due to inadequate content of the legislation before the Act #6331 and negative impacts of repeals by judicial bodies. The Law of Occupational Health and Safety does not only gives occupational health specialists significant duties and responsibilities but also intends to improve working conditions of labor force and secure their health and physical integrity by imposing various obligations on employers.