Occupational Health and Safety During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic, and New Working Models to Accelerate the Pandemic

In the first part of the project, it is aimed to prepare an OHS employer's guide that can be put into practice immediately in the case of COVID-19 and a similar epidemic. Another aim pursued with the project is to establish a platform-based business relationship on a legal basis with remote working models, which are widely used with the COVID-19 epidemic and are thought to be permanent after the epidemic. It has been concluded that during the COVID-19 epidemic, additional occupational health and safety measures were taken for hygiene and human density in most workplaces. On the other hand, it has been determined that a risk assessment is not made specific to the epidemic, a pandemic committee/representative is not appointed, workplace policies based on gender are not developed to reduce the effects of the epidemic, measures are not taken to prevent social stigma, workers are not informed about the right to abstain from work and the security of their personal data. Similarly, there are special legal problems specific to these working models (determination of working/resting periods, the right to be unreachable, social isolation, taking OHS measures, union rights, etc.) It has been determined that there is a need for regulations that bring solutions. Finally, besides the convenience that the digital platform-based working model brings to our lives, it is concluded that there is a need for legal regulations on the determination of the legal status of the people who make a living through the platforms, ensuring their social security, improving their working conditions, ensuring their health and safety, protecting their personal rights, and securing their right to organize. has been reached. All OHS measures that provide a holistic fight against the epidemic in workplaces should be taken completely and COVID-19 should be added to the list of occupational diseases for healthcare workers. Concepts regarding teleworking models should be clarified, legal arrangements that regulate the rights and obligations of the parties and bring solutions to the problems specific to these models should be made as soon as possible. A digital platform-based employment contract should be defined in the Labor Law, a presumption of labor should be introduced for platform employees, and their social security should be ensured. Platforms should be required to have representatives in Turkey in order to fulfill their legal obligations, and premium incentives should be given to platforms that fulfill these obligations.