Employer duties

How many people must an emergency team have?

For each of the firefighting, rescue and protection teams, at least one support member is assigned per 30 employees in a highly hazardous workplace, per 40 in a hazardous one and per 50 in a low hazard one. First aiders are counted separately: one per 10, 15 and 20 employees. Below ten employees the three teams may be combined.

Four teams, two separate ratios

Article 11 of the Regulation on Emergency Situations in Workplaces defines four teams: firefighting, rescue, protection and first aid. The first three share one ratio; the first aid team follows another.

Hazard classFirefighting / rescue / protection (each)First aiders
Low hazard1 support member per 50 employees1 per 20 employees
Hazardous1 support member per 40 employees1 per 15 employees
Highly hazardous1 support member per 30 employees1 per 10 employees

Multiples of 30, 40 and 50 are included when the assignment is made. The first-aider ratios come from Article 19 of the First Aid Regulation.

Rounding

Where the article says “up to”, the count is rounded up: in a hazardous workplace with 41 employees, 41 ÷ 40 = 1.03 → 2 support members. For first aiders in the low hazard class the regulation says “for every 20 employees” and is silent on the remainder; the calculator rounds up there too and states its reason under the result.

Example: a hazardous site with 120 employees

  • Firefighting team: 120 ÷ 40 = 3 people
  • Rescue team: 3 people
  • Protection team: 3 people
  • First aid team: 120 ÷ 15 = 8 people
  • Total: 17 people

Workplaces with fewer than ten employees

In workplaces with fewer than ten employees it is enough to assign at least one specially trained employee, suitably equipped, as support member for the whole of the firefighting, rescue and protection teams and for keeping contact with national and local emergency bodies. The first-aider count is still taken from its own ratio.

Keeping the assignment alive

  • Support members and their reserves are chosen with the shift pattern in mind.
  • Every team has a team leader, and a person responsible for the protection team coordinates between teams.
  • A list with the name, title, area of responsibility and contact details of each support member is posted visibly at the workplace.
  • When a support member leaves or moves, a replacement is assigned.

Drills, plans and certificate periods

A drill is held at least once a year, mining workplaces being subject to their own regulation. Emergency plans are renewed at most every two, four and six years in highly hazardous, hazardous and low hazard workplaces respectively. A first-aider certificate is valid for three years, and refresher training must be taken within the three months before it expires. First aid training lasts 16 hours.

The fine for missing teams

Failing to identify emergency situations, to take measures, to prepare the plan, to assign support members and to provide equipment starts at TRY 22,194 for each duty in the 2026 tables and repeats every month while the breach continues.

Work out your own figures with the emergency team calculator and read the amounts in the penalty tables.

Manage this in Optifora

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