Who is an administrative fine addressed to?

Question

Accepted Answer

Law 6331 places the duties on the employer, and the administrative fine is addressed to the employer. A representative acting for the employer and taking part in running the work is subject to the same duties. Buying in safety expertise or consultancy does not remove the employer's responsibility; the provider's own responsibility arises separately. Where the duty sits The law places occupational health and safety duties on the employer : having the risk assessment carried out, taking the measures, providing training, arranging health surveillance. That is why administrative fines are addressed to the employer. The employer's representative A person acting on the employer's behalf and taking part in managing the work and the workplace counts as the employer for these duties. Responsibility does not sit only at the very top of the org chart; whoever actually manages is within scope. Buying a service does not transfer it Engaging an external safety specialist, occupational physician or joint health and safety unit is a way of discharging the duty, not of transferring it. The provider has their own professional responsibility; neither cancels the other. Contractor relationships Where several employers work at one site, each is responsible for their own workers, and duties of coordination and mutual information arise on top. Saying “that is the contractor's work” does not remove the principal employer's duty to coordinate. What makes a penalty large Amounts are revalued each year, and some items apply per worker or for every month the breach continues . Those two multipliers make a single item far larger than it looks in the table.

Obligation	Legal basis	How the page covers it
An administrative fine is imposed on the employer who fails to fulfil the obligations listed in the Law, and the fine applies separately for each obligation.	Law No. 6331, art. 26(1)	Where the duty sits: the Law places the duties on the employer, which is why the employer is the addressee of the fines.
Enlisting competent persons or organisations from outside the workplace does not remove the employer's responsibilities.	Law No. 6331, art. 4(2)	Buying in a service does not transfer the duty: it is a way of meeting the obligation, not of handing it over.
The obligations of workers in the field of occupational health and safety do not affect the employer's responsibilities.	Law No. 6331, art. 4(3)	Where the duty sits: the location of responsibility does not shift with whose hand the breach came from.
Where more than one employer shares the same working area, the employers must cooperate, coordinate their work and inform one another of the risks.	Law No. 6331, art. 23(1)	Subcontractor relationship: calling it 'the contractor's job' does not remove the principal employer's coordination duty.
An employer that fails to assign an OHS specialist or occupational physician is fined separately for each person not assigned and for every month the breach continues.	Law No. 6331, art. 26(1)(b)	What drives the size of the fine: some items apply per worker or for every month the breach continues.
The person acting on the employer's behalf and taking part in the management of the work, the workplace and the undertaking carries the same responsibility	Labour Act No. 4857, art. 2 — those acting on the employer's behalf and taking part in the management of the work, the workplace and the undertaking are called the employer's representative; every kind of responsibility and obligation laid down in this Act for the employer also applies to the employer's representative. The employer is directly liable for the acts and obligations of the employer's representative towards the workers in that capacity.	The “Employer's representative” section on this page says exactly that: responsibility does not sit only at the top of the org chart — whoever actually manages the work and the workplace is within scope.

Obligation	Legal basis	How the page covers it
The employer shall have a duty to ensure the safety and health of workers in every aspect related to the work.	Directive 89/391/EEC, art. 5(1)	Where the duty sits: having the risk assessment done, taking the measures, delivering training, providing health surveillance.
Where an employer enlists competent external services or persons, this shall not discharge him from his responsibilities in this area.	Directive 89/391/EEC, art. 5(2)	Buying in a service does not transfer the duty: the provider has its own professional liability, and the two do not cancel each other out.
The workers' obligations in the field of safety and health at work shall not affect the principle of the responsibility of the employer.	Directive 89/391/EEC, art. 5(3)	Where the duty sits: responsibility is not only at the top of the org chart, and it does not pass down to the worker either.
Where several undertakings share a work place, the employers shall cooperate in implementing the safety, health and occupational hygiene provisions, coordinate their actions and inform one another and their workers' representatives of these risks.	Directive 89/391/EEC, art. 6(4)	Subcontractor relationship: each is responsible for its own workers, and a duty of coordination and mutual information arises on top of that.

Obligation	Legal basis	How the page covers it
Where an offence committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or attributable to neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or similar officer, that person as well as the body corporate is guilty of the offence.	Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, s. 37(1)	Responsibility is not only at the very top of the title chain; the person who actually manages is in scope too.
Where two or more employers share a workplace, each must cooperate with the others, coordinate the measures taken and inform them of the risks arising from the conduct of the undertaking.	Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, reg. 11(1)	Subcontractor relationship: where more than one employer is on the same site, coordination and mutual information become duties.

Obligation	Legal basis	How the page covers it
Each employer shall furnish employment and a place of employment free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm, and shall comply with occupational safety and health standards promulgated under the Act.	29 U.S.C. 654(a)(1)-(2)	Where the duty sits: the duty is placed on the employer.
An employer who violates the requirements of section 654 may be assessed a civil penalty; a higher ceiling applies to wilful or repeated violations and a separate amount to serious violations.	29 U.S.C. 666(a) and 666(b)	Where the duty sits: the employer is the addressee of the penalty.
The prime contractor and subcontractors may make their own jobsite arrangements, but in no case is the prime contractor relieved of overall responsibility for compliance, and prime and subcontractor are deemed to have joint responsibility.	29 CFR 1926.16(a) and 1926.16(c)	Subcontractor relationship: calling it 'the contractor's job' does not remove the principal's coordination duty.

Who is an administrative fine addressed to?

Where the duty sits

The employer's representative

Buying a service does not transfer it

Contractor relationships

What makes a penalty large

Legal basis

Türkiye — obligations and their legal basis

European Union — obligations and their legal basis

United Kingdom — obligations and their legal basis

United States — obligations and their legal basis

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Who is an administrative fine addressed to?

Where the duty sits

The employer's representative

Buying a service does not transfer it

Contractor relationships

What makes a penalty large

Related answers

Legal basis

Türkiye — obligations and their legal basis

European Union — obligations and their legal basis

United Kingdom — obligations and their legal basis

United States — obligations and their legal basis

Manage this in Optifora