Turkey suspended collective mosque prayers until further notice to limit the spread of the new coronavirus while ordering the closure of public spaces including cinemas. The interior ministry said theatres, cinemas, concert halls, restaurants where there is live music, shisha cafes and places serving tea and coffee, night clubs, bars would be closed “temporarily” from midnight on March 16, 2020. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP)
As of March 27, the Government of Turkey has suspended all international passenger flights to and from Turkey and requested airline companies to obtain a flight permit for any planned flight (See Announcement).
Employers must comply with all the measures issued by the Ministry of Health including; not allowing employees to work in the same office with a diagnosed or suspected COVID-19 employee (See Guidelines); cleaning and disinfecting all common closed and open areas regularly (See Guidelines); preventing gatherings of people, including training sessions (except executive activities requiring enforcement) (See Guidelines).
Additionally, employers must comply with all guidelines issued by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and General Directorate of OSH requiring employers to apply effective measures to present and contain the spread of COVID-19, particularly conducting a risk assessment taking into consideration the risk of COVID-19 and updating the workplace emergency plans to include an action plan to be implemented in case of COVID-19 is detected at the workplace (See Guidelines).
Employers at workplaces where manual handling activities are regularly performed must follow the guidance provided by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (See Guidelines). Construction companies must follow similar guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (See Guidelines), this is true for construction sites as well (See Guidelines). Employers at gas stations must instruct employees to wear masks, maintain distance from each other and from customers, avoid touching their faces, and wash hands frequently (See Guidelines).
Until 17 July 2020, all employers are prohibited from terminating the work and services contracts they are a party to, including employment contracts with employees, except in narrow circumstances where the employee or the service provider demonstrates non-compliance with specified work-relation ethics and good faith rules (See Law).
Employers should continue to check with relevant authorities for the latest information:
– Ministry of Health COVID-19 Page
– Turkish Airlines Press Releases