Are pre-employment and periodic medical examinations required for workers in Turkmenistan?

Yes, for defined groups of workers. Article 187 of the Labour Code of Turkmenistan requires the employer to organise, at its own expense, pre-employment examinations when the employment contract is concluded and periodic examinations during employment for minors, older workers, persons with disabilities, workers in adverse conditions, night and transport work, public-facing sectors and education, and others named by law. Workers with medical contraindications may not be employed on that work.

Short answer

• Who must be examined (Article 187(1)):
• workers under 18;
• men aged 62 and over and women aged 57 and over;
• persons with disabilities;
• workers in adverse working conditions, night work and work connected with the movement of transport;
• workers in health care and the medical industry, the food industry, trade and other sectors directly serving the public;
• teachers and other staff of schools, pre-school and other institutions directly teaching or caring for children;
• other workers named by legislation.
• When: before the employment contract (pre-employment) and periodically during work; the compulsory examinations of these groups are described as annual (Article 187(7)).
• Who pays: the employer; workers bear no cost, and examinations are done in working time with average pay kept (Articles 178(10) and 187(6), (7)).
• Fitness: the employer must not admit workers without the required examination or with contraindications (Articles 178(11) and 187(4)).
• Refusal: workers in these groups may not evade examinations; the employer may keep a worker off work who evades them or ignores the medical commission's recommendations (Article 187(3)).
• Extra examinations: a worker may demand an extraordinary examination if the work seems to harm health (Articles 173(10) and 187(5)).
• Sanction: failing to provide pre-employment and periodic medical examinations is listed as an administrative offence in Article 305 of the Code of Administrative Offences (2013 text).

Who decides the details

Article 187(2) leaves the list of adverse working conditions and other work requiring examinations, and the procedure for the examinations, to separate legislation. These are matters for the health authorities (the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry) and sector rules; the examinations themselves are carried out by medical commissions (Article 187(3) refers to their recommendations). We could not open the current list and procedure, so the specific tests for each exposure (for example audiometry for noise or lung function for dust) and any intervals other than annual must be confirmed with the health authorities or the examining clinic.

Workers also have a right to know the results of their pre-employment and periodic examinations (Article 187(5)). If a worker's health deteriorates because of working conditions, the employer must offer suitable work according to the medical conclusion or retraining with average pay (Articles 174(10) and 195).

On hazardous production facilities, the operator must admit to work only people who meet the qualification requirements and have no medical contraindications (Industrial Safety Law Article 10(1)(7)).

Applying it on a project

Common mistakes

• Charging workers for examinations. Article 187(6) puts all costs on the employer.
• Scheduling examinations on days off without pay. The compulsory annual examinations are in working time with average pay.
• Accepting a medical certificate from another country without checking. Confirm with the health authorities whether foreign results are accepted for the Turkmen examination.

Related on excodex

• Occupational safety and health in Turkmenistan: law, authorities and employer duties
• Must an employer in Turkmenistan appoint a safety professional or an occupational physician?
• What OSH training must employers provide to workers in Turkmenistan?

Standards and further reading

• Labour Code of Turkmenistan, Law No. 29-IV of 18 April 2009, Articles 173, 174, 178, 187, 195 (FAOLEX consolidated Russian translation): https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/tuk243144.pdf
• Law No. 495-V on Industrial Safety of Hazardous Production Facilities, 4 February 2017, Article 10: https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/tuk184581.pdf
• Code of Administrative Offences of Turkmenistan, 29 August 2013, Article 305 (WIPO Lex record): https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/legislation/details/13824

This article is general occupational safety and health information prepared by the excodex editorial team. It does not replace the applicable legislation, standards, manufacturers' instructions or the assessment of a competent OSH professional or occupational physician.