Employment Law

A fixed-term employment contract may only be concluded for fixed-term work or where objective conditions exist, such as the completion of a specific job or the occurrence of a specific event. Absent an essential reason, such contracts may not be made successively more than once.

Contracts concluded successively without an essential reason are treated as contracts of indefinite duration from the outset. This results in the employee benefiting from job security provisions and notice pay.

The prohibition of discrimination applies to fixed-term contracts. An employee may not be treated differently from a comparable employee working under a contract of indefinite duration; entitlements tied to duration are paid in proportion to the period worked.

A non-compete clause is valid provided the employee has access to the customer base or production secrets and the use of that information could cause significant harm to the employer. The contract must be in writing, and the employee must have capacity to act.

The restriction must be limited as to place, duration and subject matter. Restrictions that are unlimited or that jeopardize the employee's economic future in a manner contrary to equity are invalid. The judge may limit an excessive restriction.

The non-compete obligation ends if the employer terminates the contract without just cause, or if the employee terminates it for just cause attributable to the employer.

The principal employer is jointly liable with the subcontractor, in relation to that workplace, for the subcontractor's employees' obligations arising from the Labour Act, the employment contract, or a collective bargaining agreement to which the subcontractor is a party.

This liability is joint and several; the employee may claim the entire amount owed from the principal employer. The principal employer may then seek recourse against the subcontractor for the amount paid.

In a collusive subcontractor relationship, the consequence is more severe. If the relationship is found to be collusive, the subcontractor's employees are deemed to have been the principal employer's employees from the outset, and all entitlements are calculated accordingly.

To become entitled to annual paid leave, an employee must have worked for the same employer, at one or several workplaces, for at least one year. The probationary period is included in this calculation. Leave periods increase with seniority, and the periods set out in law are minimums that may be increased by contract.

The right to leave cannot be waived. Paying wages in lieu of leave while the employee continues working is not legally valid; the leave must actually be taken. Leave that is not granted continues to accrue.

When the employment contract ends, the wage for unused leave periods is paid based on the last wage. This claim becomes due upon termination, and the limitation period begins to run from the date of termination.

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Under Article 17 of the Labour Act No. 4857, the other party must be notified before an employment contract of indefinite duration is terminated. The periods vary by seniority: two weeks for an employee with less than six months of service, four weeks for six months to one and a half years, six weeks for one and a half to three years, and eight weeks for more than three years of service.

These periods are minimums and may be increased by contract; they may not be reduced. A party who fails to observe the notice period must pay notice pay equal to the wage for that period. The obligation runs both ways; an employee who resigns without observing the notice period is likewise liable for compensation.

The employee must be granted job-seeking leave during the notice period. This leave must be at least two hours per day, and the wage for it may not be withheld.

Severance pay requires at least one year of service and termination of the contract on one of the grounds listed in the law. These grounds include termination by the employer without just cause, termination by the employee for just cause, military service, retirement, termination by a female employee due to marriage within one year, and the employee's death.

Resignation as a rule does not give rise to a right to severance pay. However, where a resignation is in fact a disguised termination, the true reason must be investigated; a termination may be based on just cause in situations such as non-payment of wages or a fundamental change to working conditions.

Severance pay is calculated on the basis of thirty days of gross wage including regular benefits for each full year worked. Periods of less than a full year are pro-rated. Continuing payments such as bonuses, transport and meal allowances are included in the calculation.

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Article 24 of the Labour Act sets out, under three headings, the circumstances giving the employee the right to terminate immediately: health reasons, conduct contrary to morality and good faith, and compelling reasons.

Non-payment of wages, overtime pay or social security premiums, insults or harassment by the employer toward the employee, and a fundamental change to working conditions to the employee's detriment fall within this scope.

In the case of conduct contrary to morality and good faith, the right to terminate must be exercised within six working days of learning of the event and in any case within one year of its occurrence. A termination made after this period has passed is treated as a termination without just cause.

Article 25 of the Labour Act also grants the employer the right to terminate immediately. This covers health reasons, conduct contrary to morality and good faith, compelling reasons, and cases where the employee is detained or arrested and the resulting absence exceeds the notice period.

Unauthorized absence from work without just cause, abuse of the employer's trust, theft, committing an offense at the workplace, and endangering workplace safety are the grounds most commonly relied upon.

The six working day limitation period also applies to this type of termination. In addition, obtaining the employee's defence, particularly in terminations based on conduct, is decisive for the validity of the termination.

Reinstatement requires that the employee fall within the scope of job security protection. This requires that thirty or more employees work at the workplace, that the employee has at least six months of seniority, and that the employee works under a contract of indefinite duration. Persons in the position of the employer's representative fall outside this scope.

The reason for termination must be stated clearly and in writing in the notice of termination. A termination for which no reason is given, or which is not based on a valid reason, is invalid. In terminations based on performance or conduct, failure to obtain the employee's defence is by itself a ground of invalidity.

The process begins with mandatory mediation. If no agreement is reached, an action must be filed in the labour court within the period set by law, starting from the date of the final mediation record. These periods are short and are limitation periods that extinguish the right if missed.

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If the court rules that the termination is invalid, the employee must apply to the employer to start work within ten working days of notification of the decision. If the employee fails to apply, the termination becomes valid and only the right to severance pay and notice pay remains.

If the employer does not reinstate the employee within one month of the application, the employer must pay reinstatement compensation as determined by the court. This compensation amounts to between four and eight months of the employee's wage.

In addition, the employee is paid the wages and other entitlements accrued for up to four months for the period during which they were not employed until the decision becomes final. This claim arises whether or not the employee is ultimately reinstated.

Work exceeding forty five hours per week is considered overtime. For each hour of overtime, fifty percent above the normal hourly wage is paid. At the employee's request, time off may be granted instead of pay.

The employee's written consent is required for overtime work, and the total annual duration is limited by law. Exceeding this limit does not remove the right to payment.

Timekeeping records, entry and exit logs, workplace camera footage and witness statements are used as evidence. If the employer keeps no records, witness testimony is relied upon; however, in such cases courts generally apply a reasonable reduction to the calculated amount.

An employee whose wages remain unpaid for twenty days from the payment date, absent a compelling reason, may refrain from performing their work obligation. This refusal, even if carried out collectively, is not treated as a strike, and the employment contracts may not be terminated on that ground.

The employee may also treat the non-payment of wages as a ground for termination for just cause and thereby become entitled to severance pay. Notifying the employer of the situation in writing before terminating is important for purposes of proof.

The highest interest rate applied to deposits is applied to the overdue wage. This is a higher rate than the general default interest rate and must be specifically requested.

The limitation period for claims for severance pay, notice pay, bad-faith compensation and annual leave pay is five years. This period runs from the date the employment contract ended.

Claims for wages, overtime, weekly rest and public holiday pay are likewise subject to a five year limitation period; however, for these claims the period begins to run separately from the date each payment became due.

The limitation period is not applied by the judge of the court's own motion; the defendant must raise it as a defence. For this reason, the status of the oldest period's claims should be assessed from the outset when filing the action.

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An occupational accident must be reported by the employer to the Social Security Institution within three working days of the accident. A report must also be made to the police. Failure to make these notifications is assessed against the employer in any subsequent proceedings.

For the employee, the first step is to apply to a healthcare institution and ensure the event is recorded as an occupational accident. The accident report, witness information and photographs of the scene form the primary evidence for the next stage.

The temporary incapacity allowance paid by the Institution does not cover the entire loss. Once the degree of disability has been determined, a claim for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages may be brought against the employer; relatives may also claim damages for loss of support.

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The Occupational Health and Safety Act No. 6331 imposes on the employer the obligation to ensure the health and safety of employees. Conducting a risk assessment, appointing an occupational safety specialist and a workplace physician, providing training, and supplying personal protective equipment are part of this obligation.

Failure to fulfil these obligations is subject to an administrative fine. In addition, when an occupational accident occurs, these deficiencies directly count against the employer in the fault assessment.

An employee's failure to comply with rules does not entirely remove the employer's responsibility. Whether the duty of supervision and oversight was fulfilled is separately examined.

Mobbing consists of conduct at the workplace carried out systematically and continuously with the aim of wearing down the person. A single incident is not, as a rule, considered sufficient; the conduct must be repeated and extend over a certain period.

Correspondence, witness statements, health reports, documents relating to a change of duties, and performance evaluations are used as evidence. Psychiatric treatment records are important in establishing the causal link.

As to the standard of proof, courts accept that, given the nature of mobbing, definitive evidence is not required and that strong indications and facts may be considered sufficient. Mobbing may constitute grounds for both non-pecuniary damages and termination for just cause.

Yes. For actions to be filed for employee and employer claims, compensation, and reinstatement requests, applying to a mediator before filing suit is a procedural prerequisite to filing suit. An action filed without fulfilling this requirement is dismissed on procedural grounds.

Claims for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages arising from an occupational accident or occupational disease, and related recourse actions, fall outside this requirement; an action may be filed directly.

If an agreement is reached in mediation, the resulting document acquires the status of a final judgment. For this reason, the claims covered must be listed individually in the agreement text; an action may later be filed for claims left outside its scope.

The court with subject-matter jurisdiction over employment disputes is the labour court. The court with territorial jurisdiction is the court of the defendant's place of residence, whether a natural or legal person, at the date the action is filed, as well as the court of the place where the work or the transaction took place.

If there is more than one defendant, the court of the place of residence of any one of them also has jurisdiction. Clauses inserted into the employment contract that limit these jurisdiction rules are invalid.

In İzmir, labour courts operate within the İzmir Courthouse and the affiliated district courthouses. The district in which the workplace is located is the criterion most commonly used to determine the court with jurisdiction.