Terminating employment means terminating an employee's employment contract due to the employee's own will or the employer's choice. Turkish Labor Law No. 4857 regulates both situations. However, there might be some complications during the termination of employment in Turkey. Therefore, this article will explain, in particular, how termination of employment in Turkey is performed. Let’s have a look at how Turkish labor law defines the legal framework for it.
Reasons for Termination of Employment
Turkish Labor Law No. 4857 applies to all disputes between employees and employers. The employee or employer can terminate employment contracts. Although there are many reasons for the termination of employment in Turkey, we can group these under two headings. These are:
- Ordinary termination
- Extraordinary termination
1. Ordinary Termination
Employment contracts are generally divided into two: fixed-term employment contracts and indefinite-term employment contracts. Fixed-term agreements terminate automatically at the end of the period specified in the contract. The majority of employment contracts in Turkey are determined for an indefinite period.
In indefinite-term employment contracts, before termination, the reason for the intention to terminate must be clearly stated, and the other party must be notified in writing. Employment contracts are concluded after the notification as mentioned above is made to the other party;
- Two weeks for workers who have worked for less than six months,
- Four weeks for workers who have worked between 6 months and 1.5 years
- Six weeks for workers who have worked between 1.5 and 3 years
Considering the termination of employment in Turkey, the employment contract is deemed terminated after eight weeks for an employee who has worked for more than three years. If the employee terminates, no compensation will be paid at the end of the period. However, if the employer terminates with notice, the employer must pay severance pay to the employee according to the period of employment when the conditions are met.
2. Extraordinary Termination
In cases of extraordinary termination of employment in Turkey, the employment contract may be terminated for just cause, without waiting for these notice periods, without notice and compensation. However, there must be justified reasons for extraordinary termination. These reasons are listed in the Labor Law and are generally grouped under three headings. They include health, situations that do not comply with morality and good faith rules, and compelling reasons.
Although the reasons are not listed in a limited manner in the law, they are grounds for termination with just cause in similar cases. Suppose the employee or employer commits an act related to one of the reasons listed above. In that case, the other party may terminate the employment contract without notice and compensation for justified reasons within six business days from the date of learning of this act. The party who does not exercise this right of termination within six business days despite learning that the act has been committed is deemed to have given up using this right.
The party making extraordinary termination based on just cause terminates the employment contract immediately without waiting for the notice periods listed above. If the employer terminates the employment contract for a justified reason, it does not pay any compensation. However, employees who terminate their employment contract for just cause are entitled to severance pay. For further information, you can consult Istanbul Lawyer Firm. Thus, you will get assistance from our expert Turkish labor lawyers in Turkey about which situations constitute just cause.
Procedural Requirements for Termination of Employment in Turkey
In cases of ordinary termination, the employee may terminate the employment contract at any time, provided that the notice mentioned above periods are complied with according to the working period. These periods begin after written notice is given to the other party. The employer may terminate the employment contract by complying with the notice period, provided it has a valid reason and pays severance pay.
According to extraordinary termination of employment in Turkey, one of the justified reasons mentioned above must be present. If one of these justified reasons occurs, the other party may terminate the employment contract immediately, provided that this reason is clearly stated in writing and notified to the other party within six business days. If the party who terminates for just cause is the employer, it is not obliged to pay severance pay to the employee. The employee who terminates the employment contract for just cause is entitled to receive severance pay.
Notice Requirements in Employment Termination
In ordinary termination, it is mandatory to comply with the notice periods listed in Article 17 of the Turkish Labor Law No. 4857. These periods will start as soon as the written notification reaches the other party. The employment contract is deemed to be terminated upon expiry of the notice period after this notice, not on the date. If written notice of termination is not given, this termination will be invalid. In addition, if the conditions are met, the employee may file a reinstatement lawsuit against the employer who made an invalid termination. The party that does not notify must pay notice compensation to the other party.
In case of extraordinary termination, the justified reason must be notified to the other party in writing. If this notification is not made, termination will be deemed invalid within the legal framework of termination of employment in Turkey.
Dismissal Without Notice
For dismissal without notice, there must be one of the justified reasons set out in Articles 24 and 25 of the Labor Law. If one of these reasons exists, the other party may terminate the employment contract immediately without waiting for the notice period. On the contrary, according to extraordinary termination of employment in Turkey, there is no need to pay notice compensation since the employment contract has already been terminated for just cause.
Severance Pay
Labor Law No. 4857 came into force on 22.05.2003 and abolished the previous Turkish Labor Law No. 1475, except for Article 14. Severance pay provisions are regulated in Article 14 of Law No. 1475. This article states why the employee will be entitled to severance pay if the employment contract is terminated.
Severance pay is calculated based on the employee's last gross wage. For one year of work, the worker is entitled to compensation equal to 30 days' gross salary. Total severance pay is calculated according to this formula based on working time. The employee can't be entitled to severance pay if the employee has worked for less than one year. As a Turkish law firm, we have lawyers who are experts in the termination of employment contracts in Turkey. Our labor law lawyers defend employee and employer rights depending on your needs within the termination of employment in Turkey.
4 Pay in Lieu of Notice
In ordinary termination, the party who does not want to wait for the notice period has the right to terminate the employment contract immediately by paying the other party the notice compensation by the notice period listed in Article 17 of the Labor Law. According to the termination of employment in Turkey, paying this compensation means there is no need to work during the notice period.
Under What Conditions Are Employees Safeguarded Against Being Fired?
If the worker has been working at his last workplace for more than six months and there are thirty or more workers, Article 18 of Law No. 4857 requires termination to be based on a valid reason. In other words, the employer cannot arbitrarily dismiss an employee who meets these conditions without a valid reason. If dismissed, the employee has the right to file a reinstatement lawsuit. At the end of this case, the worker has the right to be reinstated to his old job and receive compensation equal to 4 month's salary for the period he remained idle. As a Turkish lawyer firm, our English-speaking lawyers carry out the termination of employment in Turkey professionally on your behalf and defend your rights in the best way possible.
You can reach our previous article from https://istanbullawyerfirm.com/blog/what-is-the-recruitment-process-in-turkey