Employment law is one of the areas of law closest to the day-to-day running of a workplace. Recruitment, working hours, payment of wages, leave, disciplinary practice and the end of the employment relationship are each subject to their own rules, and most of these rules are mandatory, meaning the parties cannot change them by contract to the employee's detriment. The main legislation is Labour Law No. 4857. It is accompanied by Labour Courts Law No. 7036, Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Law No. 5510, Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331 and, for severance pay, Article 14 of former Labour Law No. 1475, which is still in force.
Termination of the employment contract
Termination with notice
A party wishing to terminate an indefinite-term employment contract must give the other party prior notice. Under Labour Law Art. 17, the notice period depends on the employee's length of service: two weeks for less than six months, 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. A party that does not observe these periods pays notice pay equal to the wages for the period.
Job security
In workplaces with thirty or more employees, an employer terminating the contract of an employee with at least six months' service employed under an indefinite-term contract must rely on a valid reason arising from the employee's competence or conduct or from the requirements of the business, workplace or work (Labour Law Art. 18). Before termination for reasons relating to the employee's conduct or performance, the employee's defence must be obtained (Art. 19). The termination notice must also be in writing and state the reason for termination clearly and precisely.
Termination for just cause
The employee may terminate the contract without waiting for the notice period where there are health reasons, situations contrary to morality and good faith, or force majeure (Labour Law Art. 24). Non-payment of wages or overtime is among the reasons most often relied on. The employer may also terminate immediately for just cause in the situations listed in Art. 25. For terminations based on breach of morality and good faith, the right must be exercised within six working days of learning of the incident and in any event within one year of the act (Art. 26).
The reinstatement process
An employee who considers that the termination was not based on a valid reason must first apply to a mediator within one month of notification of the termination (Labour Law Art. 20; Labour Courts Law Art. 3). If no agreement is reached in mediation, an action may be filed in the labour court within two weeks of the date of the final report. If the court finds the termination invalid, the employee must apply to the employer to return to work within ten working days of notification of the final judgment; if the employer does not reinstate the employee within one month, it pays job security compensation of at least four and at most eight months' wages, plus wages of up to four months for the idle period (Art. 21).
Severance pay and employee receivables
If the contract of an employee with at least one year's service is terminated by the employer for a reason other than breach of morality and good faith under Labour Law Art. 25(II), or the employee terminates the contract for just cause, the employee is entitled to severance pay equal to thirty days' gross wages, including regular benefits, for each full year of service (Law No. 1475, Art. 14). A female employee leaving voluntarily within one year of marriage, military service and becoming entitled to an old-age pension also give entitlement to severance pay. The wage on which severance pay is based is subject to a ceiling that is updated twice a year; the ceiling at the termination date is used in the calculation.
Overtime (Labour Law Art. 41), weekly rest day, national holiday and public holiday pay, and pay for unused annual leave (Art. 59) are the other main heads of claim. Weekly working time is at most forty-five hours (Art. 63); work exceeding this is overtime, and the annual total may not, as a rule, exceed two hundred and seventy hours. Proof is the hardest part of disputes over employee receivables; timesheets, entry and exit data, e-mail correspondence and witness statements are assessed together.
Mandatory mediation and time limits
In actions for employee and employer receivables and compensation based on the law or an individual or collective employment agreement, and in reinstatement actions, having applied to a mediator is a mandatory pre-condition (Law No. 7036, Art. 3). Actions for material and moral damages arising from workplace accidents or occupational diseases, and related determination, objection and recourse actions, are outside this rule.
Severance pay, notice pay, bad faith compensation, annual leave pay and certain other compensation arising from the employment contract are subject to a five-year limitation period (Labour Law Additional Art. 3). The five-year period also applies to wage receivables. Periods are calculated from the termination date or the date the receivable became due.
Social security disputes
Persons employed without insurance, or whose insurance premiums were under-reported, may file an action for determination of service. Under Article 86 of Law No. 5510, this action must be filed within five years from the end of the year in which the service was performed; the period is preclusive. In the event of a workplace accident or occupational disease (Law No. 5510, Arts. 13–14), benefits provided by the Social Security Institution (SGK) may be recovered from the employer if the employer acted intentionally or in breach of safety measures (Art. 21). In compensation actions following a workplace accident, whether the employer fulfilled its risk assessment, training and supervision obligations under Law No. 6331 plays a decisive role.
Compliance work for employers
A significant proportion of disputes arise from inadequate documentation. Setting up employment contracts, overtime consents, annual leave records, disciplinary regulations and termination notices correctly from the start strengthens the employer's hand in potential cases. For a non-compete clause to be valid, it must be in writing and the employee must have had access to the customer base or trade secrets; the restriction must be appropriately limited in place, time and type of work. The judge may narrow excessive restrictions; except in special circumstances, the restriction may not exceed two years (TBK Arts. 444–447). Where collective redundancies are planned, the notification and consultation obligations in Labour Law Art. 29 should also be taken into account. Processing employee data is directly linked to personal data protection legislation.
Our work in this area
For employers, we prepare employment contracts, workplace regulations and termination procedures; for employees and employers, we conduct mediation, reinstatement and receivables actions and social security disputes. The transfer of employees in company acquisitions (Labour Law Art. 6) is part of our Mergers and Acquisitions work. For foreign employees, see Work Permits for Foreign Nationals; for litigation, Dispute Resolution.
Main topics
- Employment contracts and workplace regulations
- Termination, notice periods and job security (Labour Law Arts. 17–21)
- Severance and notice pay, employee receivables
- Mandatory mediation and reinstatement actions
- Overtime, annual leave and wage disputes
- Service determination, workplace accidents and SGK recourse actions
- Occupational health and safety obligations
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have for a reinstatement action?
You must apply to a mediator within one month of notification of the termination. If no agreement is reached, an action may be filed in the labour court within two weeks of the date of the final report.
Can I receive severance pay if I resign?
As a rule, no severance pay arises if you leave voluntarily. However, if you terminate the contract for just cause listed in Labour Law Art. 24, such as non-payment of wages, you are entitled to severance pay provided you have at least one year's service.
Is it mandatory to go to a mediator before suing for employee receivables?
Yes. For receivables and compensation claims based on the law or the employment contract, and for reinstatement, mediation is a mandatory pre-condition. Compensation actions arising from workplace accidents and occupational diseases are outside this rule.
How can I prove a period in which I worked without insurance?
You can file an action for determination of service. The action must be filed within five years from the end of the year in which the service was performed. Bank records, correspondence, workplace records and witness statements may be used as evidence.
Is a non-compete agreement valid in all cases?
No. The restriction must be in writing, the employee must have had access to the customer base or trade secrets, it must remain within reasonable limits in place, time and type of work, and it must not unfairly endanger the employee's economic future; the judge may narrow excessive restrictions. Except in special circumstances, the period may not exceed two years.
Legislation and sources
- Labour Law No. 4857 (in Turkish)
- Labour Courts Law No. 7036 (in Turkish)
- Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Law No. 5510 (in Turkish)
- Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331 (in Turkish)
- Social Security Institution (SGK)
The information on this page is general and does not constitute legal advice. As legislation may change, the current rules must be assessed separately for your particular situation.