Turkish Labor Law
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Termination of employment contract, either by employee or by employer is subject to strict rules arranged in Labor Law.
Especially the employer should be more careful and take the following points in the execution of termination.
§ Notice of termination must be in written,
§ The exact reason of termination should be explicitly notified to employee,
§ In case misdemeanor of employee, this act must be documented. Statements must be taken and appended to an official report,
§ Employee’s defensive statement must be taken. If employee refrains from giving statement, a notice should be sent to employee through a notary public.
Prescription period for execution of termination
Prescription period is 6 working days.
The right to break the employment contract for the immoral, dishonorable or malicious behavior of the employee may not be exercised after six working days of knowing the facts, and in any event after one year following the commission of the act, has elapsed.
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Article 25 and 26 of Labor Law 4857 read as follows;
“THE BREAKING OF THE EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT BY THE INITIATIVE OF THE EMPLOYER (SUMMARY TERMINATION)
ARTICLE 2 – The employer may break the contract, whether for a definite or indefinite period, before its expiry or without having to comply with the prescribed notice periods, in the following cases:
I. For reasons of health
a) If the employee has contracted a disease or suffered an injury owing to his own deliberate act, loose living or drunkenness, and as a result is absent for three successive days or for more than five working days in any month.
b) If the Health Committee has determined that the suffering is incurable and incompatible with the performance of the employee’s duties. In cases of illness or accident which are not attributable to the employee’s fault and which are due to reasons outside those set forth in (a) above and in cases of pregnancy or confinement, the employer is entitled to terminate the contract if recovery from the illness or injury continues for more than six weeks beyond the notice periods set forth in article 17. In cases of pregnancy or confinement, the period mentioned above shall begin at the end of the period stipulated in Article 74. No wages are to be paid for the period during which the employee fails to report to work due to the suspension of his (her) contract.
II. For immoral, dishonorable or malicious conduct or other similar behavior
a) If, when the contract was concluded, the employee misled the employer by falsely claiming to possess qualifications or to satisfy requirements which constitute an essential feature of the contract, or by giving false information or making false statements;
b) If the employee is guilty of any speech or action constituting an offence against the honor or dignity of the employer or a member of his family, or levels groundless accusations against the employer in matters affecting the latter’s honor or dignity;
c) If the employee sexually harasses another employee of the employer;
d) If the employee assaults or threatens the employer, a member of his family or a fellow employee, or if he violates the provisions of Article 84;
e) If the employee commits a dishonest act against the employer, such as a breach of trust, theft or disclosure of the employer’s trade secrets;
f) If the employee commits an offence on the premises of the undertaking which is punishable with seven days’ or more imprisonment without probation;
g) If, without the employer’s permission or a good reason, the employee is absent from work for two consecutive days, or twice in one month on the working day following a rest day or on three working days in any month;
h) If the employee refuses, after being warned, to perform his duties;
i) If either willfully or through gross negligence the employee imperils safety or damages machinery, equipment or other articles or materials in his care, whether these are the employer’s property or not, and the damage cannot be offset by his thirty days’ pay.
III. Force majeure:
Force majeure preventing the employee from performing his duties for more than one week.
IV. If due to the employee’s being taken into custody or due to his arrest, his absence from work exceeds the notice period indicated in Article 17.
The employee may file a lawsuit according to Articles 18,20 and 21 by claiming that the termination was not in conformity with the subsections cited above.
– THE PRESCRIBED PERIOD WITHIN WHICH THE RIGHT TO SUMMARY TERMINATION MAY BE EXERCISED
ARTICLE 26 – The right to break the employment contract for the immoral, dishonorable or malicious behavior of the other party may not be exercised after six working days of knowing the facts, and in any event after one year following the commission of the act, has elapsed. The “one year” statutory limitation shall not be applicable, however, if the employee has extracted material gains from the act concerned.
The employee or employer who has terminated the contract for any of the reasons mentioned above within the period indicated in the above subsection is entitled to claim compensation from the other party.”
