Turkish Labor Law
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One of the main eligibility condition for jobseeker’s allowance “the requirement of 120 premium paid days prior to unemployment” has been amended as “the requirement of being under employment contract within120 days prior to unemployment”.
As a result unemployed persons will not have to be uninterruptedly working within 120 days before they lost their job, instead having been under an employment contract in the mentioned period will be enough.
WHAT IS UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT?
Unemployment benefit, also called “Jobseekers Allowance” or “Dole,” is an allowance granted to insured employees who lost their jobs against their will. In Turkey, it is simply referred as “unemployment salary” and paid to eligible workers in the scope of mandatory unemployment insurance in line with the Law on Unemployment Insurance No. 4447.
WHO ARE IN THE SCOPE OF UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE?
Briefly, employees working against wage under an employment contract are in the scope of Unemployment Insurance.
Employee, employer and state makes unemployment insurance premium contribution to the Unemployment Insurance Fund, with the following rates applied to employee’s monthly gross wage;
- Employee 1%,
- Employer 2%
- State 1% (on behalf of employee).
Employer is required to deduct the above unemployment premiums, and declare and pay them to the Social Security Institution together with social security premium contributions on a monthly basis.
- Retired personnel are not subject to unemployment insurance premium and don’t benefit from unemployment salary.
ARE FOREIGN EMPLOYEES INCLUDED IN THE SCOPE OF UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE?
Yes. Legally employed foreigners are also subject to unemployment insurance premium in case they are working against wage under an employment contract, and are entitled to unemployment salary.
CONDITIONS OF BENEFITING?
First of all, reason of leaving employment is very important.
Workers who lost their job against their own wish (not resigned without unjust cause) and without any fault on behalf of will be eligible for unemployment salary by satisfying the following requirements:
- Being under employment contract within120 days prior to unemployment
- 600 days of contributions must be paid in the preceding 3 years of employment.
WHERE AND WHEN TO APPLY?
- Worker should apply within 30 days as of termination of employment contract to the nearest İŞKUR (Turkish Employment Agency) unit personally or online.
- In case of not applying within 30 days, except the force majeure, delayed period will be deducted from benefiting periods.
- İŞKUR, after assessing the application, deposit the money to beneficiary’s account until the end of the month following the date unemployed entitled to unemployment pay.
- Unemployment salary may be collected from post offices.
