In the Turkish legal system, a labor lawyer is an attorney who works in the field of labor law and provides legal support in resolving disputes between employees and employers. It should be noted that the lawyers commonly referred to as labor lawyers, who work within the scope of labor law, are not exclusively employee lawyers; they can sometimes also be employer lawyers. In recent years, labor disputes between employees and employers in our country have arisen due to various reasons. These disputes often occur because of violations of employment contracts or provisions in the contracts that are contrary to the law.
In labor law disputes, the affected employee or employer may not know their legal rights and may even be unaware that they have been wronged. For example, if a cashier working at a supermarket works an extra 5 hours per week but either receives no compensation or only receives compensation for an additional 5 hours of work, they are being wronged in both cases.
Labor law contains regulations that protect the rights of both employees and employers, and a labor lawyer is a legal professional who works within this framework and possesses extensive knowledge and experience in the field of labor law. Therefore, in such disputes, it would be in the best interest of the parties involved to seek legal support from a professional and knowledgeable labor lawyer to avoid the loss of rights or to ensure compensation for any loss that has occurred.
Our law office operates in Antalya, and as Attorney Gökhan AKGÜL, we provide consultancy services in labor law to both employers and companies, as well as assistance in the compensation of employees’ rights and claims. The main types of cases and consultancy topics handled at our office include the following:
- Compensation for claims arising from the unjust termination of an employee without just cause,
- Lawsuits arising from collective labor agreements,
- Compensation for claims and entitlements of an employee who resigns for just cause,
- Service determination and social security eligibility determination lawsuits,
- Wage determination lawsuits,
- Lawsuits arising from workplace accidents,
- Reinstatement lawsuits,
- Compensation for severance pay, notice pay, overtime pay, national holiday and general leave pay, annual leave pay, and other employee rights and entitlements,
- Lawsuits for compensation and collection of damages arising from violations of non-compete clauses by employers,
- Material and moral compensation lawsuits.
THE IMPORTANCE OF LABOR LAW ATTORNEY IN TURKISH LAW
Managing and following up on lawsuits and processes arising from labor disputes with a labor law attorney is crucial not only to prevent potential loss of rights but also to meet the need for legal expertise during the process. This is because an attorney is aware of potential situations in the lawsuit and takes steps accordingly, acting within the framework of labor law. A labor law attorney helps protect and regulate the legal rights of both employees and employers or companies.
The importance of working with a good labor law attorney for employers:
- Ensuring that employment contracts are prepared in compliance with legislative provisions and laws,
- Making employee personnel files in companies or businesses legally compliant,
- Ensuring that the termination of the employment relationship with an employee, when necessary, is carried out in accordance with legal procedures,
- In the case of a potential compensation lawsuit that may be filed by the employee, if the reasons are valid, ensuring that the compensation is paid in a reasonable and timely manner without reaching excessive amounts or incurring additional litigation costs, interest, and penalties,
- Ensuring that the employee’s employment contract is terminated in accordance with the law and procedures in the event of serious misconduct by the employee.
The importance of working with a good labor lawyer for employees:
- Recovering compensation claims such as severance pay, notice pay, bad faith compensation, and compensation for failure to reinstate requires meticulous work and legal knowledge.
- Filing lawsuits and handling processes to recover overtime pay, annual leave pay, national holiday and public holiday pay, weekly holiday pay, travel allowances, and other wage claims.
- Legal actions and processes required to reinstate an employee through a lawsuit for wrongful or improper termination of an employment contract.
- Lawsuits and processes such as service determination cases for employees working without insurance or premium determination cases for employees with insufficient premiums are legal actions that require legal knowledge and experience.
Working with a labor law attorney who is proficient and knowledgeable in labor law for many cases and processes not listed here prevents potential rights losses and ensures compensation if any loss of rights occurs.
Severance Pay and Its Conditions in Turkish Law
Severance pay is a type of compensation paid to the employee for the duration of their service at a company, as a result of wear and tear during their time working there, after working at least one year at the same workplace. When calculating severance pay, it is calculated based on the gross salary, which includes rights such as travel allowance, meal allowance, and social benefits.
There is a statute of limitations for claiming severance pay. The employee can apply for severance pay within five years from the termination of the employment contract. Moreover, there are certain conditions for an employee to be eligible for severance pay. According to the Turkish Labor Law (Law No. 4857), the conditions for an employee to receive severance pay are as follows:
- Being an employee according to the Labor Law: A person working in an employer’s workplace under an employment contract is considered an employee. Additionally, there is no difference between written or verbal contracts in the law. However, people working in certain professions listed in Article 4 of the Labor Law are not considered employees and are not entitled to severance pay, such as:
- Those working in maritime and air transport jobs,
- Workers in agricultural and forestry workplaces employing fewer than 50 workers (50 included),
- Workers in various types of construction work within the scope of family economy,
- Family members and relatives up to the third degree (third degree included), working in homes and in handicraft work without external participation,
- Domestic workers,
- Apprentices and athletes,
- Rehabilitation workers,
- Workers in workplaces with three employees as described in Article 2 of the Tradesmen and Craftsmen Law.
- The condition of at least one year of work: To be eligible for severance pay, the employee must have worked continuously for at least one year in the same workplace or in the same employer’s workplaces. Even if the employee works in different workplaces or companies of the same employer, all of these periods are considered when calculating the one-year duration.
- The condition of lawful termination: In order to be entitled to severance pay, it is not important whether the employment contract is written or verbal between the employee and employer; however, the contract must be an indefinite term contract. If the employee terminates the contract for a just cause or if the employer terminates the contract unjustly, the employee is entitled to severance pay. However, fixed-term contracts are made for completing a specific task, and the contract ends automatically when the task is completed or the condition specified in the contract is fulfilled. If the employer terminates the contract without fulfilling the condition or completing the task, the employee is entitled to severance pay.
Additionally, other conditions for receiving severance pay are as follows:
- The employee leaving the job due to compulsory military service,
- The female employee leaving the job due to marriage,
- Termination of the employment contract due to the employee’s death,
- The employee retiring.
SEVERANCE PAY IN TURKISH LAW AND CONDITIONS
Severance pay is the compensation paid when an employee working under an indefinite-term contract resigns or is dismissed by the employer. With this payment, the parties give the other side time to prepare for a job change in case of dismissal or resignation. These periods are defined by law, and both parties are obliged to comply with them. If the termination periods specified by law or contract are not followed, an unlawful termination occurs. Therefore, the party responsible for the unlawful termination must pay severance pay to the other party.
Article 17 of the Turkish Labor Law No. 4857 regulates the notice period under the heading “Terminated Notice.” According to this regulation:
Article 17 – Before the termination of an indefinite-term employment contract, the situation must be notified to the other party.
Employment contracts shall be terminated as follows:
a) For an employee whose job lasted less than six months, two weeks after the notification to the other party,
b) For an employee whose job lasted between six months and one and a half years, four weeks after the notification to the other party,
c) For an employee whose job lasted between one and a half years and three years, six weeks after the notification to the other party,
d) For an employee whose job lasted more than three years, eight weeks after the notification to the other party.
These periods are minimum and can be extended through contracts.
The party failing to comply with the notification requirement must pay compensation equal to the salary for the notice period. The employer may terminate the employment contract by paying the notice period salary in advance.
What are the grounds for justified termination under Turkish law?
Article 24 of the Labor Law No. 4857 outlines the circumstances under which an employee may terminate their employment contract for just cause. According to this regulation, the grounds for justified termination are as follows:
Health reasons
- If the performance of the job under the employment contract becomes dangerous for the employee’s health or life due to the nature of the work.
- If the employee is constantly in close contact with the employer or another employee who contracts a contagious disease or a disease incompatible with the employee’s job.
Situations that do not comply with morals and good faith, and similar cases.
- If the employer misleads the worker by providing false qualifications or terms about one of the essential points of the contract during the formation of the employment contract, or provides inaccurate information or makes false statements.
- If the employer makes statements or engages in behavior that insults the honor and dignity of the worker or any of their family members, or engages in sexual harassment toward the worker.
- If the employer engages in harassment or intimidation toward the worker or any of their family members, or encourages, provokes, or leads the worker or their family members to act against the law, commits a crime requiring imprisonment against the worker or their family members, or makes baseless, defamatory, and harmful accusations against the worker’s honor and dignity.
- If the worker is sexually harassed by another worker or a third party in the workplace, and the worker reports this to the employer, but no necessary measures are taken.
- If the employer fails to calculate or pay the worker’s wages according to legal provisions or contractual terms.
- If the wage is determined to be paid per piece or according to the work amount, but the employer provides fewer tasks than what could be reasonably expected from the worker, and the wage difference is not compensated by payment according to the time, or if working conditions are not applied.
Force majeure reasons:
- If force majeure reasons arise at the workplace where the worker is employed, causing the work to be halted for more than one week.
Reinstatement Lawsuit in Turkish Law
A reinstatement lawsuit is a case filed by an employee who has been dismissed without just cause, requesting to be reinstated to their job. While a reinstatement lawsuit is one of the workers’ rights under labor law, not every employee who has been dismissed has the right to file for reinstatement. The primary condition for filing this lawsuit is that the dismissal must be without just cause.
According to Article 20 of the Labor Law: “An employee whose employment contract has been terminated must apply to the mediator under the provisions of the Labor Courts Law within one month from the date of notification of the termination, claiming that no reason was given for the dismissal or that the reason provided is not a valid reason. If no agreement is reached after the mediation process, the lawsuit can be filed in the labor court within two weeks from the date the final report is prepared.”
Conditions for filing a reinstatement lawsuit:
- The employment contract must be an indefinite-term contract.
- The employee must have worked continuously for at least 6 months.
- The employee must be subject to the Labor Law or the Press Labor Law.
- There must be 30 or more employees working at the workplace.
- The employment contract must have been terminated by the employer without a valid reason.
- The mediation process must have been exhausted.
- The employee must not be an employer’s representative.
OVERTIME LAWSUITS UNDER TURKISH LAW
In the Turkish legal system, according to Article 63 of the Labor Law, the maximum weekly working time is 45 hours. If an employee exceeds this time within a week, meaning they work more than 45 hours, they should be paid 1.5 times the regular hourly wage for each additional hour worked. Otherwise, the employee may leave the job and file a lawsuit for severance pay and overtime compensation.
To prove overtime, the employee can present timekeeping records, lists showing the entry and exit times, PDKS records, and witness testimonies from other employees who worked at the same workplace as evidence.
SERVICE DETERMINATION LAWSUIT IN TURKISH LAW
Service determination lawsuits are cases filed when an employee is working without social security, has missing days in their insurance records, or when insurance premiums are not paid based on the actual amounts. In order for the employee to file such a lawsuit, there must be a service contract between the employee and the employer, and the employee must have fulfilled their obligation to work under the employment contract. Furthermore, it must not have been previously determined by the Social Security Institution (SGK) that the employee was working without social security or that their insurance premiums were underpaid.
As a result of this lawsuit, a decision will be made for the payment of the employee’s insurance premiums to SGK, preventing any potential loss of rights due to missing insurance premiums.
Antalya Labor Lawyer – Antalya Employment Law Attorney
In labor law disputes, citizens are increasingly seeking to assert their rights; however, neglecting to seek legal support from an attorney in such cases, which require legal knowledge and experience, can result in irreversible loss of rights and further harm.
Receiving legal support from an attorney who is well-versed in labor law and specializes in this field helps prevent the loss of rights for the parties involved, and if a loss of rights has occurred, the attorney will professionally manage the legal process to ensure compensation.
At our law office in Antalya, we have been providing legal consulting and representation services to citizens by resolving many labor law cases and matters for a long time. You can contact us through the communication section and schedule an appointment.
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