Labor law in Turkey

 

Have you always wanted to know everything about labor law in Turkey and working conditions on Turkish soil? So this article is for you: the different types of employment contracts, the conclusion of an employment contract, the rights and duties of a foreign employee, dismissal, the right to strike ... are the topics discussed and developed in this article.... Read on

Types of employment contracts in Turkey

The labor law in Turkey recognizes fixed-term employment contracts, indefinite employment contracts, and the work contract upon call-up . These contracts can be entered into on a full-time or part-time basis .

Unlike an open contract, a fixed-term contract is concluded for a certain period, at the end of which the contract automatically expires. This contract must be entered into in writing and cannot be renewed in principle under penalty of reclassification as an unlimited contract .

The so-called call contract specifies a range of hours per week, month, or year, corresponding to part-time employment, in which the employee may be called for the duration at the employer's discretion. The employer should in principle invite the employee to a meeting four days in advance and make him work at least four consecutive hours, but the contract may derogate from these provisions and stipulate shorter deadlines .

The contract must be entered into in writing, and state the time period for which the employee must be available. Otherwise, the law provides for 20 hours per week. The employee is entitled to receive a wage for part of the hours stipulated in the contract, whether the employer has actually called him or not .

Conclusion of an employment contract in Turkey

a) Formal conditions

The work contract must be concluded in writing when it is for a period of one year or more .

For contracts of less than one year but longer than one month, the employer must give the employee a written document bearing his signature and containing the general terms of work and some mandatory information (names of the parties, task assigned to the employee also as time and place of work, and Remuneration conditions, contract termination procedures, date of conclusion of the employment contract and signatures of both parties)

 

b) auxiliary items

The content of the employment contract is left to the free will of the parties regardless of the mandatory information .

A non-competition clause is considered valid under Turkish law when it is reasonably restricted to its subject matter, in time and place. Case law considers the clause covering the entire Turkish territory to be in principle too restrictive. Furthermore, if the designated area extends beyond Turkish territory, the Turkish judge is likely to declare that he is ineligible to rule on alleged competitive activity abroad. Regarding the duration of the ban, case law considers that this cannot in principle exceed three years from the termination of the employment contract .

c) trial period

A trial period can be specified in the employment contract. It cannot exceed two months (Article 15 of the Labor Code of Turkey )

However, the collective agreement can specify a trial period of up to four months. During this period, the parties may terminate the contract without notice or compensation.

 

Labor law in Turkey: the foreign worker

All foreign employees are required to obtain a work permit, which can be issued for a fixed-term or for an indefinite period from the Ministry of Labour, where applicable, through diplomatic missions abroad. After the work permit is granted, the foreigner will have to apply for a work visa and then apply for a residence permit within thirty days. The document is generally granted within one week, for three months, and then for two years. The foreigner must start working or register for social security within one month of obtaining the residence permit, otherwise the work permit becomes invalid. Recent legislation states that exemptions may be taken in favor of EU citizens .

Working conditions in Turkey

a) salaries

Wages are determined at the level of companies and not at the level of branches of activity, and they can in principle be determined freely in the employment contract, provided that they are not less than the minimum wage, and are re-evaluated at least every two years. Although it is not required by law, some employers regularly reevaluate wages, or even measure them against the official rate of inflation in order to combat the decline in the purchasing power of employees. To the high rate of inflation in Turkey .

The salary stipulated “net” in the employment contract, refers to the amount of money available to the employee after deduction of income tax, which in Turkey is subject to deduction at source. Thus, if the two parties agree on the net salary, the employer is obligated to pay not only the promised amount, but also the related income tax and social fees .

b) working hours

 

The legal weekly working time in Turkey is 45 hours. This period can be distributed free of charge to 7 days of the week, including Sunday, subject to 1 rest day per week and a maximum of 11 hours of daily work, or a maximum of 7:30 in the case of “night work”. The use of overtime requires that the employer first seek employee approval, and that overtime work totals no more than 270 hours per year. In principle, overtime entails a 50% premium for every hour worked. Paid religious and national holidays. The employer has to obtain the employee’s consent to hire him during these days, and the employee is entitled to a 100% salary increase .

c) leave

 

In Turkey, the duration of paid leave depends on seniority: it ranges from 14 days for an employee with 1-5 years (inclusive) of seniority, and 26 days for an employee over 15 years old .

 

Labor Law in Turkey: Chapter

Whereas the legislation that came into force in 2003 improved the status of employees by extending the period of paid leave, by establishing the right to maintain an employment contract in the event of a sale of the company, or even by introducing the principle of non-discrimination in the workplace, The most notable progress was the supervision of dismissal procedures .

a) Individual class

The employer is now obligated to justify the dismissal for good reason. In the event that this does not happen, the employee can request to be returned to the court as well as compensation for damages. Since any employment relationship must respect the principle of non-discrimination, dismissal based on a discriminatory reason makes dismissal illegal .

 

The employer must also respect a notice period of two weeks for seniority of less than six months, and two months for seniority of more than three years, but this notice period can be replaced by compensation equal to the amount of salary. Payable during the notice period .

 

However, this regulation has a limited scope and many exceptions: the obligation to give reasons only applies when the following conditions are cumulatively fulfilled :

1. The company employs more than 30 people,

 

2 - The seniority of the employee to be dismissed is more than six months,

 

3. The employee has an indefinite contract,

 

4. The employee shall not have the capacity of a representative or assistant of the employer .

 

Dismissal without notice (or similar compensation) and without compensation for seniority remains in effect in the event of serious illness, injury to the honor or honor of the employer or members of his family, and in the event of force majeure. Preventing the employee for more than a week from going to the workplace. Here, however, the employer must justify the dismissal .

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