Employment law is a branch of law that primarily deals with the rights of workers, employers’
rights, working conditions, and the relationship between workers and employers’ unions.
In our country, the main sources of employment law are the Labor Law No. 4857, Social
Security and General Health Insurance Law, Press Labor Law, Maritime Labor Law, Trade
Unions Law, Turkish Code of Obligations, Collective Labor Agreement, Strike and Lockout Law, and Labor Courts Law.
Labor Receivables Lawsuit
The most common type of lawsuit encountered in employment law in our country is the labor
receivables lawsuit. This lawsuit will be possible if the employment contract of the worker is
unjustifiably terminated by the employer or if the worker terminates the employment contract
for justifiable reasons.
Compensations that can be claimed in the Labor Receivables Lawsuit
- Severance Pay: In order to be entitled to severance pay, the worker must be an employee
working under the Labor Law, have worked continuously for one year in the same workplace,
and the employment contract must have been terminated for one of the reasons specified in
the Law. Severance pay is equal to one month’s gross salary for each year the worker has
worked.
The statute of limitations for severance pay varies between 5 and 10 years depending on the
period when the employment contract is terminated. - Notice Pay: According to the Law, the party who fails to comply with the notification
requirement for the termination of the employment contract is obliged to pay compensation in
the amount of the salary corresponding to the notice period.
Notice pay applies only to indefinite-term employment contracts.
According to Article 17 of the Labor Law,
Employment contracts;
a) For workers whose employment has lasted less than six months, two weeks after the
notification is made to the other party,
b) For workers whose employment has lasted between six months and one and a half years,
four weeks after the notification is made to the other party,
c) For workers whose employment has lasted between one and a half years and three years,
six weeks after the notification is made to the other party,
d) For workers whose employment has lasted more than three years, eight weeks after the
notification is made,
are considered terminated. These periods are minimum and can be extended by contracts.
The party who fails to comply with the notification requirement is obliged to pay
compensation in the amount of the salary corresponding to the notice period.
- Overtime Pay: According to the law, the worker is entitled to overtime pay if the maximum
working hours specified in the law are exceeded. If this is violated, the worker is entitled to
overtime pay. According to the law, the weekly normal working hours can be distributed
differently in workplaces, not exceeding eleven hours per day, with the agreement of the
parties. In this case, the worker’s average weekly working hours within a two-month period
cannot exceed the normal weekly working hours. The claim for overtime pay expires after
five years. - Weekly Holiday Pay: The employer must fully pay the worker for the day that is not worked
during the week without any compensation. If work is performed on the holiday, the employer
must pay the compensation for that day as specified in the law. The statute of limitations for
the claim of weekly holiday pay is determined as five years.
National Holiday and General Holiday Pay: Workers who work under the Labor Law are
entitled to receive their full daily wages for the days recognized as national holidays and
general holidays in the laws, if they do not work on those days without any compensation. In
addition, if they work on those days, they are entitled to receive one day’s wage for each day
worked. The statute of limitations for these claims is five years.
- Salary Claim: Unpaid or underpaid wages of the worker can also be subject to a labor
receivables lawsuit. The highest interest rate applied to deposits is applicable to salary claims.
The date on which the interest will start accruing for the salary claim will be the date on
which the worker puts the employer in default by sending a notice. The statute of limitations
for salary claims is five years. - Annual Leave Pay: A worker who has worked continuously for one year in the same
workplace is entitled to annual paid leave. The unused annual leave entitlement of the worker
accumulates and must be granted later. If there is unused annual leave period at the end of the
employment contract, the worker can request this entitlement from the employer under the
name of annual leave pay claim. The duration of annual paid leave to be granted to workers
cannot be less than:
a) Fourteen days for those with a service period of up to five years (including five years), - b) Twenty days for those with a service period of more than five years but less than fifteen
- years,
- c) Twenty-six days for those with a service period of fifteen years or more (including fifteen years).
The statute of limitations for the claim of annual leave pay is five years.
Minimum Living Allowance: It refers to the income tax deduction applied for the worker and
the dependents they are responsible for. If it is not paid by the employer in accordance with
the law, it can be subject to a labor receivables lawsuit after the termination of the
employment contract. The statute of limitations for the minimum living allowance claim is
five years.
Employment Law
The labor receivables lawsuit is subject to mandatory mediation. It is important to note that
applying to a mediator before filing a lawsuit is a requirement for the lawsuit, as if it is
determined by the Court that no application has been made to a mediator before filing a
lawsuit, the Court decides to reject the lawsuit on procedural grounds due to the absence of
this requirement.
The competent courts for labor receivables lawsuits are Labor Courts. The competent court
for this lawsuit is specified in Article 6 of the Labor Courts Law:
- In lawsuits to be filed in labor courts, the competent court is the court of the actual or legal
person’s place of residence at the time the lawsuit is filed, or the court of the place where the
work or transaction is performed. - If there are multiple defendants, the court of one of their places of residence is also
competent. - In compensation lawsuits arising from work accidents, the court of the place where the work
accident or damage occurred and the court of the injured worker’s place of residence are also
competent. - Provisions in other laws regarding the jurisdiction of labor courts are reserved.
- Jurisdiction agreements contrary to the provisions of this article are invalid.
The procedural rules for labor receivables lawsuits are the simplified trial procedure.
After the filing of the lawsuit and the exchange of petitions stage is completed, the
preliminary examination stage begins. After the preliminary examination stage, the witnesses
of the parties are heard by the Court depending on the claimed labor receivables.
After the testimony of the witnesses is taken, the Court orders the preparation of an expert
report by an expert accountant in the field for the determination of the amount of labor
receivables.
The main evidence considered by the Courts in determining the amount of the worker’s
receivables is the expert report. If the Court determines the validity of the worker’s claims, the
lawsuit is accepted and a judgment is made in favor of the worker for the receivables, taking
into account the expert report(s) prepared within the scope of the case.