Compensation Rights of the Employees Under Turkish Law

Compensation Rights of the Employees Under Turkish Law

Upon termination of an employment agreement, the employee holds the right to demand severance and notice payments from the employer. Although this defined in the legislation, the Labour Law states that the contracting parties may agree higher levels of compensation in the employment agreement but may not agree to lower compensation below the minimum levels set out in the Labour Law.

i. Severance Pay

For an employee to be entitled to severance pay, the employment relationship must have existed for at least 1 (one) year at the time of termination. The general rule that applies to severance payments is that for every year of employment, a severance pay equal to the employee’s monthly gross salary at the time of termination will be paid to the employee. In cases where the employee is the terminating party, the Labour Law does not oblige the employer to pay any severance pay.

ii. Notice Pay

The notice pay obligation applies to both the employer and the employee in cases of termination of employment. There are clear provisions within the Labour Law for notice pay and state the following:

  1.        Employees who have been working for less than 6 months require 2 weeks prior notice before termination;
  2.        Employees who have been working for between 6 months to 1.5 years require 4 weeks prior notice before termination;
  3.        Employees who have been working for between 1.5 years to 3 years require 6 weeks prior notice before termination; and
  4.        Employees who have been working for over 3 years require 8 weeks prior notice before termination.

The employer or employee desiring to terminate an employment agreement without having to wait for the abovementioned periods of time to expire may pay wages equal to the specified terms in lieu of notice and the termination will take immediate effect.

For More detailed information please contact:

Av. İ. Can Çayırpareemail: can.cayirpare@cvghukuk.comTel: +90 532 474 30 35
Av. B. Güven Cememail: guven.cem@cvghukuk.comTel: +90 533 740 86 28
Av. Volkan Önkibaremail: volkan.onkibar@cvghukuk.comTel: +90 535 662 61 06
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