According to the Turkish Labour Code No. 4857, “the notice period” is the notification period that occurs after the employee or employer notifies the termination intent. In Turkish Labour Law, termination of employment contracts (termination of employment) is addressed under two main headings. The first of these is “Termination of fixed-term employment contracts” and the other is “Termination of indefinite-term employment contracts”.
Fixed-term employment contracts automatically terminate at the end of their term. For this reason, a notice period is not required. However, in indefinite-term employment contracts, notice periods are specified in the Turkish Labour Law according to the periods the employee has served.
The notice period varies according to the employee’s service period. So, the notice period according to Article 17 of the Turkish Labour Code No. 4857 are as follows according to the seniority of the employee:
- Service up to 6 months from the date of employment: 14 days,
- Service from 6 months to 18 months: 28 days,
- Service from 18 months to 36 months: 42 days,
- Service after 36 months: 56 days of notice period is being implemented.
Job Search Permit During the Notice Period
During the notice period, the employee has the right to obtain permission to search for a new job. The Article 27 of the Turkish Labour Code states that “During the notice periods, the employer is obliged to grant the employee the job search permission necessary for finding a new job within working hours and without deduction from wages…” However, it is stated that this permission will be granted on condition that it is limited to the “notification periods”.
In case of non-compliance with this article, the second and third paragraphs state that “If the employer does not grant a new job search permit or makes it used incompletely, the wage for the period shall be paid to the employee. If the employer employs the employee during the job search permit, the employer shall pay the wage for the period worked with a one hundred percent increase in addition to the wage the employee will receive without any compensation for work using the permit.”
This type of leave, known as “job search permit”, is 2 hours per workday during the notice period.
What is Notice Compensation?
Notice compensation is a right recognized within the scope of the Law and is the compensation to be paid by the employee or employer who does not comply with the notice periods in the indefinite-term employment contracts of the parties, if they use their right to terminate without complying with the notice periods.
When calculating the notice compensation and notice period, the employee’s social rights such as food and travel allowance are also included in the gross wage. It does not matter whether the employee receives the travel or food allowance in kind or in cash.
No deductions can be made from the notice compensation other than income tax and stamp duty.
The notice compensation shall be paid to the other party by the party who did not comply with the notice period. Thus, if the employee does not notify the employer in prior the notice period, he/she must pay the notice compensation to the employer as well.
