With the latest omnibus bill submitted to the Turkish Grand National Assembly, important changes are being made that concern working life and employers. These changes can be summarized as follows:
- The Social Insurance Premium Incentive of the Law No. 6111 (premium incentive given for employing women, young workers and workers with a vocational qualification certificate) is being extended for two years.
- By the law, the President of Republic of Turkey is given the authority to extend the incentive of Law No. 6111 for an additional year (until 31.12.2026).
- Minimum wage support is regulated as 700 Turkish Liras per month per employee for one year. Thus, minimum wage support will be increased from 500 lira to 700 lira.
- The minimum number of premium payment days required for employees to benefit from “Short-Time Working Allowance” is reduced from 600 days to 450 days.
- Short-term working allowance will be paid to the insured on a monthly basis on the 5th of each month. The Minister of Labour and Social Security will be authorized to bring forward the payment date.
- Periods paid as short-term working allowance will be deducted from the entitlement periods for unemployment benefit payments to be made based on service contract terminations within 3 years from the start of short-term working.
- Overpayments of the short-term allowance resulting from the fault of the insured will be collected from the insured together with legal interest, and overpayments of deceased insured will not be collected back.
- Provisions regarding short-term working allowance will come into force on March 1.
- “General Epidemic” is also included in the scope of situations requiring Short-Term Working.
- It is stipulated that Short-Term Working Allowance will not be subject to any taxes or deductions except stamp duty, and that more than one tenth of it cannot be seized, except for alimony debts, and cannot be transferred or assigned to anyone else.
- Ministry of Labour and Social Security is authorised to make controls and audits as “to carry out measurements, examinations and research on occupational health and safety issues in workplaces, to obtain information, documents and samples, and to conduct examinations in OHS training institutions, joint health safety units, equipment inspection organizations, occupational hygiene measurement, testing and analysis laboratories.
- Examination, control and inspection on behalf of the Ministry will be carried out by personnel with the title of study specialist and assistant specialist, engineer, physicist, chemist, biologist and physician working at the General Directorate of Occupational Health and Safety.
- The assigned personnel will be obliged not to disrupt the work as much as possible during the examination, control and inspection, and to keep the professional secrets of the employer and the workplace and the matters they see and learn completely confidential. Appointed personnel will be provided with the necessary facilities by the employer or employees.
- If the Ministry personnel on duty need the assistance of law enforcement forces, they will report the situation to the relevant local authority, excluding military workplaces. If the local administrator finds the request appropriate, he/she will assign sufficient law enforcement forces.
All the regulations mentioned above are expected to come into force after being enacted by the General Assembly of the Turkish Parliament and published at the Turkish Official Gazette.
