The Unemployment Insurance is one of the social insurance practices implemented in Turkey. If the insured meet the conditions specified in the law, the payment made for a certain period and amount for the period he/she was unemployed is called “unemployment benefit” (“unemployment allowance”). In accordance with the Unemployment Insurance Code No. 4447, unemployment benefit has been applied compulsory for all employees throughout Turkey since 1999.
The unemployment benefit is paid in accordance with the history of employment of the employee within three years prior the end of the employment contract. The benefit is being paid between 6 to 10 months, during the continuation of the unemployment status.
The Amount of Unemployment Benefit in Turkey
The daily unemployment benefit is calculated as 40 percent of the insured’s average daily gross earnings, which is calculated by taking into account the earnings of the insured declared to the Social Security Institution for the last four months.
The amount of unemployment benefit calculated in this way cannot exceed 80% of the gross amount of the monthly national minimum wage. This level is the upper limit.
Deductions from Unemployment Benefit
Unemployment benefit is not subject to any tax and deduction except stamp duty. In addition, the unemployment benefit cannot be transferred to anyone else, except for alimony debts.
Payment of Unemployment Benefit
Application is a necessity for gettgin an unemployment benefit. The unemployed must apply for getting the benefit within a month after the unemployment date. Unemployment benefit applications are finalized by the end of the following month. Unemployment benefit is paid monthly to the unemployed person on the fifth of each month. The payment is being made from the Unemployment Insurance Fund. The Minister of Labor and Social Security is authorized to bring the payment date forward.
Payments to the insured unemployed are made through the Bank Account numbers (IBAN) they report to the Turkish Labour and Employment Agency (İŞKUR), and through the nearest PTTBank in case their account numbers are reported incompletely or incorrectly.
Circumstances in which Unemployment Allowance is Cut off
While receiving the benefit, unemployment benefits are cut off and not to be restarted in the following cases:
- Those who refuse a job offered by Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR) without justification or force majeure, which is suitable for their profession, close to the wage and working conditions of their last job, and within the boundaries of the municipality’s contiguous area of residence,
- Those who are found to be working informally while receiving unemployment benefits from İŞKUR, during the audits conducted by the inspectors who have the authority to examine and supervise the labour life or by the auditors of other public administrations.
The benefits of those who start to receive an old-age pension from any social security institution while receiving unemployment benefit are cut off as of the date they start to receive old-age pension on the grounds of “Retirement”.
Unemployment allowances are cut off for those who refuse the vocational development, education and training offered by İŞKUR without justification or force majeure, or do not continue despite accepting it, do not respond to the calls made by the Institution without justification, and do not submit the requested information and documents within the stipulated time. However, if these conditions are over, the payments are started again. The duration of the payment cannot exceed the expiry date of the total entitlement period determined at the beginning.
Utilizing from Healthcare Services Financed by the Social Security Institution
Those who receive unemployment benefits are covered by the General Healthcare Insurance which is implemented by the Social Security Institution, and only the general health insurance premiums are paid from the Unemployment Insurance Fund on behalf of the persons concerned for the days when unemployment benefits are paid.
The dependents of the recipients of the allowance can also benefit from health services within the scope of the general healthcare insurance premiums that are being paid by İŞKUR.
No long-term social insurance branch premiums are being paid for the unemployed, thus these days are not countred as insurance payment days in terms calculation of pension entitlement.
What to Do When Getting Unemployment Benefit
Within the period of unemployment benefit the following situations should be reported to the nearest İŞKUR unit or Alo170 Call-Line of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security within 15 days:
- Change of residence address,
- Receiving old-age pension from any social security institution in Turkey,
- To be rested by the authorized health institution,
- Being recruited/employed,
- Going abroad,
- Starting a business,
- Reinstatement to his/her old job by a court order.
Unemployment benefit beneficiaries are obliged to pay the excess payments made due to their own fault and incomplete or inaccurate information, together with legal interest.
Restrating of the Unemployment Benefit
While benefiting from the allowance, in case of re-employment before the completion of the unemployment benefit period and being unemployed again without fulfilling the conditions required to benefit from the unemployment benefit, the benefit can be allocated till the unemployment benefit period previously earned is completed. Payments are made as of the date of application to İŞKUR in the continuation of the remaining entitlement.
In case of being unemployed again by meeting the eligibility conditions, unemployment benefit is paid only for the period arising from this new entitlement.
