“The Principle of Equal Treatment” is stipulated in the 5th Article of the Turkish Labour Code No. 4857.
According to the article, the employer has the obligation to act equally. If there is no reason that justifies discrimination between the nature of the work and the workers, equal wages should be paid for equal work. Otherwise, there will be risks of the employee terminating the employment contract for justified reasons and demanding severance pay, or even demanding notice pay based on the second paragraph of the Article 26 of the Labour Code No. 4857, based on the employer’s bad faith.
For example, for two expert worker doing the same job do receive different wages, there must be a “reason justifying the distinction” between them. If this reason can be stated objectively, it will be in favour of your employer in the event of a possible dispute.
In addition to the compensation to be paid as a result of a possible dispute or inspection, an administrative fine of TRL 1,402 (for each worker) may be imposed in accordance with the Article 99/1-a of the Code No. 4857 for the calendar year of 2024, and it may also be decided to force you to pay the wage difference to the workers.
The principle of equal treatment is valid in all areas of law, and in terms of the Turkish Labour Law, it imposes an obligation on the employer not to behave differently among employees working in the workplace unless there is a justified and objective reason. In this respect, the employer’s management right is limited.
The sanction for the employer’s violation of the obligation of equal treatment is in the 6th paragraph of the aforimentioned article. According to the provision, the employee has the opportunity to demand the rights that he/she has been deprived of, in addition to a wage equal to up to four months’ wages. Since the four months is the upper limit, it would be appropriate for the judge to determine the compensation between 1 to 4 months, depending on the severity of the violation and the seniority of the worker. (Decision of the Turkish Supreme Court 9th Chamber, 14.03.2011, E. 2010/26763, K. 2011/6748)
Considering the legal rules brought with provisions of the Turkish Labour Code No. 4857 and considering the jurisdictional decisions, if there is no objective reason justifying the discrimination, equal pay should be paid for equal work.
