The Labour Code No. 4857, which is the basic law of the Turkish Labour Law, makes the termination of the employment contract by the employer in certain workplaces subject to certain strict conditions.
The employer, who terminates the indefinite-term employment contract of an employee with at least six months seniority in workplaces employing thirty or more workers, must rely on a valid reason arising from the competence or behavior of the employee or the requirements of the enterprise, workplace or job.
This rule is valid for workers working in underground works, regardless of seniority.
In the calculation of the six-month seniority of the worker, all periods deemed to have been worked in accordance with the Labor Law No. 4857 are taken into account, as well as the paid leave periods.
According to Turkish Labour Code No. 4857, the following issues do not constitute a valid reason for termination and workers are protected in such cases:
– Joining a trade union or participating in union activities outside working hours or during working hours with the consent of the employer.
– To represent the trade union at the workplace.
– To apply to administrative or judicial authorities against the employer or to participate in the process initiated in this regard in order to follow up the employee’s rights arising from the legislation or the contract or to fulfill his/her obligations.
– Race, color, gender, marital status, family obligations, pregnancy, birth, religion, political opinion and similar reasons.
– Not coming to work during periods when women and pregnant workers are prohibited from being forced to work.
– Temporary absence from work during the waiting period indicated in the Labor Code No. 4857 due to illness or accident.
The six-month seniority of the worker is calculated by combining the periods spent in one or different workplaces of the same employer.
In case the employer has more than one workplace in the same line of business, the number of workers employed in the workplace is determined by the total number of workers working in these workplaces.
These protection provisions do not apply to the employer’s representatives and assistants who manage the whole of the enterprise and the representatives of the employers who manage the whole workplace and have the authority to hire and fire the worker. Aside of this employee group all the other workers who are within the scope of the Labour Code No. 4857 can benefit from this specific protection rights.
