According to the Turkish Labour Code No. 4857, which is the main law of the Turkish Labour Law, the employer has the right to terminate the employment contract of the employee with justified cause due to violation of the rules of ethics and goodwill.
The following situations are considered as violation of the rules of ethics and goodwill:
- At the time of the employment contract, the employee misleads the employer by claiming that he/she have the necessary qualifications or conditions for one of the essential points of the contract, but by saying that he/she has them, or by giving false information or statements.
- The employee’s words or actions that would harm the honor and reputation of the employer or one of his/her family members, or making unfounded denunciations and accusations about the employer that are detrimental to honor and dignity.
- The employee sexually harasses another employee of the employer.
- The employee’s bullying the employer or one of his/her family members or another employee of the employer
- The employee coming to the workplace as drunk or taken drugs, or using these substances in the workplace (aside of the works in which alchol consumption is part of the job).
- The employee’s behavior that does not comply with honesty and loyalty, such as abusing the employer’s trust, stealing for the workplace, revealing the employer’s professional secrets and business confidentials.
- The employee commits a crime in the workplace punishable by imprisonment for more than seven days according to the Turkish Legal Code and the penalty of this crime not subjected to suspension.
- If the employee does not continue to work for two consecutive working days, or twice in a month, on the working day after any holiday, or for three working days in a month, without taking leave from the employer or without a just cause.
- The employee’s insistence on not performing the duties he/she is obliged to do, despite being reminded of it.
- The worker’s own will or negligence, endangering the safety of the work, causing damage and loss to the machines, installations or other goods and materials that are the property of the workplace or that are not the property of the workplace (The damage must be exceeding the amount of their thirty-day net wage of the employee).
In the cases enlisted above, the employer has the right to terminate employment contract of the employee with a justified cause in accordance with the Article 24 of the Turkish Labour Code. In terminations with a justified cause, the terminationa may become effective immediately and no notice period is required to be given to the other party.
Yet, as to note, the employer will be obliged to prove that the termination is resulting from one of the cases enlisted above. Thus, all the cases above are advised to be proven by documents such as minutes, offical documents, lawfull recordings and other legally accepted proofs. Otherwise the employee might defend in the labour court that the termination is made with another reason and the employer might be forced for unjust compensation, despite being lawfully right.
