Questions and Answers | Q&As About Legislation

Questions and Answers

Questions and Answers

Frequently asked questions about legislation often arise from the uncertainty that employees and businesses experience regarding legal regulations. These questions focus on how the relevant laws are applied, which procedures apply in which cases, and which rights apply in a particular situation. The answers are of great importance for the correct understanding and application of the legislation. Below is a resource where you can find comprehensive answers to such questions. These questions and answers will be useful for guiding you through the legal process and preventing potential problems.

Do the employer have to pay for holidays and public holidays while I benefit from my 6-month unpaid leave right after birth? Or do I not have the right to receive any wages on the days that fall on public holidays for 6 months because I have submitted an unpaid leave petition?

First of all, it should be noted that in order to be entitled to National Holiday and General Holiday pay, there must be an employment contract and a working relationship between the employee and the employer. However, the 6-month unpaid leave period, which should be given to the female employee upon request, is a period in which the employment relationship is temporarily suspended. During this period, the employer is not obliged to pay wages, and the 6-month unpaid leave period is not considered as periods worked in terms of seniority calculation and entitlement to annual paid leave. Therefore, if there is no contractual clause and/or collective agreement between you and the employer on this subject, the employer is not obliged to pay you a wage for the National Holiday and General Holiday days corresponding to the period you are on unpaid leave.

An employee wants to switch to part-time work after giving birth. As an employer, do we have to accept this?

It is a right granted by law to allow part-time work for female employees after childbirth and the use of this right is regulated by regulation.

REGULATION ON PART-TIME WORK TO BE DONE AFTER MATERNITY LEAVE OR FREE LEAVE
Article 11 of the Regulation clearly states that ‘The part-time work request made in accordance with the procedure is met by the employer within one month at the latest from the date of notification.’ Therefore, this right depends on the request of the employee. In other words, it is not left to the employer's discretion to grant this leave. Although there is no regulation in the regulation that the employee may terminate the employment contract for just cause if this request is not met, the general interpretation is that the employee may terminate the employment contract for just cause (Article 24 of the Labour Law). Termination of the employment contract for just cause entitles the employee to severance pay.

Is there a right to use job search leave in fixed-term employment contracts?

Fixed-term contracts automatically terminate at the end of the specified period. If a notice period is not specifically included in such contracts, there will be no notice period and therefore no job search leave. However, if a notice period is specifically included in the contract, job search leave may be in question.

Will an employee who works for 1 full year with a fixed-term employment contract be entitled to severance pay when the contract is terminated?

According to our law regulating our severance pay, which is still in force, the termination of a fixed-term employment contract is not one of the reasons that entitle the employee to severance pay.

Can I dismiss the employee without compensation when the employee does not comply with the working hours and comes late?

Our labour law lists the cases of termination without notice (without compensation) in Article 25/2. Accordingly, coming late to work does not constitute a just cause for termination. However, an employee who has made this behaviour a habit can be dismissed with compensation based on a valid reason.

One of our employees took unpaid leave for 2 years and returned to work after 2 years, but after 1 month, he received a health report (depression) and stated that he unilaterally terminated his service contract based on Articles 24/1,a-b of the Labour Law. What is the procedure we need to do about this? Do we need to pay severance pay? Can we get notice pay from him? Do we need to pay leave money ?

A period of 2 years is not a reasonable period of unpaid leave, there must be tangible reasons for the labour relationship to be suspended for such a long time. If this employee is really unwell and can no longer continue his/her work, you could have terminated the employment contract of this employee based on the health reasons in Article 25/1 of our Labour Law. When you did not do so, the staff terminated the employment contract within the framework of 24/1. In both conditions, it is already necessary to pay severance pay. There is no right to notice in such terminations. If the personnel has the right to annual paid leave that he/she did not use when his/her employment contract was terminated, he/she should be paid in cash.