Job security rules in Turkish labor law

Turkish Labor Law includes two separate systems that regulate termination of employment contracts and dismissal from employment by institutions and companies operating in Turkey. The first system relies on "freedom to end services" which gives the employer the right to terminate employment contracts whenever it deems appropriate, without the need to justify the action taken or the existence of a legal justification for that, and the matter is limited to merely paying termination compensation.

As for the second system in Turkish labor law, it is a parallel system called "job security", which is the opposite of the first system and obliges employers to provide valid and legal reasons for terminating the contracts of their workers, and the termination of services cannot be considered valid without providing those reasons.

According to this law, employers cannot fire employees who benefit from this job system whenever they deem it appropriate without any legal or judicial justification.

Since Turkey has recently become a destination for many Arab investors who have launched investment projects, it has been necessary for these investors to familiarize themselves - well - with the labor laws that they must abide by, so that they do not find themselves involved in legal problems with their employees.

In order for the employee to be covered by the job security law, he must have the following:
1- That he has worked in the same place of work for a period of no less than six months.
2- That the number of employees in the workplace be at least thirty.

Determining the total number of employees in a particular workplace can sometimes be complicated, and for this reason we include the following important points:

- If the company owned by the investor has several workplaces (two or more different stores or factories in different places), then the total number of its employees is the sum of the number of workers in the different workplaces.

- The Court of Appeal clearly states that the total number of employees at the employer at the time the contract is terminated should be taken into account.

- As mentioned above, employment contracts for employees who are not beneficiaries of the job security law can be terminated without providing any legal reason for that. On the other hand, the employer cannot terminate the employment contracts covered by the job security law without providing valid or legitimate reasons for that. Despite the similarities between the concepts of "Wajih" and "project", the implications for them are different.

- Cases where the employers are dismissing an employee covered by the job security law - without providing a valid or legitimate reason - are therefore unlawful, and the employee is granted the right to retain his job.

1 - Dismissal from work based on a valid reason: One of the valid reasons upon which dismissal from work can be done legally is the employee's incompetence or behavior or due to the necessities and location of the work.

The law does not provide specific instructions or a clear definition of the above terms, but rather uses general language that is ambiguous. Therefore, each case should be considered separately, and its facts and circumstances must be examined before the legality of the separation or not.

Therefore, it is necessary to review the cases previously considered in the Court of Appeal, to determine the employee’s behaviors and shortcomings approved by the court, as well as matters related to the workplace and what is meant by his “necessities” that can be considered justification for dismissal from work. Investors are also advised to take the advice of lawyers before taking any action against their employees.

2 - Dismissal from work based on a legitimate reason: Contrary to the conditions related to dismissal based on "good reasons"; the conditions related to dismissal based on "legitimate reasons" are more clear and specific, and a detailed explanation of them was mentioned in the Turkish Labor Law, which divided them into three categories; They are: health reasons, behavior that violates ethical principles and the principle of goodwill, and any other compelling reasons.

Among the persuasive reasons, for example, is the employee's inability to work for more than a week due to force majeure conditions, which gives the employer the right to dismiss him based on a legitimate reason.

We can say that the Turkish Labor Law was designed in a way that places the interest of employees over the interest of employers, given the position, power and resources of the last category that are not available to employees, and thus seeks to redress the imbalance of power between employers and employees.

Courts tend in the same way, as they often issue judgments in favor of employees, so investors are advised to make sure to review employee files, to deal with caution with dismissal procedures, and to rely on the experience of lawyers so that they do not suddenly find themselves subject to litigation and the additional costs involved.