Pursuant to two presidential decrees(1) published in the Official Gazette on 30 June 2020 (Number 31171), the termination prohibition and unilateral unpaid leave, which were to expire by 17 July 2020, have been extended until 17 August 2020. Further, the short-time working allowance granted due to COVID-19 has been extended for one month.

Extension of termination prohibition and unilateral unpaid leave

Pursuant to the Presidential Decree on Termination Prohibition, the termination prohibition has been extended for one month from 17 July 2020 to 17 August 2020. The same extension applies to unilateral unpaid leave.

Therefore, employers:

  • are prohibited from terminating employment contracts until 17 August 2020; and
  • can impose unpaid leave without employee consent until 17 August 2020.

Extension of short-time working allowance

Pursuant to the Presidential Decree on Short-Time Working, payment of the short-time working allowance for employers that applied for short-time working on grounds of compelling reasons due to COVID-19 by 30 June 2020 (inclusive) has been extended for one month, with no need for an eligibility check or the filing of a new application.

For employers that exhausted the three-month term of the short-time working allowance before 30 June 2020, the one-month extension will start running as of 1 July 2020.

If employers were still benefiting from the short-time working allowance as of 30 June 2020, the term will be extended for one month as of the date on which the first three-month short-time working period ends.

The Presidential Decree on Short-Time Working further stipulates that payments made in this context will not be deducted from the unemployment allowance period.

Endnotes

(1) Presidential Decree 2706 on the Extension of Short-Time Working Allowance Periods for Workplaces on Short-Time Working on Grounds of Compelling Causes In Scope of Periodic Circumstances Emerging From External Impacts due to the New Coronavirus (COVID-19) (the Presidential Decree on Short-Time Working) and Presidential Decree 2707 on the Extension of Periods Specified Under the First and Second Paragraphs of Temporary Article 10 of the Turkish Labour Act dated 22 May 2003 Number 4857 for One Month (the Presidential Decree on Termination Prohibition).