Turkey, Gün + Partners updates
Employment & Benefits
Contributed by Gün + PartnersSurvival of parties' will for penalty clauses in employment contracts
- Turkey
- 13 November 2019
The Supreme Court General Assembly on the Unification of Judgments recently concluded that penalty clauses agreed for the unjust termination of a fixed-term employment contract before its end date are valid and enforceable even if the contract is deemed to be of an indefinite nature due to a lack of objective conditions required by law to conclude fixed-term contracts.
Mandatory mediation in labour disputes – an overview
- Turkey
- 10 July 2019
Applying for mediation was recently made a prerequisite when filing a lawsuit concerning monetary claims by employees or employers arising out of employment contracts, collective labour agreements or reinstatement claims. Mandatory mediation was introduced to accelerate legal proceedings and lower the costs in employment disputes.
Supreme Court rules inappropriately worded emails are valid reason for termination
- Turkey
- 06 March 2019
The Supreme Court recently found that the failure of employees to use appropriate language in their written workplace correspondence with superiors or colleagues constitutes a valid reason for termination. The court held that although the actions of the employee in question had not been serious enough to constitute just cause for termination and deprive him of his termination benefits, the employer could not be expected to continue the employment relationship.
Changes to minimum wage, severance payments and administrative fines
- Turkey
- 13 February 2019
Minimum wage, severance payments and administrative fines prescribed by the Labour Act are revised at the beginning of each calendar year. The minimum wage rate was recently increased to TL2,558.40 (gross) and the maximum severance payment was increased to TL6,017.60 (gross). In addition, the rate of administrative fines was increased by 23.73% compared with 2018.
Effects of recently published presidential executive decree on salaries in or indexed to foreign currency
- Turkey
- 21 November 2018
The recently published Presidential Executive Decree 85 amended Decree 32 on the Protection of the Turkish Currency. In the field of employment law, it is unclear whether foreign nationals fall within the scope of the decree and how their salaries will be paid going forward. Since the decree uses the term 'Turkish residents', the general understanding is that it also applies to foreign employees, as they must have a residential address in Turkey in order to have a work permit.
Litigation
Contributed by Gün + PartnersJustification of court decisions – an overview
- Turkey
- 23 July 2019
The justification of court decisions is regarded as a key element of the right to a fair trial. In Turkey, this right is protected by the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as the Turkish Constitution, the Code of Civil Procedure and Supreme Court precedents. However, in practice, judgments are sometimes made without providing any justification as to why the parties' claims and evidence were not taken into account.
What happens when an unquantified claim is quantifiable?
- Turkey
- 04 June 2019
When the new Code of Civil Procedure was enacted in 2011, it introduced a new case type to Turkish litigation where plaintiffs file an action for receivables for an unquantified amount that is left to the courts to determine subject to dispute. This innovation in the litigation procedure raises questions regarding the instances in which plaintiffs should be deemed unable to calculate the size of their claims and what the courts should do when the receivables or damages are quantifiable.
Constitutional Court annuls provision on imprisonment for opposition to interim injunctions
- Turkey
- 26 March 2019
Parties that failed to comply with an interim injunction or that violated an injunction previously faced one to six months' imprisonment. However, the Constitutional Court recently annulled this provision due to its lack of clear regulation and legal remedies. The changes will enter into force nine months after their publication in the Official Gazette and are final and binding on legislative, executive and judicial bodies, administrative authorities and real and legal entities.
Supreme Court view on adapting contracts due to fluctuation in currency exchange rates
- Turkey
- 04 September 2018
Turkey has recently faced higher currency exchange rates, which has raised the question of whether this increase constitutes a change in circumstances that affects the fulfilment of contractual obligations. As there is no settled Supreme Court precedent regarding whether a fluctuation in currency exchange rates requires the adaptation of contracts, first-instance courts will need to examine the circumstances of each case.
Constitutional Court issues decision on reasonable time requirement in criminal proceedings
- Turkey
- 22 May 2018
Since 2012, individuals in Turkey have been able to make individual complaint applications to the Constitutional Court claiming that the state has violated their fundamental constitutional rights (or rights under the European Human Rights Convention) through its acts or omissions. One of the most common claims is that the state has violated an individual's right to a fair trial by failing to meet the reasonable time requirement and concluding criminal cases over long periods, in some cases more than 10 years.
