Notice pay is a compensation that must be paid when the notice periods are not complied with in the termination of an indefinite-term employment contract. It is regulated in the Law of Work Article 17.
Notification Periods (Labor Law Article 17)
The employment contract must be notified according to seniority a certain period of time in advance:
- If the employment contract lasted less than 6 months: 2 weeks
- If the employment contract lasted 6 months – 1.5 years: 4 weeks
- If the employment contract lasted 1.5 – 3 years: 6 weeks
- If the employment contract lasted more than 3 years: 8 weeks
Calculation of Notice Pay
Compensation is paid up to the gross wage amount for the notice period.
For example: If the weekly gross wage of a worker who has worked for 5 years is 6,000 TL: 8 weeks × 6,000 = 48,000 TL notice pay.
In what cases is it not paid?
- Automatic termination of fixed-term employment contracts at the end of the period
- If the employer has terminated the employment law on the grounds of Article 25/II (a reason contrary to morality and good will)
- If the employee leaves the job without a justified reason (in this case, the employee owes notice pay to the employer)
- Termination by mutual agreement (cancellation)
- Termination within the trial period (2 months)
Bad Faith Compensation (Labor Law Art. 17/last)
If the employer terminates in bad faith at the end of the notice period (e.g. waiting for the employee to go on vacation, termination after pregnancy notification), bad faith compensation in the amount of 3 times the wage for the notice period is paid.
Supreme Court 22nd HD and 9th HD Approach
The 9th HD Court of Appeals accepts that the notice period must be used fully and completely, and that preventing the employee from coming to work during the notice period will be considered "not allowing the use of the period".
Frequently Seen Mistakes in Practice
- Failure to grant 2 hours of job search permission per day within the notice period (Labour Law, Article 27)
- Notification not made in writing
- Combining notice periods with annual leave
Court in Charge
- Officer: Labor Court
- Authority:Place where the work is done or where the worker resides
- Compulsory mediation:Mediation is mandatory before filing a lawsuit (Labor Courts Article 3)
The statute of limitations in business cases is 5 years. It is recommended that you get support from a labor law lawyer to prevent your rights loss.