Reinstatement lawsuits: requirements and deadlines

An employee whose employment contract is terminated without a stated reason, or for a reason that is not valid, may file a claim for reinstatement. This protection, known as job security, is governed by Articles 18 to 21 of Labour Law No. 4857. However, the right does not arise automatically for every employee; the law sets certain requirements, and the deadlines are very short.

Who is protected by job security?

To file a reinstatement lawsuit, all of the following conditions must be met:

• The workplace must employ at least 30 workers. If the employer has more than one workplace in the same line of business, the total number of workers in those workplaces is taken into account.
• The employee must have at least six months of service with the same employer.
• The employment contract must be for an indefinite term. The expiry of a fixed-term contract is not a termination.
• The employee must not be an employer's representative (or deputy) managing the entire business, or an employer's representative managing the entire workplace with authority to hire and dismiss workers.

What is a valid reason?

The law provides that an employer may terminate the contract of an employee covered by job security only for a valid reason. Valid reasons fall into three groups:

• Reasons related to the employee's competence: for example, consistently and significantly lower performance than others doing similar work.
• Reasons related to the employee's conduct: for example, behaviour that disrupts the workflow or frequent lateness that does not amount to just cause but makes the relationship difficult to continue.
• Reasons related to the needs of the business, workplace or work: for example, a genuine reduction in staff due to economic contraction, technological change or restructuring.

Termination must be made in writing, and the reason must be stated clearly and precisely. As a rule, where the termination is based on the employee's conduct or performance, the employee's defence must be obtained first. Failure to comply with these formal requirements may on its own render the termination invalid.

Who bears the burden of proof?

The employer must prove that the termination was based on a valid reason. If the employee claims that the real reason was something else, such as union membership, exercising the right to complain, or discrimination, the employee must prove that claim. Every document and message relating to the dismissal is therefore important.

Deadlines: mediation first, then the lawsuit

Applying to a mediator is mandatory before filing a reinstatement lawsuit. The deadlines are as follows:

• An application to the mediation office must be made within one month of notification of the termination.
• If no agreement is reached in mediation, a lawsuit must be filed with the labour court within two weeks of the date of the final mediation report.
• These are strict time limits; if they are missed, the right to reinstatement is lost, and the court will take this into account of its own motion.

If the parties reach an agreement in mediation, the settlement should clearly state the date on which the employee will return to work, the wages for the period of non-employment, and the compensation payable if the employee is not reinstated. The parties may also agree on compensation alone instead of a return to work.

If the court orders reinstatement

• Once the judgment becomes final, the employee must apply to the employer to return to work within ten working days of being notified of the judgment. If the employee does not apply within this period, the termination is deemed valid.
• Upon the application, the employer must reinstate the employee within one month.
• If the employer does not reinstate the employee, it must pay compensation for non-reinstatement equal to at least four and at most eight months' wages.
• In addition, wages and other entitlements for the period of non-employment are paid, up to a maximum of four months.

If the employee is reinstated, payments made in advance, such as notice pay and severance pay, are deducted from the amount due for the period of non-employment. An employee who is not reinstated may also claim severance pay and notice pay, where the conditions are met.

What to do if you are dismissed

• Keep a record of the termination notice, its date and how it was delivered; keep a copy of every document given to you.
• Do not sign a release, a resignation letter or a "mutual agreement" document without reading and understanding it.
• Check your social security (SGK) termination code via e-Devlet.
• Gather your payslips, employment contract, performance reviews and workplace correspondence.
• Note the names of colleagues who witnessed the termination process.
• Seek legal advice promptly so that you do not miss the one-month mediation deadline.

Frequently asked questions

Can an employee dismissed during the probationary period file for reinstatement?

By law, the probationary period may be at most two months (at most four months under a collective agreement). Reinstatement, however, requires at least six months of service. An employee whose contract is terminated during the probationary period is therefore, as a rule, not covered by job security.

My fixed-term contract has been renewed several times; do I have job security?

Unless there is an essential reason, successive fixed-term employment contracts are treated as indefinite from the outset. In that case, a reinstatement lawsuit may be filed if the other conditions are also met.

My employer paid my severance and notice pay; can I still sue?

Yes. Payment of these amounts does not prevent a reinstatement lawsuit. If you are reinstated at the end of the case, the notice pay and severance pay paid to you in advance are deducted from the amount due for the period of non-employment. However, if you have signed a release or a mutual termination agreement, your situation needs to be assessed separately.

Every termination is assessed on its own facts. Whether the reason given by the employer actually exists, whether the obligations before termination were fulfilled, and whether the employee is covered by job security determine the outcome of the case. It is therefore important to proceed in a documented and planned way from the very beginning.