IN GENERAL:

Severance payment is an amount of payment which the employer is obliged to pay for the employee (or his/her heirs) who has completed at least one year of work by taking into account the seniority and the wage of the employee, in the case that labour contract is terminated  due to the reasons provided by the law. It is paid to the employees who reached a certain seniority level, in proportion to their seniorities, only in the cases stipulated by the law, not in every cases where labour contract terminated.

Severance payment is paid to the employee in the amount of 30 days wage by the employer for every passing full year starting from the date of employment as long as the labour contract continue to exist. For the periods exceeding one year too, the payment is paid with the same proportion.

Severance payment shall be deserved when the following conditions are met;

a. Employer is dismissed by the employer basing on the following reasons;

- For the health reasons listed in the Labour Law 4857, Article 25

- For the act of God

- In pursuance of Article 17.

B. Labour contract is terminated by the employer for the following reasons;

- Health considerations provided in the Labour Law, Article 24.

- The situations which do not conform to the ethics and good will, and the likes

- Termination due to the any force major.

c. Termination due to the military service

d. Old age pension (retirement) or full settlement of the rights

e. Termination of contract by female employer due to the marriage

f. Employer’s death.

TERMINATION OF LABOUR CONRTRACT FOR THE REASON THAT OVERTIME WAGES ARE NOT PAID:

24/2-e Article of Labour Law, which allows for immediate termination right in the case that overtime wages are not paid in full and completely, can be applied in all of the labour contracts whether they have definite or indefinite duration. If employer terminates the labour contract by himself due to the any reasons listed in this article he/she could not receive notice payment. Yet, he/she can receive all of his/her accrued receivables including severance payment.

The behaviours of the employer such as failure to pay employee’s wage, or short-change or under- calculate it are examples of the cases which do not conform to ethics and good will. Employee, whose wage is not paid or not calculated in accordance with the provisions of the law or according to the contract terms can terminate labour contract immediately relying on this valid ground. In the event that the wage is paid partially, rather than in full, or the wage is reduced, the employee can immediately terminate the contract.  Apart from the failure of paying the wage, miscalculation of the wage is also a justified reason for immediate termination.

The working time of the employee which exceed 45 hours a week is considered overtime as per Labour Law 4857, Article 41. The wages to be paid for overtime works must be paid in a way that, the amount of normal working wage per hour is increased by 50 percent. In this case, for one day overtime wage payment, one and a half time amount of normal wage which is earned in return for one normal working day must be paid. 

The employee, who worked overtime but his/her wage in return for these works was not paid in full and completely in a way we explained above,  can immediately terminate labour contract with justifiable reasons granting him/her the right of severance payment.

A&N LAW OFFICE 2015

www.anhukukburosu.com