Labor receivables are a matter of concern for employees who want to file an employment lawsuit. As Fidelis Law and Consultancy Office; we provide expert opinions and services with our team of labor litigation lawyers. Information on the subject is given below.
A worker who works in a workplace is basically entitled to wages in return for his or her work. As long as the employment contract continues, the worker can earn overtime, week holiday and UBGT receivables. In addition, with the termination of the employment contract, the employee may claim severance pay, notice pay, bad faith compensation or the wages of unused annual leave. In this article, we will give you information about what labor receivables are and how they arise.
Severance Pay
In the event of termination of the employment contract, the employee may claim severance pay. In order for the worker to be entitled to severance pay:
- Subject to Labor Law No. 4857
- At least one year of work
- The employment contract must be terminated for one of the reasons specified in the law.
Severance pay is paid at the rate of 30 days' pay for every 1 year of employment. After 1 year, the remaining working hours are also paid at the rate of 30 days. For example, if the employee has worked at the workplace for 3 years and 4 months, he/she will receive 3*30 days wage+1*10 days wage as severance pay. 30-day wage is the gross wage at the time of termination of the employment contract. In other words, material supports other than the wage received by the employee, such as travel, food aids, bonuses, etc., which are given to the employee on a continuous basis, are also taken into account in the calculation of severance pay. In order for the support other than wages to be taken as a basis for severance pay calculation, it is important that there is a certain continuity and that there is a monetary equivalent.
When calculating severance pay, some periods that the employee did not actually work are included in the seniority period calculation. The periods that are considered as worked in the Labor Law are listed as follows in Article 55:
- Days when the worker is absent from work due to an accident or illness
- Days when women workers are not employed before and after childbirth
- Periods during which the employee is taken under arms other than active military service (more than 90 days of this period per year is not counted.)
- As a result of the work being interrupted for more than a continuous week due to compelling reasons at the workplace, the time the employee spent without working is fifteen days (conditional on the employee resuming work).
- Weekly rest, national holidays, public holidays.
- The days when employees are unable to continue their work due to participating in mediation meetings, being members of arbitration boards, fulfilling their duties as employee representatives in these boards, attending councils, committees, commissions, and meetings established according to labor law, or participating as employee or union representatives in conferences, congresses, or boards of international organizations related to labor issues.
- The days of leave taken for valid reasons such as marriage, the birth of a spouse, death, etc.
- Short-time working periods.
- Annual paid leave duration.
In the event that the employee quits without just cause or the employer terminates the employment contract for just cause, the employee will not be entitled to severance pay. The cases where the employee is entitled to severance pay are as follows:
- Termination of the employment contract by the employee for just cause
- Resignation of the employee due to active military service
- The employee leaves the job to receive old age, retirement or invalidity pension or lump sum payment from the relevant institutions
- 15 years of insurance coverage and 3600 days of premium payments (even if the age requirement for retirement is not met)
- The woman quits her job within 1 year of marriage
- Death of a worker
Severance pay arises upon termination of the employment contract and is subject to a 5-year statute of limitations from the termination of the contract.
Notice Compensation
In the event of termination of an indefinite-term employment contract, the terminating party must notify the other party of the termination statement some time in advance. If the termination notice period is not complied with, the other party is paid a notice indemnity. As with severance pay, there is no minimum working period for the payment of notice pay. Instead, notice periods are regulated in proportion to working hours. According to Article 17 of the Labor Law:
- 2 weeks for workers working less than 6 months,
- 4 weeks for workers working between 6 months and 1.5 years,
- 6 weeks for workers who have worked between 1.5 years and 3 years,
- 8 weeks notice period is set for workers who have worked for more than 3 years. According to this article, the employment contract will end with the expiration of the notice periods. The party who terminates the contract without complying with these periods is obliged to pay compensation equal to the wage corresponding to the notice period.
The claim for notice pay arises upon termination of the employment contract and is subject to a statute of limitations of 5 years from the termination of the contract.
Bad Faith Compensation
In the event that workers without job security are dismissed by abusing the right of termination, the employee is paid a bad faith compensation equal to three times the termination notice period. The employer's termination of the employment contract for reasons such as the employee filing a lawsuit against the employer, testifying as a witness, getting married, or being pregnant are examples of abuse of the right of termination.
There will be job security if 30 or more workers work at the workplace, the worker works for at least 6 months and the employment contract is definite. Therefore, workers who cannot meet these conditions will be able to claim bad faith compensation.
The bad faith compensation claim arises upon termination of the employment contract and is subject to a 5-year statute of limitations from the termination of the contract.
Annual Leave Claim
According to Article 53 of the Labor Law, annual leave is granted to an employee who has worked at the workplace for at least 1 year. It is not possible to waive the right to annual leave or shorten the annual leave periods stipulated in the law. However, the annual leave period may be determined more than the periods specified in the law by contract. The minimum annual leave periods in the Law are as follows:
- 14 days for workers with 1 to 5 years of service,
- 20 days for workers from 5 to 15 years,
- 26 days for workers with more than 15 years.
Workers working in underground works will have 4 more days of annual leave. In addition, the annual leave period of workers aged less than 18 or more than 50 cannot be less than 20 days.
The periods deemed to be worked for the right to annual leave are regulated in Article 55 of the Labor Law. You can examine the situations in which the periods deemed to have been worked under the "severance pay" heading of our article.
Annual leave that is not used by the employer becomes a monetary receivable upon termination of the employment contract and becomes due and payable. It does not matter how the employment contract is terminated in order for the annual leave receivable to arise. For example, even if the employment contract is terminated by the employer for just cause, the employee will be able to claim the annual leave pay.
Annual leave claims arise upon termination of the employment contract and are subject to a 5-year statute of limitations from the termination of the contract.
Overtime Receivable
As a rule, the weekly working time is 45 hours and work exceeding this time is considered overtime. With the consent of the employee, the employee may work overtime for a maximum of 270 hours per year. In addition to the weekly working hours, since the daily working hours are set at a maximum of 11 hours and night work at a maximum of 7.5 hours, work exceeding these periods is also overtime. In return for overtime work, the worker receives 50% more than 1 hour's wage. If the weekly working time of the worker is less than 45 hours and the working time is exceeded, there will be overtime work and the worker will receive 25% more for 1 hour of overtime work.
If the worker wishes, he/she can use 30 minutes for each hour of overtime work and 15 minutes for each hour of overtime work as free time. If the worker wishes to use free time, he/she must use this time within 6 months of working overtime.
The right to claim overtime can be claimed before the employment contract is terminated. Since the overtime wage is due at the time it arises, the employee must claim the receivable within 5 years after the overtime work.
Wage Claim
Article 32 of the Labor Law defines wage as the amount paid in money to a person in return for work. The wage payment interval is at the latest once a month and this period may be reduced to one week by agreement. The employee may, of course, demand his/her wages before the termination of the employment contract. In fact, non-payment of wages constitutes a just cause for termination in favor of the employee. As in the case of overtime wages, wage receivables are time-barred within 5 years from the time they become due.
National Holiday General Holiday Receivable
Another receivable that can be claimed while the employment contract continues is the remuneration for the work done on national holidays and general holidays. The employee who does not work on national holidays and general holidays receives his/her wage as if he/she had worked. If the employee worked on these dates, i.e. January 1, April 23, May 1, May 19, July 15, August 30, October 29, and the Feast of Sacrifice and Ramadan, the employee is paid for two days. Since the UBGT receivable is due and payable at the time it arises, it becomes time-barred within 5 years after the work is performed.
Week Holiday Pay
According to Article 46 of the Labor Law, workers are entitled to 24 hours of uninterrupted rest within a seven-day period, i.e. a week holiday, and the wage for this day is paid in full to the worker. If the worker works on a week holiday, he/she will receive overtime pay in addition to the daily wage he/she would have received without working. Since overtime work is paid 50% more than the daily wage, a worker working on a week holiday will receive 2.5 times the daily wage.
Week holiday receivables are also due and payable at the time they arise and are subject to a 5-year statute of limitations.
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