Termination of a labour contract by the employer due to justified reason under Turkish Law - employee being arrested or taken under custody.

Below is a general note on termination of a labour contract due to employer's justified reason of the employee being arrested or taken under custody.

According to the Turkish Labour Law (Article 17), depending on the period of time the employee has worked for the company, the period/term of notice for termination is stipulated as follows (Unless otherwise agreed between the parties):

i) for a work period less than six months, the contract can be terminated in two weeks after the notice of termination.

ii) for a work period more than six months but less than one and a half year, the contract can be terminated in four weeks after the notice of termination,

iii) for a work period more than one and a half year and less than three years, the contract can be terminated in six weeks after the notice of termination.

iv) for a work period more than three years, the contract can be terminated in eight weeks after the notice of termination.

So, let's say, if an employee has been working for more than one and a half year but less than three years, a term of six weeks must be granted before the date of termination.

If there is a written contract signed between the parties, the provisions of the contract will prevail. Please note that the terms of notice cannot be reduced against the benefit of the employee. 

These terms of notice is related to the Article 25 of the Labour Law which regulates the right of the employer to terminate the labour contract immediately on justified reasons. According to the Paragraph IV of this article, it is a justified reason for the employer to terminate the labour contract if the employee is taken into custody or is under arrest provided that the duration of the absence of the employee surpasses the terms of notice stipulated in Article 17 (e.g. six weeks of absence for an employee who has worked for more than one and a half year and less than three years).

The notice of termination can be done within a reasonable period upon the end of the term of notice provided that the reason for termination is clearly stated in the notice.

In this case, the employee is entitled to a severance pay but not to the compensation for term of notice.

The employee has a right to file a case against the employer at the labour courts within a month starting from the date notice is served to the employee, with the claim that there is no valid reason for the termination of the contract or the reason set forth is not a valid reason.