In terms of labour legislation, the manner in which the release letter in Turkey will be issued is stipulated in Article 420 of the Code of Obligations numbered 6098.
Accordingly, the release letter in Turkey is primarily accepted as a contract. Again according to the provision of the article;
- This agreement must be made in writing,
- As of the date of the release, at least one month has elapsed since the termination of the contract,
- Clearly stating the type and amount of the receivable subject to release,
- It is stipulated that the payment must be made in full and through a bank in proportion to the amount of the right.
Otherwise, these release agreements or releases issued accordingto the provision of the article are deemed null and void. Accordingly, it is null and void and will not have any consequences and at the same time will not have any evidential force. Since the release is a definitive termination of the debt, in case of its nullity, the existence of the receivable can be claimed and defended in any way.
Additionally, with the provision of the same article, release agreements in Turkey that do not contain the actual payment of the right or other payment documents containing a statement of release are accepted as receipts, limited to the amount they contain. Therefore, although they show that a payment has been made, they will not give the meaning of the termination of the debt as in the case of a release. Even in this case, it is stipulated that the payment must be made through a bank, but unlike in the case of a release in Turkey, payment through a channel other than a bank is not accepted as a reason for invalidity.
The last paragraph of the article contains an important regulation. Accordingly, the aforementioned form and content obligations and provisions are also valid for all compensation receivables arising from service contracts, including those that may be requested by those who are deprived of support and other relatives of the employee. According to this regulation, the aforementioned release rules shall apply to the payment of notice and/or severance pay and similar compensation payments that may arise after the termination of the employment contract for certain reasons and which may be requested by the employee or his/her heirs, as the case may be.
Based on this regulation, it should not be inferred that the payment of compensation to the employee or his/her heirs arising from the termination of the employment contract, such as notice, severance, bad faith, trade union, dismissal, compensation for deprivation of support, and payment of labour rights such as annual paid leave fee will only be valid if it is made through a bank. Payment through a bank is not a condition of validity in all three cases mentioned herein, but it can only be a condition of proof. Therefore, the payment can be proved by any means. The invalidity in case of non-payment through the bank channel, which is mentioned here, has a meaning in the table of accepting the amount written in the release as if the amount written in the release is not paid, and only in case of non-payment through the bank channel and release arrangement, the release letter in Turkey will be invalid.
