Article 29 of the Labour Law No. 4857 regulates the issues related to collective dismissal in Turkey.
Accordingly, in order for a dismissal transaction or transactions to be considered as collective dismissal in Turkey, the existence of the following issues are sought:
- The dismissal must be due to economic, technological, structural and similar reasons.
- The dismissal must be made in accordance with Article 17 of the Labour Law.
- On the same or different dates within a one-month period (one-month period is considered as one month from the date of the first dismissal), if the number of workers in the workplace is between 20 and 100 workers, at least 10 workers must be dismissed, if between 101 and 300 workers, at least ten percent of the workers must be dismissed, if 301 and more, at least 30 workers must be dismissed.
At least thirty days before the collective dismissal in Turkey, the situation must be notified in writing to the workplace union representatives, the relevant provincial directorate and the Turkish Employment Agency. The notification must include information on the reasons for the layoff, the number and groups of workers who will be affected, and the time period in which the layoff will take place.
In the meetings to be held between workplace union representatives and the employer after the notification, the issues of preventing collective dismissal in Turkey or reducing the number of workers to be dismissed or minimizing the negative effects of the dismissal on the workers are discussed. At the end of the meetings, a document showing that the meeting was held must be issued.
Termination notices will become effective thirty days after the employer notifies the provincial directorate of the collective dismissal in Turkey request.
In the event of a definitive and permanent closure of the workplace, the employer is only obliged to notify the relevant provincial directorate and the Turkish Employment Agency at least thirty days in advance and to announce it at the workplace. If the employer wishes to recruit new employees for the same type of work within six months following the finalisation of the collective dismissal in Turkey, he/she must preferably call those who are qualified for the job. It is beneficial in terms of fulfilling the burden of proof to make this call by appropriate means (registered or registered mail with return receipt or local newspaper advertisement etc.).
The provisions on collective dismissal in Turkey shall not apply to the dismissal of seasonal and campaign workers, if the dismissal is based on the nature of these works.
The employer shall not use the provisions on collective dismissal in Turkey to prevent the application of Articles 18, 19, 20 and 21 (provisions on job security). Otherwise, it is possible for the employee to file a lawsuit according to these articles.
