Employees' Legal Rights: A Comprehensive Guide from Hiring to After Termination

In working life, most rights are lost simply because the employee is unaware of them. This guide summarises the rights you hold from the establishment of the employment relationship to its termination, and how to exercise them.

Your Rights While Employed

Registered (Insured) Employment

You must be registered with the Social Security Institution (SGK) from your very first day of work. In the case of unregistered employment:

• Past periods can be recovered through a service determination action (within 5 years from termination)
• Unregistered employment gives the employee the right to terminate for just cause and claim severance pay
• Paying part of the wage under the table produces the same consequences

Overtime Pay

Work exceeding 45 hours per week is overtime and must be paid at 150% of the hourly wage. What you should know:

• Overtime may not exceed 270 hours per year; if it does, the employee gains the right to terminate for just cause
• An "included in the salary" clause is valid only up to 270 hours per year and under limited conditions
• Work on the weekly rest day requires payment equivalent to 2.5 times the daily wage
• Work on national and public holidays (UBGT) entitles the employee to 1 additional day's wage

Paid Annual Leave

If the contract ends before the leave is used, the pay for unused leave is calculated on the basis of the final wage. Any waiver of the right to leave is invalid.

Your Rights When Being Dismissed

Checklist of Receivable Items

Upon termination, all of the following items must be calculated:

1. Severance pay — subject to 1+ year of seniority and an eligible type of termination
2. Notice pay — where termination occurs without the notice period (2-8 weeks' wages)
3. Overtime receivables — going back 5 years
4. Annual leave pay — all unused leave
5. Public holiday (UBGT) and weekly rest day receivables
6. Unpaid salary, premiums and bonuses
7. Reinstatement — if you are covered by job security (30 employees + 6 months' seniority)
8. Bad-faith compensation — for bad-faith termination outside the scope of job security

What Not to Do at Termination

• Do not sign a blank document or a release (ibraname) whose reverse side is not filled in
• Always obtain advice before signing a resignation letter — the offer "resign and we'll pay your severance" is usually a trap
• Keep all termination notices, including SMS and e-mail; the 1-month reinstatement period starts upon notification

Remedies

1. Mediation (Mandatory First Step)

For employment receivables and reinstatement claims, applying to a mediator before filing suit is mandatory. The process takes 3-4 weeks; if an agreement is reached, the settlement record has the force of a court judgment.

2. Lawsuit Before the Labour Court

If mediation ends without agreement, the case must be filed within 2 weeks (for reinstatement) or within the limitation period (5 years for receivables). To prove wage receivables, payroll records, bank statements, timesheets, e-mails and witness statements are used.

3. Complaints to the SGK and CİMER

Unregistered employment and under-reporting can be reported to the SGK; the inspection records later serve as evidence in a service determination action.

Limitation Periods Table

Summary

• Unregistered employment or underpaid wages give you the right to just-cause termination + severance pay.
• Overtime is paid at a 50% premium and can be claimed 5 years back.
• Be careful with release and resignation documents when being dismissed.
• The 1-month mediation deadline for reinstatement must not be missed.
• Do not accept any offer without having a calculation made that covers all receivable items.

References

• Labour Law No. 4857
• Labour Law No. 1475, Article 14 — Severance pay
• Social Insurance Law No. 5510
• Labour Courts Law No. 7036