Employment Law

Employment law governs the relationship between employees and employers. The formation of the employment contract, working conditions and hours, wages and social benefits, occupational health and safety, and the termination of the employment contract and its consequences all fall within its scope. Time limits are crucial in employment law; missing limitation periods, particularly those for reinstatement claims, may have irreversible consequences.

Mediation as a precondition to litigation

Under Labour Courts Law No. 7036, applying to a mediator before filing suit is mandatory for employee or employer receivables and compensation claims based on the law or on individual or collective agreements, as well as for reinstatement claims. Calculations made during mediation and the content of any settlement must be assessed carefully, as no lawsuit can be filed afterwards on matters agreed.

Reinstatement

• In workplaces with thirty or more employees, the indefinite-term employment contract of an employee with at least six months' seniority may be terminated only for a valid reason (Labour Law Art. 18).
• The employee must apply to a mediator within one month of service of the termination notice; if no agreement is reached, a lawsuit may be filed before the labour court within two weeks of the final mediation report (Labour Law Art. 20).
• If the termination is held invalid and the employee is not reinstated, the employee is paid compensation of at least four and at most eight months' wages, plus wages for up to four months of idle time (Labour Law Art. 21).

Employee receivables

• Severance pay and compensation in lieu of notice. Notice periods are two, four, six or eight weeks depending on seniority (Labour Law Art. 17).
• Overtime, weekly rest day, national holiday and public holiday pay
• Unpaid wages and pay for unused annual leave
• Bad-faith and discrimination compensation
• The limitation period for severance pay, notice and bad-faith compensation and annual leave pay is five years.

Occupational accidents and diseases

This includes compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage suffered by the employee or their relatives as a result of an occupational accident or disease, notification and determination of the accident before the Social Security Institution, and actions for the determination of service periods.

Services for employers

• Drafting employment, confidentiality and non-competition agreements
• Conducting termination processes in compliance with the law, obtaining employee defences and drafting termination notices
• Staff regulations and compliance regarding employees' personal data
• Representing employers in mediation meetings and before labour courts

Our firm provides advisory, litigation and mediation services to employees and employers in employment law.

The information on this page is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.