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The Equal Treatment Principle in Labor Law
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The equal treatment principle can be defined as “treating people
equally who are in similar circumstances”.
This principle is rather significant for the labor environment; therefore
it is regulated in Article 10 of the Constitution under the heading, “Equality
Before the Law”. Moreover, the equal treatment obligation of employers to
employees is regulated under Article 5 of Labor Law No. 4857, which is
founded on the International Labor Organization’s Constitution, to which
Turkey is a party. Pursuant to this legislation, the disparate treatment of
employees in equal situations, for example as to information, career, etc.,
is not justified and is prohibited.
Pursuant to Article 5 of the Labor Law, (i) employers must not
discriminate against employees due to their language, race, gender,
political opinions, philosophical beliefs, religion, religious sect, or similar
reasons, (ii) unless there are principal reasons for different treatment,
employers must not make any distinction between a full-time and a part-
time employee or an employee working under an employment contract
for a definite term and one working under an employment contract for an
indefinite term, (iii) except for biological reasons or reasons related to the
nature of the job, employers must not make any distinction, either directly
or indirectly, against employees as to the conclusion, conditions, execution
and termination of their employment contracts due to the employee’s
gender or pregnancy, (iv) different remuneration for similar jobs or for
work of equal value is not permissible, (v) application of special protective
provisions due to employees’ gender does not justify paying them a lower
wage.
In order for Article 5 of the Labor Law to be applied, these conditions
should be met:
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The employees should be working at the same work place.
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There should be a comparable group of employers within the work
place.
•
The treatment applied within the work place should concern all
employees.
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Article of August 2010