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within one month. Moreover, as can be observed from the numbers
provided by the Act, the collective dismissal rules apply only if there
are at least 20 employees within the workplace.
Obligations of the Employer
The employer intending the collective dismissal of employees has
additional obligations to those which arise in the termination of indi-
vidual employment contracts.
Obligation to Notify the Contemplated Collective Dismissal to
Relevant Authorities:
In accordance with Art. 29 (1) of the Act, the
employer shall deliver its notification of its intention to collectively
dismiss its employees, in writing, to the workplace labor union repre-
sentatives, the relevant regional directorate of the Ministry of Labor
and Social Security (
Çalışma ve Sosyal Güvenlik Bakanlığı
), and the
Turkish Employment Organization (
Türkiye İş Kurumu - İŞKUR
) 30
days prior to such dismissal. Such written notification shall include the
reason for the contemplated lay-off, the number of persons and groups
to be affected by the lay-off, as well as its timing.
Obligation to Notify the Employees of Termination of Employment
Contract:
Apart from the notifications to be made to the above-men-
tioned persons and bodies, pursuant to Art. 17 of the Act, the employ-
er is required to provide separate notices to each of the employees
whose labor contract will be terminated. This “notice of termination”
will include the notice periods applicable to each employee. It must be
emphasized that notices of termination served upon the employees
shall be effective 30 (thirty) days after written notification is given to
the relevant regional directorate of the Ministry of Labor and Social
Security as per Art. 29 (1) of the Act. In other words, the notice peri-
ods granted to the employees for termination specified under Art. 17 of
the Act shall start only after the said 30-day period expires. Once the
30-day period expires, the employer may choose to wait for the expiry
of the notice period applicable to a given employee, or it may choose
to compensate the employee (notice pay), in lieu of a notice period,
together with the notice of termination and, therefore, terminate the
employment contract with immediate effect.
304
NEWSLETTER 2015