The code from The Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy containing 62 articles on changes to some codes due to Covid-19 virus outbreak was published on the Official Gazette on 17.04.2020 which we have previously informed you about. With the President's Decisions numbered 2706-2707 dated 30.06.2020 (yesterday), the duration of the short-term working payment and the prohibition of termination of the workers' employment contract have been extended by 1 month.

So, within this 1-month period;

  1. Unpaid Leave;
    • The legislation bans employers from laying off their employers except for situations that do not comply with the rules of ethics and goodwill and similar reasons but also gives employers the right to put their staff on unpaid leave Employee's consent will not be sought for unpaid leave. The employer can force unpaid leave upon the employees. Besides, it will not give the employee the right to terminate the employment contract due to the unpaid leave.

    • Consequently, the unpaid leave, which could be applied until 17 July 2020, can be applied until 17 August 2020.
    • Within this period, despite the prohibition of termination the employment contract, the employer who terminates the employment contract in violation of the provisions of this article will be given an administrative fine at the gross minimum wage on the date of the act.
    • Likewise, the Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR) will make a payment of 39.24 Turkish Liras to the employee per day. This corresponds to 1,177 liras per month.
    • It is regulated that high administrative fines will be imposed for the employer who actually employs the worker that he has issued for unpaid leave. It is regulated that: “Administrative fines at the minimum wage amount determined by Article 39 of the Law No. 4857 at the date of the act are imposed separately for each worker employed and for each month of employment by Provincial Directorates of Labor and Employment Agency, and the amount paid to employees is collected from the employer along with the legal interest to be processed from the date of payment.”
  2. Short-term Working Payment:
    • The duration of the short-time working payment for businesses that have applied for short-term work until 30.06.2020 has been extended by one month for the same workers who have previously benefited from the short-term and without exceeding the same conditions and without the need for a new application and eligibility assessment. 1-month period starts as of July 1, 2020 for workplaces whose short-term period has ended prior to the publication date of this decision. In terms of workplaces whose short-term practice continues on the date of publication of this decision, duration of short-term working payment has been extended one month starting from the end date of short-term working period.
    • In line with the decision made by the Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR), the one-month short-term working period will continue from the date on which the short-term working period ends.