The “Labor Courts Code no 7036” which introduces a mandatory mediation mechanism, and which governs the establishment, jurisdiction, tasks and trial procedures of the labor courts, has been published in the Official Gazette dated 25.10.2017. Article 3 which governs the condition to apply to the mediator under the Code, and Articles 11 and 12 which contain the “abolished provisions”, will enter into force as of 1 January 2018.

Pursuant to the said Code, applying to a mediator at the first stage, shall be sought for as a cause of action in lawsuits to be instituted with a claim for employee/ employer receivables/compensation or re-employment claim, based on personal or collective labor contracts. Matters in dispute for which one must apply to mediation, including any claim for receivables or compensation, should arise from the employment relation. In this kind of cases, in case one directly initiates a lawsuit, the relevant court shall duly dismiss the case due to lack of cause of action.

According to the circular numbered 27998389-010-06-02-5820 released by the General Directorate of Budget and Fiscal Control on 07.01.2017 with the subject ‘Financial and Social Rights’, the coefficients used to calculate the wage of a civil servant have been revised effective as of 01.07.2017.

a. Income Tax Exempted Severance Pay

The following values have been calculated taking these coefficients into account, and shall be applied for the period between the dates of 01.07.2017 – 31.12.2017 maximum severance pay to be exempted from income tax is 4.732,48.- TL,

Due to overtime and extra hours regulations in Türkiye, employers are obliged to seek consent from their employees in writing at the beginning of every year and keep it in the employee's respective personnel file.

Click here to download the bilingual consent form applicable for 2017.

It has been announced in the Official Gazette numbered 29620 dated February 10, 2016 employees were given the right to unpaid leave and/or part time working hours after childbirth and/or adoption of a child under the age of three, with the changes made in the 13th and 74th Articles of the Labor Law numbered 4857 and Law numbered 6663.

In November 11, 2016, dated Official Gazette, it has been announced from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security that with the new regulations being put in effect, employees whom benefit from maternity leave and/or unpaid leave in regards can require part time working hours until the beginning of the month of the child/children starts his/her primary education.