Employer's Right to Terminate Employment Contract Due to Long-term Medical Leave

Strategic Insights -

In Turkey, employees who take extended sick leave may face the risk of their employment contract being terminated by their employer. Article 25/I(b) of the Labour Law No. 4857 provides the employer with the right to terminate the contract without notice if the employee's illness or health reason results in an uninterrupted absence from work for a period exceeding six weeks beyond the notice period specified in Article 17. However, this right is subject to two conditions: the notice period and the duration of the employee's medical report.

The notice period to be considered in calculating the duration is the one applicable at the start date of the uninterrupted sick leave. If the employee's seniority increases during this period, the original notice period at the start of the sick leave should be taken into account. Moreover, the employee's medical report must be uninterrupted for the specified duration. Any gaps in the reports, including a single day, may prevent the employer from immediately terminating the employment contract for just cause under Article 25/1-b of the Labour Law.

Key Takeaways:

  • Article 25/I(b) of the Labour Law No. 4857 grants the employer the right to terminate the employment contract without notice if the employee's illness or health reason results in an uninterrupted absence from work for a period exceeding six weeks beyond the notice period specified in Article 17.
  • The notice period to be considered in calculating the duration is the one applicable at the start date of the uninterrupted sick leave.
  • Any gaps in the employee's medical reports, including a single day, may prevent the employer from immediately terminating the employment contract for just cause.
  • The employer's right to just cause termination is not nullified if the employee's medical report results from an occupational accident.
  • The employer is not required to obtain a written defense from the employee prior to termination due to absenteeism exceeding the notice period by more than six weeks.
  • Severance pay must be paid to the employee if the employment contract is terminated under Article 25/I(b) of the Labour Law and the employee has more than one year of seniority.
  • The period during which the employee is on medical leave corresponding to the notice period plus six weeks is counted as service time when calculating severance pay.

Statistics:

  • Notice period: 4 weeks for an employee with one year of seniority.
  • Duration of medical leave to terminate employment contract: 6 weeks beyond notice period.
  • Number of days with medical reports: 10 weeks (notice period + 6 weeks) for an employee with one year of seniority.
  • Number of cases evaluated by the Court of Cassation: 2018/1729.

Sources:

  • Labour Law No. 4857, Article 25/I(b)
  • Court of Cassation, Case No. 2018/1729, Decision No. 2018/19804
  • Court of Cassation, Case No. E. 2017/23865, Decision No. K. 2019/20398, Date: November 6, 2019
  • Court of Cassation General Assembly of Civil Chambers, Case No. 2017/9, Decision No. 2018/10.