Under Turkish Labour Law, the employment security (job protection) regime significantly limits an employer’s right to terminate employment by subjecting dismissals to judicial scrutiny and requiring the existence of a valid ground for termination. For multinational and corporate employers operating in Türkiye, compliance with these rules is essential to mitigate legal, financial, and reputational risks.

Legal Framework and Scope of Employment Security

The job protection regime is regulated under Articles 18 to 21 of the Turkish Labour Code No. 4857. These provisions apply to employees who meet certain statutory criteria and restrict the employer’s termination right by imposing both substantive and procedural requirements.

Where a termination is found to be invalid, employees may file a reemployment (reinstatement) claim before the labour courts.

Conditions for Applicability

An employee will benefit from job protection provisions only if all of the following conditions are met:

Workforce Threshold

The employer must employ at least 30 employees in total across all workplaces operating in the same line of business. Group structures, subcontracting arrangements, and joint employment relationships may require a more detailed assessment.

Minimum Length of Service

The employee must have completed **at least six months of service with the employer as of the termination date. Probationary periods are included in this calculation.

Indefinite-Term Employment Contract

Job protection applies exclusively to employees engaged under indefinite-term employment contracts. Fixed-term contracts are generally excluded; however, repeated renewals may trigger reclassification risks.

Exclusion of Senior Executives

Senior executives who manage the entire enterprise and hold authority to hire and dismiss employees are excluded from job protection. In practice, Turkish court precedents interpret this exemption narrowly.

Valid Grounds for Termination and Burden of Proof

Under Turkish law, valid grounds for termination generally fall into the following categories:

-employee’s performance or conduct;

-operational, organizational, or business-related requirements.

These grounds must be objective, concrete, and well-documented. In any potential dispute, the burden of proof rests with the employer. Performance-based terminations and restructurings, in particular, require careful process management and contemporaneous documentation.

Conclusion

The employment security regime remains one of the most litigation-prone aspects of Turkish Labour Law. For corporate and multinational employers, dismissal decisions should be preceded by a thorough legal risk assessment and supported by robust internal procedures aligned with statutory requirements and current case law.

Ensuring compliance with job protection rules is not only a legal obligation but also a strategic component of sustainable workforce and compliance management in Türkiye.