10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10806
To counteract the effects of the pandemic on working relations, Turkish labour law, for the first time ever, imposed a ban on dismissals for all services and employment contracts. On the other hand, employers have been given the right to put their employees fully or partially on unpaid leave. Employers have been given the opportunity to apply for a short-time work fund, and the conditions for benefitting from this fund have been eased. Collective bargaining periods, periods for collective labour agreements and the resolution of collective labour disputes, and strike and lockout periods have been extended.
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COVID-19 and Labour Law: Turkey
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10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10806
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COVID-19 and Labour Law: Turkey
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COVID-19 and Labour Law: Turkey                                                   Italian Labour Law e-Journal
Ceren Kasım                                                                      Special Issue 1, Vol. 13 (2020)
cerenkasim@gmail.com                                               Covid-19 and Labour Law. A Global Review
                                                                                               ISSN 1561-8048
                                                                https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10806




                   COVID-19 and Labour Law: Turkey
                           Ceren Kasım*

                                                 Abstract
     Although neither a national health emergency nor a state of emergency was declared, citizens’
     fundamental freedoms and rights were restricted in severe ways. A programme was introduced
     by the government to limit the economic decline. Employers were given the opportunity to
     apply for a short-time work fund and the conditions for benefitting from it were eased and the
     procedures were accelerated.


     Keywords: COVID-19; Labour Law; Short-time work; Health and safety.




     After the outbreak of COVID-19, and especially after it spread around the world and the
 WHO declared a pandemic, the Turkish authorities imposed drastic restrictions on everyday
 life, in order to slow down and/or stop any further spread of the virus. Although neither a
 national health emergency nor a state of emergency was declared, citizens’ fundamental
 freedoms and rights were restricted in severe ways.
     Strict limitations on the freedom of movement in order to prevent the spread of COVID-
 19 were put in place in the country. Counted among these are the termination of all
 international flights, the closure of border crossings, the requirement for permission for
 inter-city travel and restrictions on entering and leaving cities with a higher population.
 Besides, some cities and villages are in quarantine to prevent the spread of the virus.
 Particular mention should be made of a total curfew that has been imposed on those aged
 65 years and above, those aged 20 years and below, and those who are chronically ill. Health
 workers, mayors, provincial directors, officers in social services institutions, public servants
 are exempted from the curfew imposed on people aged 65 and over. Furthermore, public
 employees, employees in the private sector and seasonal agricultural workers between the
 ages of 18 and 20 are also exempted. All kinds of scientific, cultural, artistic and similar
 meetings or activities to be held both outside and inside were postponed. Primary, middle,
 and high schools, and also universities, were closed. Besides the closure of all public gathering



 *
   PhD Candidate, Göttingen University, ORCID: 0000-0003-1232-6916. This report was written on 10th of
 April 2020. Taking into account the rapidly changing nature of the COVID-19-related regulations, please
 contact the author for any further new development. For example, the presidential government is planning to
 introduce a dismissal ban for the following three months and in cases where a dismissal ban is imposed, the
 employer will be having the right to leave the employee on unpaid leave.
Ceren Kasım                                                             Italian Labour Law e-Journal
                                                                       Special Issue 1, Vol. 13 (2020)
                                                          Covid-19 and Labour Law. A Global Review
                                                                            Section: National Reports




places, businesses, such as hairdressers and restaurants were closed, which affected small
enterprises in particular.
   The measures taken by the government is changing speedily. To counteract the effects of
the pandemic on working relations, till now the following particular issues and measures
emerged:

a) Interruption of business operations:
    The programme introduced by the government to limit the economic decline included
detailed financial relief. Particular mention should be made of the low-interest loans for
craftspeople and artisans. The repayments will be deferred for three months without interest,
on condition that the number of employees is not decreased during this deferral period.
    Moreover, the pandemic can be defined as force majeure, and relevant rights became
effective under Turkish labour law and the law on contracts. If a force majeure event, such
as the curfew for people aged 65 and over or quarantine restrictions, prevents an employee
from continuing to work for more than a week, the employer has a right of extraordinary
termination. If he does not terminate the contract, he is not obliged to pay any salary until
the employee starts to work again. On the other hand, if the company ceases to operate for
longer than a week because of the pandemic, or if another employee in the company has the
COVID-19 illness, the employee has the right to terminate his/her employment contract as
the result of the force majeure.
    The most important regulation introduced in the field of labour law during the COVID-
19 pandemic concern the short-time working fund. With the recognition that COVID-19
represents force majeure, employers were given the opportunity to apply for short-time work
fund. Moreover, the conditions for benefitting from it were eased and the procedures were
accelerated. Without the employer having to meet any other conditions, if the operations in
a workplace are stopped completely or partially for at least four weeks, a short-time working
allowance for employees and the general health insurance premiums of employees will be
paid for a period not exceeding three months. Short-time working applications have to be
made by employers on behalf of their employees. The conditions relating to working hours
and premium payments, which an employee who is subject to short-time working restrictions
must meet at the start of the short-time work if he/she is to benefit from the funding, were
also eased for applications made because of the effect of COVID-19 (an employment
contract for the previous 60 days and 450 days of social security premium in the last three
years). The crucial part of the regulation about the short-time working fund is that, in order
to benefit from it, the employer should not dismiss any employee during the period in which
short-time working is applied, with exception of a dismissal on the grounds of breaking the
rules of ethics and goodwill.
    The regulation about catch-up work has also been adapted to the current situation. If the
work available falls substantially below that available in normal work periods or completely
stops because of COVID-19, the employer may call upon catch-up work within four months
– in other cases two months- in order to compensate for the time lost due to unworked
periods. Such work shall not be considered overtime work or work at extra hours.


https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10806                                                         2
Ceren Kasım                                                             Italian Labour Law e-Journal
                                                                       Special Issue 1, Vol. 13 (2020)
                                                          Covid-19 and Labour Law. A Global Review
                                                                            Section: National Reports




   Additional payments were made to staff working in health facilities headed by the Ministry
of Health for a period of three months.
   Financial aid will be provided to families in need according to criteria specified by the
Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policies.
   The government introduced a COVID-19 credit for wage earners, minimum wage
earners, retirees, the self-employed, and middle and low income earners with a monthly
household income of less than nearly twice the minimum monthly wage.

b) Health and safety of workers:
   Social distancing and staying at home are the precautions that the authorities are urging
people to take.
   Flexible working methods, such as remote working and rotating work, were ordered to
be allowed for staff (civil servants or workers) in public institutions and organizations.
   Flexible working methods are also advised in the guidelines published by The Ministry of
Family, Labour and Social Services, which lay down very detailed measures to be taken in
workplaces. Centring on regulations about social distancing, they cover the reorganization of
work to permit social distancing, hygiene rules, minimum contact with objects, the use of
personal protective equipment and health checks.
   Rules have been made in some sectors, like banks and markets, to limit working hours
and, in others, like public transport, to limit the number of customers, and there are rules
about using face masks during working hours.
   The most interesting development is the digitalisation of a great number of services that
were previously provided through personal contact or in writing.

c) Increased caregiving duties because of school closures or the closure of daycare
services:
   No particular measures have been taken.

d) Particularly vulnerable workers:
   Ankara Metropolitan Municipality has banned waste picking. The homes of people who
had previously picked waste have been disinfected and those who do not have a home have
been accommodated in sheltered facilities. Food aid is being provided.

e) Involvement of social partners:
   Social partners were not involved in the design of the measures. The measures were taken
by the presidential government with advice from a board made up of a group of medical
scientists that was set up by the Ministry of Health.

f) Issues and needs that have not been sufficiently addressed:
    A nationwide regulation about the most vulnerable workers, such as domestic workers,
and workers in the informal economy, such as street vendors, as well as workers in the most
risky groups, such as waste pickers or prison workers, would be welcomed.


https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10806                                                         3
Ceren Kasım                                                         Italian Labour Law e-Journal
                                                                   Special Issue 1, Vol. 13 (2020)
                                                      Covid-19 and Labour Law. A Global Review
                                                                        Section: National Reports




Copyright © 2020 Ceren Kasım. This article is released under a Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 International License




https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10806                                                     4
