Yargıtay rules employees entitled to severance for delayed wages

The Turkish Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) has issued a precedent-setting ruling regarding wage delays and employee rights. The 9th Civil Chamber upheld a decision granting severance pay to an employee who terminated their employment contract due to a significant delay in salary payments.

In the specific case, a project manager, identified as N. D., resigned after their April salary was not paid on time. The payment was eventually made on May 28, five days after the termination notice. The court determined that because the delay exceeded the 20-day period stipulated in Article 34 of the Labor Law (No. 4857), the employee had the right to terminate the contract for just cause.

The employer argued that the delay was a one-time occurrence and too brief to justify termination. However, the Court of Cassation affirmed that even a single instance of exceeding the 20-day legal limit for wage payments can constitute grounds for just cause termination, thereby entitling the worker to severance pay. While the worker was successful in claiming severance, additional claims for overtime pay were rejected due to insufficient evidence.