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Turkish Court of Cassation labor law rulings

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2026-08-31 14:26 UTC → 2026-08-31 20:21 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The Turkish Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) has issued several precedent-setting rulings regarding labor law and employee entitlements. Initial rulings addressed annual leave and overtime. The 9th Civil Chamber determined that an employee’s previous seniority must be factored into annual leave calculations, even if previous rights were settled, specifically benefiting those who continued working after retiring under the EYT law. Additionally, the court ruled that long-haul truck drivers cannot prove overtime claims solely through witness testimony if those witnesses did not personally accompany them during journeys. The court noted that legal driving limits cannot serve as a definitive basis for calculating overtime due to variations in individual time management. Subsequent rulings expanded on financial disputes. The court established that employers may reclaim erroneous overpayments made to employees under the ‘unjust enrichment’ provisions of the Turkish Code of Obligations, provided the employer can prove the mistake occurred. This overturned previous lower court decisions that had protected workers based on the employer’s superior economic position. Most recently, the court addressed wage delays and severance pay. The 9th Civil Chamber ruled that an employee is entitled to severance pay if they terminate their contract due to wages being delayed beyond the legal limit. In a specific case involving a project manager, the court affirmed that even a single instance of exceeding the 20-day threshold specified in Article 34 of the Labor Law constitutes ‘just cause’ for termination. The court noted that an employer’s economic difficulties do not justify failing to meet statutory payment timeframes. ~~Furthermore,~~ Regarding rest periods, the Yargıtay has restructured mandatory break times. ~~Employees working~~ For shifts exceeding 11 ~~hours~~ hours, employees are ~~now~~ entitled to at least 1.5 hours of break, increasing to 2 hours for shifts between 13 and 14 hours.

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