In disputes involving workers taken abroad by Turkish construction companies, established Court of Cassation case law holds that Turkish law applies and Turkish courts have jurisdiction in most cases, even where the work was performed abroad. Even if a choice of law was made, mandatory provisions protecting the employee cannot be circumvented.

On overseas sites wages are commonly agreed in foreign currency; in that case severance and notice pay, overtime, weekly rest and public holiday receivables may also be claimed in foreign currency. Passport entry-exit records, work visas, site attendance sheets and bank records are the key evidence of working periods and wages.

Where assignments are rotated among group companies, the 'organic link' and joint employment doctrines allow group companies to be held jointly liable. The five-year limitation period for wage claims and the mandatory pre-action mediation requirement must be observed.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact our firm regarding your specific matter.

Turkish citizens working abroad may have their overseas insurance periods counted towards retirement in Türkiye by paying contributions under Law No. 3201. Both employment periods and periods spent as a housewife may be covered.

Applications rely on service certificates showing overseas employment, passport records and employer documents. The amount is calculated over the earnings basis chosen by the applicant; failure to pay within the prescribed period invalidates the arrangement.

A pension based on overseas contributions requires permanent return to Türkiye. Planning receivable litigation and contribution processes together prevents loss of rights in both collection and retirement.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact our firm regarding your specific matter.

Construction has the highest rate of occupational accidents; falls from height, electrocution and machinery accidents lead the statistics. Employers must conduct risk assessments, provide personal protective equipment, deliver safety training and supervise compliance.

In the subcontracting chains common on construction sites, the principal employer is jointly liable with the subcontractor towards the subcontractor's workers. This joint liability substantially strengthens the prospects of recovery.

Accidents on overseas sites may also trigger notification to the Social Security Institution and compensation litigation before Turkish courts. Pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages — and loss-of-support compensation in fatal accidents — require swift, evidence-based management of the process.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact our firm regarding your specific matter.

On construction sites, working time is documented through attendance sheets, shift schedules, site entry-exit logs and machinery handover reports. Obtaining these records before litigation is a precondition of calculating the claim in full.

Where cash payments and dual payroll practices arise, discrepancies between bank records and payrolls, witness statements and comparable-wage inquiries from professional chambers become decisive. The Court of Cassation considers claims of long, intensive site work consistent with the ordinary course of life.

Wages agreed in foreign currency may be awarded in that currency; severance carries the highest bank deposit interest, and wage receivables the highest deposit rate. Serving a formal notice matters for default and the start of interest.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact our firm regarding your specific matter.

An employee whose contract has been terminated must apply to a mediator within one month of service of the termination notice in order to seek reinstatement. This period is preclusive; if missed, the claim is dismissed without examination on the merits.

If mediation fails, a lawsuit must be filed before the labour court within two weeks of the final report. The essential conditions are at least thirty employees at the workplace, six months' seniority, and an indefinite-term contract.

If the court rules the termination invalid, the employee must apply to the employer within ten business days of service of the final judgment. If the employer fails to reinstate within one month, job-security compensation of four to eight months' wages plus up to four months' idle-time wages become payable.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact our firm regarding your specific matter.

Severance pay is due to an employee with at least one year of service with the same employer where the contract ends in circumstances prescribed by law. Thirty days' gross 'dressed' wage is payable per full year; partial years are prorated.

The main grounds are the employee's justified immediate termination, unjust dismissal, military service, a female employee leaving within one year of marriage, and completion of pension conditions. Resignation does not, as a rule, create entitlement.

Regular bonuses and continuing benefits such as meal and travel allowances are included in the final gross wage. The statutory ceiling is updated annually; amounts above it are not payable. The limitation period is five years.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact our firm regarding your specific matter.

An occupational accident is an event occurring at the workplace, due to the work performed, or while on duty elsewhere, causing physical or mental harm. It must be reported to law enforcement immediately and to the Social Security Institution within three business days.

The employer bears fault-based liability to the extent it breached health and safety obligations. The injured employee may claim pecuniary damages for incapacity and non-pecuniary damages; in fatal accidents, dependants may claim loss-of-support compensation.

Income granted by the SSI is deducted from damages, and the Institution may seek recourse against a culpable employer. Depending on fault, criminal investigations for negligent injury or homicide may also follow.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact our firm regarding your specific matter.

Work exceeding forty-five hours per week is overtime, payable at a fifty percent premium. The employee bears the burden of proving overtime; the employer bears the burden of proving payment.

If signed payrolls without reservation include overtime accruals, the employee may rebut them only with written evidence. Otherwise, entry-exit records, shift schedules, e-mails and witness statements may serve as proof.

Courts apply an equitable reduction to calculations based solely on witness testimony. For long-term overtime claims, collecting and preserving electronic records before litigation is critical.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact our firm regarding your specific matter.

In a significant portion of employment, commercial and consumer disputes, applying to a mediator is a mandatory precondition to litigation. Mediation itself is interest-based and voluntary; only the application is mandatory.

The process starts with an application to the mediation office; the appointed mediator invites the parties to a first meeting. A party failing to attend without valid excuse may bear the litigation costs even if it later wins.

An agreement bearing an enforceability annotation has the force of a judgment. Failing agreement, the final report satisfies the precondition; but in disputes such as reinstatement, post-report filing periods are preclusive.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact our firm regarding your specific matter.

In civil procedure each party must prove its own allegations. Monetary thresholds for mandatory documentary proof are updated annually; transactions above the threshold must, as a rule, be proven by deed.

Electronic data — e-mails, corporate messaging records and e-signed documents — are increasingly decisive. Records of evidentiary value must be preserved unaltered, with date integrity intact.

Where a dispute is likely, pre-action determination of evidence is available. Systematic archiving of contract, delivery and payment documents often determines the fate of future litigation.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact our firm regarding your specific matter.

The Personal Data Protection Law imposes extensive obligations on employers. Special categories of data in personnel files, such as health reports, may be processed only under statutory conditions.

CCTV, vehicle tracking and corporate e-mail monitoring must comply with proportionality, and employees must be informed in advance through privacy notices. Covert monitoring risks both fines and invalid dismissals.

Breach-notification periods to the Board and data subjects are very short. Periodically updating the compliance set — inventory, retention-destruction policy and privacy notices — is the most effective protection.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact our firm regarding your specific matter.

In residential and roofed-workplace leases, a tenant cannot be evicted merely because the term has expired. Eviction is possible only on statutory grounds, through notices and litigation.

The most common routes are two justified notices, the landlord's or relatives' housing need, the new owner's need, and enforcement based on a written eviction undertaking, which is valid only if given after the lease was signed.

In need-based eviction, the need must be genuine, sincere and compelling; the property may not be leased to anyone other than the former tenant for three years, failing which the tenant may claim compensation.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact our firm regarding your specific matter.

If the marriage has lasted at least one year, uncontested divorce is possible upon joint application or acceptance of one spouse's claim. The judge must hear the parties in person and approve the protocol.

Provisions on alimony, custody, visitation and property division must be drafted clearly and enforceably. Vague clauses become the source of new post-divorce disputes.

If liquidation of the matrimonial property regime is left outside the protocol, it may be claimed in a separate action after the divorce becomes final. Separately regulating jewellery, the family home and loan obligations prevents losses.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact our firm regarding your specific matter.

Concordat enables a debtor unable, or at risk of becoming unable, to pay debts as they fall due to restructure them by agreement with creditors. A provisional respite granted upon application halts enforcement proceedings.

The court grants a definitive respite after assessing the preliminary project and appoints a commissioner. The debtor continues ordinary operations under supervision; secured creditors are negotiated with separately.

If creditors accept the project by the statutory majority and the court ratifies it, the concordat becomes binding. Managing the financial and legal dimensions together is the key determinant of ratification.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact our firm regarding your specific matter.