Employee's Right to Immediate Termination for Just Cause (Labor Law Art. 24)

Employee's Right to Immediate Termination for Just Cause (Labor Law Art. 24)

An employee for whom continuing the employment relationship can no longer reasonably be expected may terminate the employment contract immediately, without waiting out a notice period. Article 24 of Turkish Labor Law No. 4857 sets out the grounds that give an employee this right under three main headings: health reasons, violations of morality and good faith, and force majeure. Exercising this right correctly is essential for the employee to preserve important entitlements such as severance pay.

Immediate Termination for Health Reasons (Art. 24/I)

Under Art. 24/I of the Labor Law, if performing the work that is the subject of the employment contract becomes dangerous to the employee's health or life due to the nature of the work, the employee may terminate the contract immediately. Likewise, if the employer knowingly creates or maintains conditions at the workplace that damage the employee's health, this also gives the employee the right to terminate immediately. The relevant test is whether performance of the work concretely threatens the employee's physical or mental health; the fact that the employer has not taken reasonable measures to eliminate this danger is significant in establishing the right.

Violations of Morality and Good Faith (Art. 24/II)

Art. 24/II, the most frequently applied provision, covers situations such as: the employer misleading the employee on an essential point at the time the contract was made; words or conduct that offend the honor and dignity of the employee or a member of the employee's family (systematic psychological pressure — mobbing — is assessed within this scope); the employee being subjected to sexual harassment and the employer failing to take the necessary measures in response; and the employee's wages not being calculated or paid in accordance with statutory provisions or the terms of the contract. Late, incomplete, or unpaid wages are, in practice, one of the most commonly invoked grounds for just-cause termination by employees.

Force Majeure (Art. 24/III)

If a force majeure event arises at the employee's workplace that requires work to stop for more than one week, the employee may also assert this as a just cause for termination. The force majeure event must be an unforeseeable occurrence arising in the employee's environment that objectively makes it impossible to carry on the work; the requirement that the stoppage exceed one week is a condition for this right to arise.

Severance Pay and Notice Pay in Just-Cause Termination

An employee who exercises the right to immediate termination for just cause under Labor Law Art. 24 is entitled to severance pay, assessed under the still-effective Art. 14 of the repealed Labor Law No. 1475. However, because it is the employee who terminates the contract, the employee is not entitled to notice pay; notice pay is compensation paid by the party who terminates without observing the notice period to the other party, and therefore does not arise for an employee who exercises this right.

The Time Limit for Exercising the Right to Terminate (Art. 26)

Under Labor Law Art. 26, the right to terminate for just cause may no longer be exercised once 6 working days have passed from the day the employee learned of the event giving rise to the right, and in any event once 1 year has passed from the occurrence of the act. A termination made after these periods have elapsed is no longer treated as a just-cause termination. However, for continuing violations — such as the persistent non-payment of wages — it is generally accepted that, because the violation recurs each month, this time limit does not run in the same way; that is, the employee may exercise the right to terminate as of the date the violation ends or is discovered.

What to Keep in Mind When Exercising the Right to Terminate

• Written notice is not mandatory; termination may also be declared orally. However, for ease of proof later on, it is advisable to make the termination declaration in writing and to keep a record of its delivery.
• Termination takes immediate effect without waiting for a notice period; the employee is under no obligation to continue reporting to the workplace after terminating.
• Evidence supporting the ground for termination (payslips, bank records, message/email correspondence, witness statements) should be gathered and preserved in advance.
• The 6-working-day and 1-year time limits must be observed; except for continuing violations, missing these deadlines can result in the loss of the right.

Frequently Asked Questions

Must an employee observe a notice period when terminating for just cause?

No. Termination under Labor Law Art. 24 takes immediate effect without any notice period. The employment contract ends as soon as the employee communicates the termination.

Can an employee who terminates for just cause receive both severance pay and notice pay?

No. The employee is entitled to severance pay, but since the employee is the one terminating the contract, they are not entitled to notice pay.

How long does an employee have to exercise the right to terminate?

Under Labor Law Art. 26, it must be exercised within 6 working days of learning of the event and, in any case, within 1 year of its occurrence. For continuing violations, such as persistently unpaid wages, this period begins to run from the date the violation ends.

Must the termination notice be in writing?

Written form is not mandatory, but making the termination notice in writing and keeping a copy is strongly recommended, in order to later prove the reason for and date of termination in the event of a dispute.

Source: Turkish Labor Law No. 4857, Art. 24, Art. 26; on severance pay, Art. 14 of the repealed Labor Law No. 1475.

This content has been prepared for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Before exercising your right to terminate for just cause, we recommend seeking guidance from an employment lawyer tailored to your specific situation, to avoid missing the applicable deadline and to ensure your compensation entitlements are correctly calculated.