In short
Reinstatement is looked at from the indefinite-term contract, the job-security threshold, and the short period plus the mediation condition. It is not a copy of the severance arithmetic.
The service of the termination and the final minute are the photograph of the calculation of the period.
Mandatory mediation is in the article on mediation in an employment dispute.
The venue of the labour court in Ankara is looked at from the workplace or from the defendant.
Related articles: the final minute.
Why is reinstatement a separate route?
When a dismissal notice is received, the first reflex often turns to a calculation of compensation. In some files where the conditions are formed, the main argument is whether the termination is valid, and whether the worker can return to the work. Reinstatement is a special application route provided for workers on an indefinite-term contract who enter the job-security regime.
This route does not only answer the question “how much do I receive?” It takes as its subject the invalidity of the termination, the starting at work, and the statutory results that can arise if the worker is not started. The periods are short. Delay can make the use of the right harder. The article is for general information. It does not contain a guaranteed result. For the frame you can look at the employment law page.
The conditions of job security: who can apply?
Reinstatement is not an open door for every termination. The headings often looked at in the preliminary assessment are these:
- An indefinite-term employment contract
- The worker having completed a certain seniority period at the same workplace (in practice a threshold of six months is often argued)
- The number of workers working at the workplace meeting the job-security threshold (the criterion of thirty workers in the statute, and the method of calculation, are examined according to the file)
- The termination being made by the employer
- The absence, for the worker, of the exceptions of a fixed term, a trial period, or a special status
A subcontractor and principal-employer relation, a holding structure, or the assessment of more than one workplace together can complicate the calculation of the number of workers. A claim of “few workers are shown on paper,” and a defence of “in fact it is under thirty,” can collide in the same file. For this reason the scale of the workplace, the payroll, and the social-security notification should be read together.
In a fixed-term contract, reinstatement does not come onto the agenda as a rule. If the fixed term has no objective reason, or if it is claimed that it turned into an indefinite-term relation by chain renewals, the characterisation can change. The label is not the basis. The actual relation is the basis.
The basis of a “valid cause” or a “just cause” of the employer’s termination is also separate. A valid cause is a frame tied to the worker’s competence, the worker’s conduct, or operational requirements. A just cause relates to heavier facts that make an immediate termination possible. In the reinstatement trial this distinction is important as to the burden of proof and the results.
The periods and mediation: the calendar that should not be missed
The most fragile side of the reinstatement process is the period. An application for mediation should be made within the statutory period from the service or the learning of the termination notice. Within the frame of Article 20 of the Labour Act, this window is as a rule one month. After the minute of no agreement, a period of two weeks runs as a rule for the action. A holiday shift is not applied the same on every calendar. To try the approximate last day, the legal-period calculation tool can be used. The tool does not give a binding result. It does not shift an official holiday. This period is taken up in practice as extinguishing the right. The approach “let me wait a little, maybe they will take me back” can in fact erase the right of application.
The mediation stage
Mediation is a condition of the action. The application is made through the competent mediation office. If an agreement is reached in the meetings, a return to work, compensation, or another model of ending can be tied to a protocol. The scope of the protocol, the language of waiver, and the payment calendar should be open. An uncertain text gives birth to a new dispute.
If there is no agreement, a final minute is drawn up. After this minute, a short period again starts to run for bringing the action. The date of the final minute, the service, and the application record should be kept.
Service and learning
In the calculation of the period, the service document is the centre. If there is no service, actual learning is argued with facts such as not being admitted to the workplace, the cutting of system access, and written or electronic notices. In files that remain in doubt, an early application can help reduce the period risk. In the practice of the labour court in Ankara as well, the fact of service and of learning forms the procedural backbone of the file.
The action process, and the results after the decision
If mediation ends negatively, an action is brought in the competent labour court. In the petition, the determination of the invalidity of the termination, reinstatement, and the accessory results in the statute can be made the subject of the claim. In the trial the employer tries to set out the valid or just cause of the termination, and its procedure. The worker proves claims such as the absence of the cause, an irregularity, or equality of treatment.
Subjects often examined in the trial
- Whether the termination notice was in writing, and the clarity of the ground
- Whether a termination for conduct was made without a defence being taken
- The measurable basis of a claim of a fall in performance or in productivity
- The fact of a real reorganisation in an operational termination
- The consistency of the means of proof (correspondence, discipline, a witness, a camera, and the like)
If the court decides the invalidity of the termination, a reinstatement judgment can be built. After the decision becomes final, the worker needs to make an application to start work within the statutory period. If the employer starts the worker within the period, the employment relation continues. If the employer does not start the worker, statutory results such as the compensation for not starting work, and the wage for the idle period, can come onto the agenda. These amounts are not a fixed “package.” They are determined within the frame of the statutory ranges and the conditions of the file.
Even though the question of reinstatement and of how is severance pay calculated? is often asked in the same period, the institutions are different. While the reinstatement route is chosen, the ending of the right without knowing it, by a release or by a mutual termination, is also a risk often seen. On the employer’s side, an irregular termination, an incomplete defence, and a performance claim without a document make the trial harder. In workplaces of a commercial structure, the management body of the termination decision, and the authority of representation, can also carry importance separately. At this point an intersection with commercial law can come onto the agenda in a limited way.
A valid cause, a just cause, and proof
The core of the reinstatement trial is the existence of a lawful basis of the termination. A valid cause is a frame that covers reasons arising from the worker’s competence or conduct, and from the requirements of the enterprise, the workplace, or the work. A just cause relates to facts that make an immediate termination possible in heavier breaches. Mixing these two concepts produces a wrong strategy both on the worker’s side and on the employer’s side.
An operational termination
In operational grounds such as a reorganisation, the closing of a department, or a reduction of posts, whether the employer has a real organisation decision is examined. Writing “reorganisation” on paper can give birth to an argument if the same work is in fact continued under another title. Consistency, equal treatment, and the objectivity of the selection criteria are headings often looked at.
Terminations for conduct and for performance
In terminations based on conduct, the right of defence, the weight of the concrete event, and past warnings carry importance. In a claim of a fall in performance, whether there is a measurable target, an objective assessment, and a possibility of improvement is spoken of. General and abstract labels of “unproductive” stay weak in most files.
On the worker’s side, saying only “I was dismissed unjustly” is not enough. Correspondence, job descriptions, the payroll, a witness, and evidence such as a camera or a record if there is one help make the invalidity of the termination concrete. Building the reflex of keeping evidence early makes the later trial easier.
The calendar after the decision, and the financial results
If the court decides the invalidity of the termination, the work is not counted as finished. The service and the finality of the decision start the period for the worker’s application to start work. The application should be made openly, in time, and in a way that can be proved. If the employer starts the worker at work within the period, the relation continues. If the employer does not, results such as the compensation for not starting work in the statute, and the wage for the idle period, can come onto the agenda.
The amount of these financial results changes according to the statutory ranges, the seniority, the cause of the termination, and the court’s assessment. The understanding “the same package for everyone” is not correct. How receivables such as severance, notice pay, and leave will be claimed while the reinstatement action continues, or afterwards, is also a separate subject of planning. The assumption that the two routes exclude each other may not be valid in every file. A confusion of the petition and of the strategy creates a risk of loss of right.
In Ankara the workload of the labour court, and the appeal processes, can affect the tempo. For this reason it would not be correct to give a fixed day count. The main purpose of managing the period is not to miss the application windows that extinguish the right.
For the employer as well, the process does not consist only of “not losing the action.” Taking a defence before the termination, building an objective selection criterion, preparing a written ground, and talking about realistic solution options in mediation can help limit the financial burden that can arise later. In periods of a collective termination or of a reorganisation, standard template petitions increase the risk because they ignore individual differences. For the worker, keeping the service document, not missing the mediation appointment, and drawing up the evidence list early are more determining in most files than delaying with an emotional reaction.
In files where the job-security conditions look borderline (the number of workers, the seniority period, the nature of the contract), a preliminary assessment is especially important. An action brought when there is no condition can give birth to a loss of both time and cost. A delay made when there is a condition can prevent the use of the right. These two extreme risks should be managed under the same heading, but in opposite directions.
The options spoken of in the mediation meetings should also be put on the record carefully. If headings such as a return to work, a severance and notice package, a reference letter, or a payment calendar are not written clearly in the protocol, an argument of “what did we agree on?” comes out later. If there is no agreement, the date of the final minute is critical for the start of the period of the action, so a copy of the minute should be kept. In the statement of claim, the result of the request — the invalidity of the termination, reinstatement, and the accessory results in the statute — should be written openly. General expressions that take the place of each other should be avoided.
Mistakes often made
- Losing the service date, or postponing the calculation of the period
- Leaving the mediation application to “later”
- Bringing an action directly when the job-security conditions do not exist
- Ignoring the distinction of fixed-term and indefinite-term
- Signing a release or a mutual termination and closing the reinstatement right without knowing it
- Putting the reinstatement and the severance or notice claims in each other’s place
- Delaying the application to start work after the decision
- Being content with an account of “I was dismissed unjustly” without evidence
- Acting only with rumour in an operational termination
- Not taking the statements in the mediation minute seriously
Risk of loss of right: the reinstatement periods are short and are applied strictly. Delay can lead to the closing of the route before the merits are entered.
The conclusion, and the information note
Reinstatement is a route tied to the discipline of the condition, the period, and the evidence. Not every termination enters this scope. In the files that do enter it, the mediation and the action calendar are determining. This text is for general information. The assessment can change according to the features of the concrete event, the current legislation, and the state of proof. A guarantee of a result, or of a return to work, is not given.
For the intersection of the process and the receivable, you can read the employment law page together with the article how is severance pay calculated?.
From where the reinstatement file is read
The termination document, the mediation minute, and the job-security record are read side by side. A hearing day that is not written in the file is not added. The office address does not choose the competent authority. The severance calculation is not put in the place of the reinstatement condition. The frame is read with the termination record in the file under the Labour Act No. 4857.
Conclusion
This article is for general information. The document, the time, and the procedure of the concrete event should be read separately. There is no promise of a result by heart.