Ending an employment relationship in Türkiye is the most litigated moment in the whole employment lifecycle, and it is where a foreign employer’s instincts are most likely to be wrong. There is no at-will employment. Under Labour Law No. 4857 (İş Kanunu) — supplemented by the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098 for staff outside its scope — the outcome turns almost entirely on how the contract ends, not on whether the employer wants to part ways. We plan and execute lawful terminations for employers, calculate what is genuinely owed, and defend the claims that follow when a dismissal is contested. This service sits alongside our work on employment contracts and workplace disputes and litigation, and forms part of our wider guidance on employing staff in Türkiye.
Lawful Termination Strategy
The first question is never “can we dismiss?” but “on what basis, and what does that basis cost?” An indefinite-term contract — the default form — can be ended in one of three ways, each with different consequences.
- Ordinary termination with notice. Either side may end the contract by serving a notice period (bildirim süresi) graduated by seniority — two weeks under six months’ service, rising to eight weeks beyond three years — or paying notice indemnity (ihbar tazminatı) in lieu.
- Termination for valid reason (geçerli sebep). Where job security applies, the employer must show a valid ground rooted in the employee’s capacity, conduct, or the operational needs of the business, and follow the required procedure.
- Just-cause termination (haklı nedenle fesih). Serious misconduct or breach under Art. 25 allows immediate termination without notice, but only if exercised within six working days of learning the facts and within one year of the event.
The six-working-day window is unforgiving. An employer who investigates for a fortnight before acting will usually find that the just cause has evaporated, converting what could have been a no-severance dismissal into a full liability. Move the legal analysis to the front, before the decision is announced.
Where a workplace has 30 or more employees and the worker has at least six months’ service on an indefinite-term contract, the job-security regime (iş güvencesi, Arts. 18–21) applies. The dismissal must then rest on a valid reason, be notified in writing, and — for conduct dismissals — give the employee a chance to defend themselves first. A dismissal that skips these steps is invalid regardless of how sound the underlying reason was.
Calculating What Is Owed
Getting the numbers right is as important as getting the reason right; a correct ground paired with an underpayment still lands the employer in mediation. Three separate figures are usually in play, and they are calculated independently.
| Payment | When it is owed | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|
| Severance pay (kıdem tazminatı) | 1+ year of service on a qualifying termination | 30 days’ all-in (giydirilmiş) gross wage per full year, capped at a ceiling revised twice a year |
| Notice indemnity (ihbar tazminatı) | Where notice is not served | Wage for the 2-to-8-week notice period tied to seniority |
| Accrued leave pay | On any termination | Unused annual-leave days paid on the final wage |
Severance pay (kıdem tazminatı) is the headline figure. It accrues after at least one full year of service and equals 30 days’ gross wage per year worked, calculated on the all-in wage — base pay plus regular benefits — and pro-rated for part years. The statutory ceiling (kıdem tazminatı tavanı) is updated semi-annually, so any calculation has to use the ceiling in force at the termination date rather than a remembered figure. No severance is owed where service is under a year, where the employee resigns without a qualifying reason, or where the employer validly terminates for the employee’s misconduct under Art. 25/II. Our detailed walk-through of the mechanics sits in our guide to severance and notice pay in Türkiye.
Defending Job-Security and Reinstatement Claims
An employee covered by job security who believes a dismissal was invalid can bring a reinstatement claim (işe iade). The procedure is strict and fast: the employee must apply to mandatory mediation within one month of the notice and, if mediation fails, file at the labour court within two weeks. If the court finds the dismissal invalid, it orders reinstatement; where the employer declines to re-employ, it pays job-security compensation of four to eight months’ wages plus up to four months’ wages for the idle period.
The case is generally won or lost on the file the employer assembled before the dismissal — the documented warnings, the written reason, the defence taken from the employee. A record built after the decision rarely persuades a labour court. For the practical detail of dismissing an employee cleanly, see our guide on terminating an employee in Türkiye.
Negotiated Exits and Settlement
Litigation is not the only route out, and often not the best one. A mutual-termination agreement (ikale) paired with a properly drafted release (ibraname) can close a file on controlled, predictable terms — but only if it is done correctly.
A release that reads as a blanket quit-claim, or that an employee signed under economic pressure on their last day, is routinely set aside. Turkish courts expect each entitlement to be named, the payment to be genuine, and the signature to be free. A boilerplate waiver buys the employer far less certainty than it appears to.
Because most employment money claims and every reinstatement claim must pass through mandatory mediation before a court will hear them, a negotiated exit structured with the mediation regime in mind gives both sides their best chance to settle before positions harden. We build these agreements to hold, calculate the exit package so it withstands scrutiny, and represent employers through mediation and, where it fails, before the labour courts.
How we handle a termination
- 01
Exposure assessment
Before any notice goes out, we test whether the employee has job-security cover, what severance and notice will cost, and whether a valid or just cause holds up.
- 02
Build the reason and record
We document the conduct, capacity or operational ground in writing, issue warnings where needed, and observe the six-working-day and notice deadlines.
- 03
Calculate and serve
We compute severance on the giydirilmiş wage, notice indemnity and accrued-leave pay, and prepare a written termination notice stating the specific grounds.
- 04
Negotiate the exit
Where a clean break is preferable, we structure a mutual-termination agreement and a valid release (ibraname) that actually closes the file.
- 05
Defend the claim
If the employee challenges the dismissal, we represent you through mandatory mediation and, if needed, the reinstatement and money claims before the labour court.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreign employer dismiss staff at will in Türkiye?
No. Türkiye has no at-will employment. An indefinite-term contract can only be ended by giving statutory notice (or pay in lieu) with a valid reason, or immediately for just cause, and severance is usually owed after one year of service. In a workplace with 30 or more employees, staff with six months' service also enjoy job security under Articles 18–21 of Labour Law No. 4857, so an inadequate reason exposes the employer to a reinstatement claim on top of the ordinary payments.
How is severance pay calculated?
Severance pay (kıdem tazminatı) accrues after at least one full year of service on a qualifying termination and equals 30 days' gross wage per full year worked, pro-rated for part years. It is calculated on the giydirilmiş, or all-in, wage — base pay plus regular benefits such as bonuses, meal and transport allowances — and is subject to a statutory ceiling that is revised twice a year. Notice indemnity and payment for accrued but unused annual leave are calculated and paid separately.
When is no severance owed?
Severance is not owed where the employee has less than one year of service, where the employee resigns without a qualifying justified reason, or where the employer terminates for the employee's serious misconduct under Article 25/II of Labour Law No. 4857. That last route is narrow: the misconduct must be genuine and provable, and the right must be used within six working days of learning of it, or the just cause — and the right to withhold severance — is lost.
What is a reinstatement claim and how much can it cost?
An employee covered by job security who is dismissed without a valid reason can challenge the dismissal. They must first apply to mandatory mediation within one month of the notice, and if that fails, file at the labour court within two weeks. If the court finds the dismissal invalid, the employer must re-employ the worker or, if it declines, pay job-security compensation of four to eight months' wages plus up to four months' wages for the idle period between dismissal and judgment.
Does a signed resignation or release protect the employer?
Not automatically. Turkish courts scrutinise resignation letters and releases (ibraname) closely and set aside waivers signed under economic pressure or drafted as blanket quit-claims. A release only closes the file if it identifies each entitlement clearly, reflects genuine payment, and is free of coercion. A properly structured mutual-termination agreement is usually a safer way to achieve a clean exit than a boilerplate signature on the last day.
When does a headcount reduction trigger collective-dismissal rules?
Under Article 29 of Labour Law No. 4857, dismissing at least ten workers for operational reasons — with the exact threshold scaling to the size of the workplace — is a collective dismissal. The employer must notify İŞKUR, the workplace union and the regional directorate in writing at least 30 days in advance. The procedure is separate from, and additional to, the individual severance and notice owed to each affected employee.