COLLECTIVE REDUNDANCY IN ACCORDANCE WITH LAW NO. 4857 ON EMPLOYMENT
In our country, collective redundancy refers to the termination of employment for a specific number of employees in a workplace or due to the requirements of the job, as determined by the legislation, for reasons such as economic, technological, structural or similar. The concept of collective redundancy is regulated in Article 29 of Law No. 4857. Terminations under collective redundancy fall under the category of fixed-term termination as defined in Article 17 of the Labor Law. Consequently, in case of termination of the employment contract, statutory provisions regarding severance pay and all other rights are applicable to employees laid off through collective redundancyThe conditions required for collective redundancy according to the relevant article are as follows:
1. Firstly, there must be a situation necessitating collective redundancy, either as the closure of a section of the workplace due to "economic, technological, structural and similar reasons" or “ the complete and permanent cessation of activity by closing the entire workplace.
2. For collective redundancy based on the number of employees in the workplace according to the legislation:
- In workplaces with 20-100 employees, at least 10 employees,
- In workplaces with 101-300 employees, at least 10% of the workforce,
- In workplaces with 301 or more employees, at least 30 employees must have their employment contracts terminated in accordance with the conditions specified in the relevant provision.
3. The employer must inform in writing, at least 30 days in advance, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security's relevant regional directorate, the Turkish Employment Agency, and the workplace union representative if any, stating the reasons for layoffs, the number of employees to be terminated, and the termination date. In case of the complete and permanent closure of the workplace, the employer is obliged to notify the relevant regional directorate and the Turkish Employment Agency, and announce it in the workplace.
Collective redundancy take effect only 30 days after these notifications.
4. Following the notification, a meeting is held between the representatives of the employer and employee unions, if any, and a record is kept.
5. The following are not included in the numbers of employees and the scope of collective redundancy:
- Fixed-term employees working for up to 30 working days under Article 10 of Law No. 4857,
- Employees terminated during the trial period under Article 15 of the same Law,
- Employees terminated for just cause under Article 25 of the same Law,
- Employees who resign from the workplace,
- Employees whose employment contracts end by mutual agreement.
The reasons for collective redundancy are strictly defined by the law, and expanding these reasons is not possible. Otherwise, contracts will be invalid. According to the established precedents of the Court of Appeal, even in the case of collective redundancy, the termination notice must be specific and in writing for each employee. Otherwise, the termination will be deemed invalid and irregular. Law No. 4857 also stipulates an administrative fine for each employee terminated improperly.
The principle of termination being the last resort should also be considered in the case of collective redundancy; otherwise, employers may face legal difficulties. According to our legislation, if an employer intends to terminate the employment contracts of employees benefiting from job security provisions under Article 29 of the Labor Law, the employer must comply with the provisions of Article 18 and subsequent articles. Deviating from job security provisions, even if the conditions for collective redundancy are met, will raise questions about the validity of the termination.
An employer who conducts collective redundancy in accordance with the law may, within 6 months from the finalization of the collective redundancy, prefer to rehire the terminated employees for the same type of job. Similarly, within 8 months from the finalization of collective redundancy, it is forbidden for the employer to hire temporary workers.
The use of this regulation, which aims to prevent the application of Articles 18, 19, 20, and 21 of Law No. 4857 (valid termination cases), for the purpose of obstructing these provisions has been explicitly prohibited by the same legal provision, and the contrary would entitle the employee to legal action